Assessment Summary
This assessment is designed to assess your knowledge regarding the recognition and management of
a deteriorating patient in a complex care environment.
While you are on a complex care clinical placement, you will choose a patient in your care that has
had a deteriorating event. Following a systematic approach, you will analyse the situation and provide
the management of the patient using the DETECT framework.
Please refer to the Assessment Instructions for details on how to complete this assessment.
Context
Complex (critical) care is required when an individual suffers a significant medical, surgical or
traumatic emergency, that threatens the function of a vital body system or multiple body systems.
Sometimes the acute illness can be so significant that it threatens the individual’s life. In these
circumstances a higher level of care is required to support the individual. The registered nurse working
with the acutely ill person needs to be able to identify early physiological changes and respond
accordingly, whilst working in close collaboration with the interdisciplinary team.
ASSESSMENT 3 BRIEF
Subject Code and Title CPC306 Complex care
Assessment Case Study Analysis
Individual/Group Individual
Length 1500 words (+/- 10%)
Learning Outcomes The Subject Learning Outcomes demonstrated by successful
completion of the assessment below include:
a) Integrate the pathophysiology, symptomology and
management of a patient in a complex clinical situation.
b) Formulate a person-centred care approach and apply it in a
complex care needs situation.
c) Using a clinical reasoning framework, plan, implement and
evaluate, according to the NMBA standards, the clinical care
for the person experiencing clinical deterioration
d) Identify the deteriorating patient and describe the potential
consequences of failure to recognise clinical deterioration in
complex scenarios
e) Demonstrate and justify the use of quality and safety
frameworks in the complex care context.
Submission Due by 11:55pm AEST/AEDT Sunday end of Week 11
Weighting 60%
Total Marks 100 marks
This assignment provides you with the opportunity to apply theory to a clinical situation. To complete
this assessment, you will use critical thinking and decision-making skills whilst you examine, analyse
and interpret comprehensive case information about a critically ill patient during a deterioration in
their condition. You must integrate the information obtained from analysis of the patient data with
your previous knowledge about pathophysiology, symptomology and management of symptoms for
a patient in a complex clinical situation.
Assessment Instructions
Using the DETECT framework, you will complete each section with the appropriate data and decision
making during the management of a patient that has had a deteriorating event while you are on
clinical placement in a complex care environment.
Follow the information in the right-hand column to complete the assessment. Each section has been
given an estimated word count to give you direction in the amount of information you need to
provide. You are only required to provide references to the rationales for the treatment of the
patient.
D
Detect deterioration
•Recognise that you have a problem by
gathering information relating to your
patient
•Use the ABCDEFG algorithm (look,
listen, feel)
•Identify early and late warning signs
For inclusion in your assessment
Briefly describe the deteriorating
event.
Provide the data from the Primary
Assessment (ABCDEFG) and identify
any early and late warning signs
300 words
E
Evaluate
•Likely causes of deterioration
•Whether your skills and the skills of
those around you will meet the
patient’s needs
•If and when to call for help
•The urgency of the response
•Continue to constantly re-evaluate
Provide a rationale for the likely cause
of the deterioration (no reference
required)
Describe the multidisciplinary team
that are in attendance and your
analysis of their initial management of
the situation.
Consider early communication of any
problems identified – how will this be
communicated?
300 words
T
Treatment
•Prioritise interventions using the
ABCDEFG algorithm to guide your
decision making
•Commence simple treatments such as
oxygen, positioning your patient and
establishing IV access
•Call for help if you can’t manage
Prioritise your care for this patient
during the deteriorating event
Provide a rationale for the treatments
that are instigated for the patient
(use references from evidence-based
practice for each rationale)
600 words
E
Escalate
•Be aware of signs of further
deterioration, or failure to reverse
deterioration
•Know how and who to call for more
assistance
•Know when the patient’s clinical
management requires advanced skills
How will you escalate the situation if
you feel you are out of your scope of
practice when managing the
deterioration?
Who will you ask for assistance?
100 words
C
Communicating in Teams
•Provide leadership where appropriate
•Coordinate activities within the team
•Use the ISBAR algorithm to
communicate clearly
•Document clearly the patient’s
outcome in the healthcare record
Using the ISBAR framework, complete
a clinical handover of this patient to
the nurse on the oncoming shift
100 words
T Teams
What style of leadership did you
observe during the management of the
patient?
100 words
Clinical Excellence Commission: Programs Between the Flags – keeping patients safe [cited
2014 June 17] – Modified October, 2021
Available from: < http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/programs/between-the-flags>.
Headings can be used to guide your writing. The word counts provided are a guide only. The total
word count for this assessment is 1500 (+/- 10%)
Referencing
Please use a minimum of 5 academic scholarly references, that are less than five years old. It is
essential that you use appropriate APA (7th ed.) style for citing and referencing research. Please see
