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Reflection: Thankful
What:
Clinical rotation this week granted us the opportunity to put into practice the various nursing theories learned in the classroom. This was my second time to be assigned to the Alzheimer’s unit where the focus is specifically on the special needs of the patient, and for that I am thankful. Moreover, I was lucky to be paired with a nurse who has plenty of experience and is not just more than willing to impart those knowledge and skills, but also eager to answer any question I may have. Being allowed to perform hands-on nursing intervention such as administering medication, assisting in activities of daily living, and engaging patients in stimulating activities afforded me the confidence and further my knowledge in using the skills acquired in the laboratory practicums in a slightly challenging environment. Equally important during this clinical are the difference I was able to
In other words, knowing the person behind the disease and hearing their stories, makes the provision of care more personal. One of the residents was a teacher, another was a soldier, and there was once a politician; all worked for the betterment of others. Similarly, it is our task as nurses to affect a difference in the patient’s and their loved one’s lives. Nurses provide comfort and alleviate suffering, not just dealing with the physiological and psychological pain, but also, more importantly, the emotional torment. Although there is no treatment to stop or reverse the progression of their debilitating disease, knowing that the care I rendered provided relief for the patient, even only for that moment, accorded a bit of gratification. The greatest lesson learned during the clinical rotations are not the clinical skills or knowledge of the process, but rather, the ability to emotionally connect with the patient and being able to reflect on those
This time, I decided to be more talkative and ask more questions about the patients. My senior nurse showed me a patient who fell down a couple flight of stairs and due to his accident, he injured his brain severely to the point where he couldn’t speak anymore. She explained to me all the medications that he had to take and how she had to look up the patient’s lab report because the medications he takes might affect him in different ways. After she was done with looking up his lab reports, I watched her feed the patient for an hour and thirty minutes. During this time, I really felt bad for the patient because he was half-awake and half-asleep while eating. It saddened me how we had to disrupt his resting time to feed him before he could take his medication. After the patient was done eating, I watched the nurse give the patient Lovenox, which I learned was given to patients who are immobile in order to stop blood clotting. After giving him his medication, we had to transfer him off the bed and into a chair, which was my favorite part about this clinical observation. I got to physically help move him off his bed and into a chair. This took 3 nurses, including myself to move him and it made me realize how nursing really requires teamwork. I then got to help clean him up and after changing him, it was time to leave the hospital. This clinical observation made me really excited to be a nurse because I
Taking care of dementia patient one should have a lot of patience as in the story the author says to herself, “why I have forgo my own lunch to try and feed this woman” ( ). The author has to wait for Miss Julianne to eat her lunch first before she could go and eat her own meal. Nurses have to be very cooperative, well behavior, and caretaker. You should show empathy to your patient instead of showing sympathy like the author was concerned about Miss Julianne, and the assistant nurse tells Miss Julianne that the author “ wants to know, if you’re okay. Honey” and should be firm in your decision by using critical thinking. You should communicate with your patient and should have convincing power. The changes that I have faced are before I used to think, its easy to treat older adults but its one of the most challenging job. My mindset is completely changed and I am preparing myself how to deal with tough
As a medical / surgical RN, I provided care for the elderly, the infirm, the mentally challenged, the young, and the psychologically disturbed. The wide variety of patients exposed me to the effects of life style choices, health care choices, and the resulting impacts to the patient as well as to the family of the patient. This experience has fully matured my view of the awesome responsibility that we, as health care professionals, have been charged with, and it has furthered my desire to obtain the skills necessary to provide more advanced care for my patients. In addition to exposure, maturity and experience, my career as a medical / surgical RN has also sharpened my critical thinking abilities and provided insight on observing signs and symptoms that a patient may be unware of. Furthermore, as a charge nurse I learned the importance of collaborating with other health care professionals in order to provide the highest level of care available. In summary, my career as an RN has provided valuable experience, maturity, exposure to impact and outcome, enhanced my critical thinking abilities, and improved my collaboration
On February 14th I spent a day doing something I never thought I would do in a million years, I went to hospice. I always thought I would hate hospice, but I actually didn’t mind it too much, it isn’t a job I see myself doing in the future but it is a job that I understand why people do it and why they enjoy it. During this observation I was touched by how much these nurses really seem to care for each of the patients that they have.
Whittemore R. (2000). Graduate student scholarship. Consequences of not "knowing the patient". Clinical Nurse Specialist. 14(2), 75-81.
“We can’t turn away from a patient’s pain just because it’s difficult” (chapman, 2015, p. 88). I know the path of least resistance is taking a path of ignorance. Easy, is to ignore or neglect the true pain patients experience in times of crisis. As caregivers I believe we all want to heal others or we wouldn’t be in the field of nursing, but there are only handfuls willing to be present during the healing process because sharing one’s pain hurts. As a surgical nurse, I find being genuinely present takes hard work on my behalf, not only mentally but emotionally. On a unit where patient’s needs and conditions are changing at astonishing rates, being present requires mental strength in order slow down enough to recognize the value presence
A week before Christmas in 2013, my stepfather suddenly lost consciousness. His body stiffened and he began to violently convulse – he was having a seizure. Later in the hospital, the doctors informed us that my stepdad had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. The anguish that I felt that night was eased by a nurse who talked to my family about my stepfather’s condition and assured us that the hospital would do everything that they can to assist him with recovery. The next few weeks were filled with uncertainty as my stepdad laid comatose, no knowledge of when or even if he would wake up. During that time, my interactions with the nurses always made me feel safe and comforted Unfortunately, he passed away in January 2014. Though this was a traumatic and life altering experience, what I remember most are the nurses that provided care to my stepfather. They went above and beyond their outlined job duties to care for my loved one and to make my family feel secure even in such a difficult time.
Often in this profession, we become desensitized. We are told to put our emotions aside after each patient and to focus at the task at hand. I believe it is important for nurses not lose their empathy and the reason why they went into nursing first place, because they whole-heartedly enjoy caring for others. My father’s passing has taught me that a death is a death no matter how many deaths that I witness. I now understand how family members feel when they lose a loved one and how it can drastically impact their lives. I have also learned the significant impact nurses make in helping families deal with their loss and to assist them in the grieving process in a healthy manner by providing patient-centered
As mentioned by Hunter and Arthur (2016), one of the main reasons I could maintain and improve my practice was due to clinical placements. During clinical placements we are frequently being assessed and taught in dealing with real situations. Feelings As learning is a lifelong process, I’m sure there are many things I need to improve and learn to better myself. However, the lessons I learned during the course as a nursing student shall always remain as a bedrock for my future development.
After completing registered nursing school in 2006, a few years later, I obtained a bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 2016. Over the last 10 years, I have tried to look for inefficient procedures, finds ways to streamline them, and consistently have striven to boost the productivity of everyone around me. Working as a nursing supervisor an area hospital for the last 3 years, I have tried to promote healthy patient outcomes. I understand the need for procedures but I also try to maximized the time spent educating the patients and family. By allowing time for good explanations to both the patient and family development of an understanding their disease process can occur. This empowers them to make informed decisions and promote health improvements. Throughout my career in nursing, I have tried to successfully communicate and partner with other members in
I believe placing student nurses in the clinical setting is vital in becoming competent nurses. Every experience the student experiences during their placement has an educative nature therefore, it is important for the students to take some time to reflect on these experiences. A specific situation that stood out to me from my clinical experience was that; I didn’t realize I had ignored the patient’s pain until I was later asked by the nurse if the patient was in any pain.
Nurses play a critical role on patient’s health; the relationship that a nurse and patient develop can in some cases be life altering. Applying these characteristics and being a servant leader to patients establishes life long impressions and makes critical difference in treatment allowing for optimal care to be received. Always listen to patients concerns, be empathetic in their concerns, and help while committing to their personal growth, one never knows whom they are actually a leader for. Some individuals look up to nurses and count
My clinical rotation in the acute care hospital has definitely been a great learning experience, it was a big transition for me having been working in a long-term care facilities for six years. There were three positive aspects about my performance that I will take away from this learning experience.
In conclusion, being a nurse take a lot of responsibility, there’s so much you can be held accountable for. But, nothing is more rewarding than knowing that you are making a difference, not just to one person, but to the community as a whole. When saving someone’s life, you are not merely saving the heartbeat of one person, but you are saving the hearts and souls to their loved ones. To me, that is just a wonderful thought, knowing that I have the power not just to be able to help a patient, but to be able to help a patient’s family.
The nurse stated during the interview that “holding the hand of the patient just diagnosed with a terminal illness” (Appendix A) is difficult and requires a variety of techniques to face the situation. There are many ways to approach a dying patient, and one study identified four themes that help nurses in creating a “’curtain of protection’ to mitigate the grieving process and allow them to provide supportive nursing care” (Gerow et al., 2010). Of the four approached, there is one that appears to make the greatest impact on the nurse; the fact that initial patient deaths are formative. In this case, a study found that “significant death experiences early in a nurse’s career set the foundation for how the nurse began caring for future dying patients” (Gerow et al., 2010), which was further explained as the fact that those who had enough support and mentorship early on in their nursing practice were more likely to not be emotionally damaged by the event, and were able to better approach similar situations in the future. I plan on implementing this strategy in the future by surrounding myself with colleagues and mentors within my practice that I am comfortable confiding in whenever I happen to be struggling. A strong support network is key for maintaining proper emotional health, which is important for a nurse to have when working with vulnerable patients and providing competent