IntroductionIn this assignment I will be exploring the legal, professional and ethical issues involved in bed bathing a patient/client in a hospital setting. I will be reflecting on a personal experience, experience during a seven week placement on a diabetic ward. I have decided to use a reflective cycle which is an adaptation from Gibbs’ (1988) model.This reflection has provided a systematic approach to my learning and to my nursing practice. Within this essay I intend to discuss approaches to assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating care.
Heron (1977) refers to the process of reflecting as a ‘conscious use of the self’. Once one becomes consciously aware of their actions, it is easer to recognise the reason for doing them in the first instance. The first stage of this process is to acknowledge our actions by reflecting we reveal to our selves how we act, such actions are spontaneous and without forethought attention.
To maintain my clients autonomy I am unable to disclose any client information, accordingly I have given my client the name Mrs Jones this is to protect and respect my client’s confidentiality as stated by the NMC Code of Professional Conduct.
Gibbs' model of reflection (1988)DescriptionDuring any client’s admission stage an assessment on the client’s skin care regime is made, this takes into account the clients personal preferences, the level of function the client may have to provide self-care and the amount of assistance required to promote optimal hygiene procedures in the form of bed baths, in respect of encouraging independence. The reason why we bed bath clients is to promote personal hygiene and to give them a sense of well-being it also maintain intact skin i.e. prevention of pressur...
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...is assignment has allowed me to understand professional, legal and ethical issues of providing care and the dilemmas surrounding health care professionals.
In the future I would not always go on the clients say so and seek professional advice and not just take the patient word.
BibliographyBartter. K, (2001) Ethical Issues in Advanced Nursing Practice. London: Reed Elsevier Plc GroupBurnard. P, Chapman. C, (2004) Professional and Ethical Issues in Nursing. 3rd Edition. London: Elsevier LimitedGlasper. A, Grandis. S, Jackson. P, and Long. G, (2003) Foundation Studies for Nurses: using Enquiry Based Learning. New York: Palgrave MacmillamThe NMC Code of Professional Conduct Standards for Conduct, Performance and Ethics. Standards 07-04. London: Nursing Midwifery CouncilTschudin. V, (1999) Nurses Matter: Reclaiming Our Professional Identity. London:Macmillan
Nurses are able to reflect upon their past experiences of work and build and improve this ensuring their level of competence and skills is in line with NMC guidelines. Improving the quality of care provided to patients is an ongoing process and requires practitioners to contently reflect and improve their practice. (Howatson-Jones, 2013) One way in which reflection can improve the quality of care is through the use of professional supervision, as stated by (Daly, Speedy and Jackson, 2014) a focus for supervision should be enhancing a nurse’s skills and ability to reflect on practice. It should reflect on the standard of care provided and highlight areas for improvement such as further training. This, in turn, leads to a greater self-awareness of practitioners’ own abilities. The process is not about finding faults, but to improve and learn to ensure the quality of care is high and professional for all patients. Being self-aware is a skill important to reflection and the provision of quality of
This reflective essay will demonstrate the concept of reflection. The model of reflection by Driscoll, 2007 has been followed in this essay to reflect the clinical skills that I have studied and practiced in week 7to week 9 of this unit which assisted me to get prepared for the practical experience which I will commence at the end of this semester. I have practiced numerous skills during the practicals class, but this essay will be a focus on taking care of bedsore and wound management.
This assignment focuses on an incident which was experienced during a community placement. The patient suffered from bowel cancer, my mentor and I were visiting her to change her dressing. The names of people have been changed to ensure confidentiality Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2008). Gibbs (1988) cited in Jasper (2013) will be used as the reflective model because it is simple and, easy to understand. Through the model’s six key stages I will describe my experience and how I maintained dignity while giving personal care to patients in the community. Writing a reflective account makes one relive their thoughts and, feelings and make appropriate changes when required (Howaston-Jones, 2013).
Ethics has been a popular topic in nursing for a long time. Nurses are expected to demonstrate ethical decision-making as well as professionalism. I believe that in order to accomplish this, they need to use the ANA Code of Ethics as framework for their decision-making. It is also imperative for nurses to have a strong understanding of ethics, because they will be faced with many difficult ethical decisions that do not always have a straightforward solution.
This paper will focus on two BNUR leaner outcomes (University of Calgary, 2013) relevant to my learned understanding of nurses as ethical decision makers. I will outline the ways that I have seen ethics used and not used in practice, what I learned about ethics and its use in my theory courses and throughout my practicums, and I will reflect on how this understanding will translate into my professional practice moving forward.
Burkhardt, M. A., & Nathaniel, A. K. (2014). Ethics & issues in contemporary nursing (4th ed.). Stephan Helbra.
Rolfe, Gary; Freshwater, Dawn; Jasper, Melanie (2001). Critical reflection for nursing and the helping professions: a user's guide. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York: Palgrave. pp. 26–35
Barnett, Wilson J.(1986). Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing. Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved on 12th July 2010 from
The purpose of this essay is to reflect and critically study an incident from a clinical setting whilst using a model of reflection. This will allow me to analyse and make sense of the incident and draw conclusions relating to personal learning outcomes. The significance of critical analysis and critical incidents will briefly be discussed followed by the process of reflection using the chosen model. The incident will then be described and analysed and the people involved introduced. (The names of the people involved have been changed to protect their privacy) and then I will examine issues raised in light of the recent literature relating to the incident. My essay will include a discussion of communication, interpersonal skills used in the incident, and finally evidence based practice. I will conclude with explaining what I have learned from the experience and how it will change my future actions.
In every nurse's career, he or she will face with legal and ethical dilemmas. One of the professional competencies for nursing states that nurses should "integrate knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice". It is important to know what types of dilemmas nurses may face
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal
NSNA (2003). Code of ethics for nursing students Part I: Code of professional conduct. Retrieved June26, 2011, from: http//www.nsnsa.orgpdf/pubs_CodeofProfessionalConduct.pdf
The American Nurses Association created guidelines for the profession including, a set clear rules to be followed by individuals within the profession, Code of Ethics for Nurses. Written in 1893, by Lystra Gretter, and adopted by the ANA in 1926, The Code of Ethics for Nurses details the role metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics have within the field (ANA, 2015). Moral obligation for an individual differs within professions than it does within an individual’s personal life, so the code of ethics was written to establish rules within the profession. The moral obligation to provide quality care include the fundamental principles of respect for persons, integrity, autonomy, advocacy, accountability, beneficence, and non-maleficence. The document itself contains nine provisions with subtext, all of which cannot be addressed within this paper however, core principals related to the ethical responsibilities nurses have will be
Patient’s personal hygiene is a vital part of the nurse’s role. Young (1991) described cleanliness as a basic human right, not a luxury the need for the patient to physically cleansing and which would include skin, hair and nails.
This reflective essay will discuss three skills that I have leant and developed during my placement. The three skills that I will be discussing in this essay are bed-bath, observing a corpse being prepared for mortuary and putting canulla and taking it out. These skills will be discussed in this essay using (Gibb’s, 1988) model. I have chosen to use Gibb’s model because I find this model easier to use and understand to guide me through my reflection process. Moreover, this model will be useful in breaking the new skills that I have developed into a way that I can understand. This model will also enable me to turn my experiences into knowledge that I can refer to in the future when facing same or similar situations. Gibbs model seems to be straightforward compared to the other model which is why I have also chosen it. To abide by the code of conduct of Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) names of the real patients in this essay have been changed to respect the confidentiality.