Nursing Reflective Essay

One of my patients had been in the hospital for almost two weeks due to a diverticulitis colon abscess. After being told she would be discharged that day I arrived, the physician informed her that they’d be keeping her an additional day to further monitor the JP tube meant to drain the abscess. After being in the hospital for so long with very little opportunity to go outside and perform her regular activities, my patient seemed unmotivated and concerned. Consequently, during her physical assessment, I spoke to her in regards to her personal goals for the day. As the QSEN Institute mentions, it is imperative to include physical comfort and emotional support along with access to additional resources as a way to establish patient centered care. Because the patient stated that she had only gotten two baths, had not had the opportunity to walk, and had questions

I thought it was due to pain, but when I asked her to rate her pain she stated that it was not a problem since it was 2/10 and it was intermittent. However, as soon as I began talking about her personal goals and what she wanted out of her day, she was more willing to tell me about her concerns. As the day progressed, we were able to overcome these barriers down and focus solely on her intervention and objectives.

When my patient informed me that she had not been out to walk and that she had not received a bath, I was shocked because it’s some of the most basic routines on a patient’s daily chart. I understand that a nurse is filled with responsibilities and they could not be as attentive as I was to my patient due to the fact that they have other patients with higher demands. I was able to attend to her because she was my main priority. Nonetheless, I would have thought that the nurses would have given her different alternatives such as having her husband walk her or walking her at least once a