Nursing Student Reflection Paper

Reflections of a Nursing Student The interdisciplinary course is a core requirement in the after-degree nursing program as it incorporates the principles of self-directed learning and promotes critical thinking, which is an essential element in nursing practice. As a final year nursing student, I believe that knowledge from this course will enhance my ability to provide patient-centered care. My key learning from this course are numerous and includes a deeper understanding of the various interprofessional (IP) competencies. In the area of communication, I understand that the ability for any team to work together successfully depends on the free flow and exchange of information. Communication is the hallmark of a successful collaboration as it enhances the ability to share information necessary

I am now more comfortable playing roles such as the initiator and recorder. Furthermore, I now know the scope of practice of professionals like occupational therapist, physical therapists and social workers. Attending the Help Save Stan simulation also had a positive impact on my learning. In the ‘Simena’ simulation, I saw a resident who was experiencing difficulty in communicating with a patient, due to his belief that the patient was drunk and dependent on pain medication. From this scenario, I was able to identify the need for professionals to listen to patients without making assumptions because patients are the expert of their own symptoms and have all the key data (Warren, 2015). Again, in the ‘Say what’ simulation, I was able to identify how communication affects patient safety. In this scenario, I received a change of shift report with some vital details missing. Since safe clinical handover is a requirement for safe patient care, the use of structured communication tools, such as SBAR (situation, background, assessment and recommendation) will provide a framework for providing key information (Guadine & Lamb,