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. Description On the second week of my placement, I was asked to bed-bath an 85 year male old patient in my bay, in the ward and get him ready for breakfast. This patient had, had a bowel surgery and as a result he had a stoma bag on. This patient was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) IN 2010, but his condition had grown worse over the years. IBD mainly refers to Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohns disease (CD). However, this patient had Crohns disease. I was asked to bed-bath him by my mentor while she was observing me as she had taught me how to assist patients with their Activities of Daily Living (ADL) which are considered to be important. ADL’s are referred to as the daily needs that individuals normally meet on daily basis for example, bathi... ... middle of paper ... ... in caring for the patient. While bed-bathing my patient I used my interpersonal, listening and communication skills. These helped me when I was talking and giving instructions to my patient. I discovered how important communication is in nursing between the nurse and the patient in order to understand each other fo example asking a patient for consent. Moreover, it is during bed-bathing that the nurse and patient can form a therapeutic relationship leading the patient to trust the nurse. During bed-bathing my patient I also checked to see the skin for example bruises and pressure sores. Since communication and listening skills are vital in nursing, I will, therefore, need to improve my skills so I can be a better nurse in the future. Moreover, next time I should not let my feelings get in the way when approaching a similar or same situation like this in the future.
These four concepts play a very important role throughout the care in every single patient we are in contact with. The concept of person is used to represent each individual patient, such as a man or a woman (Chitty & Black, 2014). In the nursing profession, we know that every person is different in their own way from many different factors such as, genetics and environment. As a nurse, we incorporate the different factors that make a person who they are today. According to Chitty & Black (2014), the concept of environment includes all the influences or factors that impact the individual. The environment plays an important role in either promoting or interfering with the patient’s health. The environment can consist of many different systems, such as family, cultural, social and community systems. All these different systems can play a role in the patient’s health. The third major concept of the metaparadigm is health. The concept of health varies from person to person and day-to-day with many different factors included (Chitty & Black, 2014). Health includes every part that makes a person whole, which includes being able to perform their everyday tasks in life effectively. The last concept of the metaparadigm is nursing. Nursing, being the final concept includes all the previous concepts of person, environment and health to create a holistic approach (Chitty & Black, 2014). The holistic approach promotes the well-being of the mind, body and spirit in our
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).
the patient was in pain, and I decided not to give him bed bath instead I explained the situation to the nurse, and she administered pain medication.
Research In Clinical Practise Introduction to Portfolio The research articles to be critiqued relate to the author’s area of practice; community nursing and in particular; the cost-effectiveness of community leg ulcer clinics. The author currently manages a leg ulcer clinic and an insight into the research underpinning their cost-effectiveness would be of benefit in her quest to deliver evidence-based practice in line with the principles underpinning clinical governance. Management of venous leg ulcers had advanced considerably over the last decade. This is due to various factors from greater knowledge of the aetiology of leg ulceration to more recent developments, such as dedicated leg ulcer clinics (Dowsett, 2004).
Patient care is the main reason I chose to be a career in the healthcare field. During training a Certified Nurse’s Aide is required to master twenty-one patient care skills. These skills include taking vital signs, assisting with bathing and dressing, changing bed pans, and assistance with exercise and mobility. It is important CNA’s know the proper way of helping patients ambulate, shave, and providing perineal care so the patient does not get a skin infection. Perineal care is often included in bathing and involves cleaning the perineum, the external genitalia, and the surrounding skin. In order to complete the program my competency of the twenty-one performances skills had to be evaluated by a Registered
My clinical week was emotional and physically draining this week. I enjoyed being the lead on Thursday because it gave me the opportunity to stop and observe. The nurses and the CNAs were very stressed out, and I clearly saw the effect on the patients. For instance, one of the CNAs asked me to help her with an occupied bed change. I was excited. However, she kept passing a bunch of comments of how hard nursing is and how she did not want to be old. I did not acknowledge any of her comments. Perhaps she thought she could express herself (as a result of her stress) in front the patient since the patient was non verbal and could not understand. I felt very bad. I was very uncomfortable and sad. For me, it doesn’t matter whether the patient
This reflective essay will lay emphasis on one of the learning needs I have developed during my two week taster placement in hospital. Reflection helps an individual build upon their skills and makes room for self-criticism as he or she can contemplate upon actions and make relevant changes (Taylor, 2000). I will be applying the “What”, “So what” and “Now what” model of reflection by Driscoll (2000) in this piece of work because it is a more coherent and comprehensible approach to follow when writing a reflective account and is also an easier guide to writing reflections. The learning need I chose to reflect on from my learning plan is having a better understanding of diabetes and the 6 basic medications used in treating the condition since it is a common illness on the ward I am have been allocated on for my first placement. The timescale set for achieving this objective was by the end of my two week placement that is from 27th January to 9th February and I achieved it with the help of a host of factors. In this assignment, all the names of the patients and wards have been omitted and indicated with letters and numbers for confidentiality reasons as stated in the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of conduct (2008). The paper will primarily touch on the type 2 diabetes and furthermore on the achievement on my learning need.
Communication is a major aspect of the nursing field. The nursing student should plan to use effective communication everyday whether they are in class or in the clinical setting. Nonverbal communication is the use of body language, touch and physical appearance, while verbal is the spoken words that have a private meaning (Boykins & Carter, 2012). Communication is used daily in the healthcare setting. For example, communication is used to update fellow nursing staff or doctors about a patient’s condition. If effective communication is not present while providing care, the nurse-client bond will never form. The nursing student should use therapeutic communication to build a relationship with their client. In doing this, the nursing student is showing their concern and care for the client so that they are able to fully trust them and their
My experience in mental health clinical was very different from any other clinical I had before. In a mental health clinical setting, I am not only treating client’s mental illnesses, I am also treating their medical problems such as COPD, diabetes, chronic renal failure, etc. Therefore, it is important to prepare for the unexpected events. In this mental health clinical, I learned that the importance of checking on my clients and making sure that they are doing fine by performing a quick head-to toes assessment at the beginning of my shift. I had also learned that client’s mental health illness had a huge impact on their current medical illness.
The term reflection means the examination of personal thoughts and actions. For nurses this means focusing on how they interact with their colleagues and with the environment to obtain a clearer picture of their own behaviour. This means it is a process in which a nurse can better understand themselves in order to be able to build on existing strengths and take appropriate future action (Somerville, 2004). Reflection is a way to bring your own intuition along with empirical knowledge together. Reflective practice in nursing is guided by models of reflection. Reflective practice model serves as a framework within which nursing or other management professions can work. Reflective practice model is also a structural framework or learning model that serves the purposes of a profession and is particularly applicable to health related professions. Reflective practice enables practitioners to learn to value themselves as significant people with values and feelings that are important factors in giving care. Whilst reflective practice allows the nurse to recognise the value of their experiences, they may also need support to work through a difficult situation. This is where reflection aids nurses in dealing with these challenging experiences (Johns, 1995). Reflection on experience offers nurses the opportunity to reflect on caring in practice in ways that its nature can be understood, where the skills necessary for effective caring can be developed and most significantly, where the values of caring for people can be highlighted, both to the individual nurse and the world in general (Johns 1996)
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.
In this assignment I will reflect on a situation that happened during my first hospital placement. Reflection is a process of making sense out of all life experiences in general and nursing practice in particular (Taylor B 2004). It seeks to describe, analyse, evaluate and therefore inform my learning experience in practice. I have chosen to make sense out of that experience by employing Gibbs’ model (1998) reflective cycle. I will explore the bathing practice used in hospital, and how best the bathing process as a pleasant experience. I knew this practice placement experience would be different from the community placement I had previously experienced. In this clinical setting, as a student I was conditioned to bathe patients first thing every morning. It seemed this was a ritual routine which ward wanted carried out before patients had their breakfast. The system worked well when there were few assisted washes to be done.
After the handover, I was asked by my mentor to attend to a patient who is bed ridden to have her personal care done with the assistance of one of the health care assistant staff. The patient was recently admitted to the ward and she looks sc...
Through this experience, I have become a better nurse. I am more aware of key strategies that I can use with my patients who are unable to clearly verbalize their needs, and I have a broader understanding and increased appreciation for communication. This is something many take for granted every day, and it is such an important factor in fulfilling our needs. Without communication, nurses are unable to provide care to patients because the nurses do not know what the patient’s needs are. Therefore, as nurses, it is extremely important and our responsibility to efficiently communicate with all of our patients each and every day.
I have used the recommended reading list in the course handbook to write this essay, yet it has taken me several pages and numerous edits to produce this final script. In order to avoid confusion in style, I consulted mainly two books but paid particular attention to Gimenez J (2007) Writing for nursing and midwifery students Palgrave.