...A REFLECTIVE CLINICAL PRACTICE EXPERIENCE Introduction My reflective clinical practice experience was based on my eight weeks placement in an acute mental health ward in a hospital. I was not sure of what to expect because I have never worked or placed in an acute ward and this was my second placement. Before starting my placement, I visited the ward and was inducted around the ward. This gave me a bit of confidence and reassurance about working in an acute ward. Reflection is a process of learning from ones experience (Spalding, 1998). The objective of my experience is to show the positive effect of using therapeutic communication skills with patients. Therapeutic communication can be described as a face to face technique of forming a rapport between a nurse and a patient that focuses on advancing the psychological, physical, social and emotional well-being of the patient. It usually involves providing health education and the use of strategies that give confidence to a patient to communicate feelings and ideas and that conveys acceptance and respect. Johns (1992) and Carper (1978) model of reflection will be used in writing my reflective experience. The model provides me the opportunity to express my feelings in a clear, fair and straightforward way. In the first week of my placement, I was assigned a mentor. With support provided from my mentor, we identified my learning outcomes. One of my learning outcomes is to provide support to three identified patients under my...
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...On week 7 clinical class, we learned about the injections and the blood glucose level measurement. Originally my image of a nurse was someone who gave needles. After watching the demonstration by clinical tutor, I quickly gathered the equipment and practiced on an artificial skin surface. It looked pretty easy when others uncapping the syringe. However, for me, it was not that easy when I first tried. It was just too tight to get it off gently considering the hazard of the syringe. After a few attempts, I managed to uncap it though. When I started to inject, I did not pull the syringe deep enough, which was pointed out by my peer. That was one thing I needed to be careful of next time. When taking the blood glucose level, the tutor reminded us that it was better to take the blood at the side of the finger. But the next day when I discussed the site with my friend, she insisted that she was told to take the blood in the centre of the finger. That confused me. So I decided to ask my tutor. After raising my inquiry, my tutor suggested that I conduct some research for answers. Then I started to research online. The conclusion was it was better to take the blood at the side of the finger because there were more nerves presented in the centre of the fingers. This event reminded me that when there was a medical question, as a health professional, I should be able to find out the best relevant evidence to support my practice rather than just following others’ opinions. In this case...
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...Look Back Clinical placement helps in applying the theoretical knowledge in real healthcare settings. It was an incredible clinical journey with new and different experiences. I have learned new things and improved my skills during the placement. The journey began with shadowing the nurses and helping them in providing care to the patients and giving medications. The significant growth of me during this placement was the development of my communication skills. Through the whole clinical I have noticed an improvement in my communication skills as I feel comfortable and confident in interacting with the residents. Elaborate During clinical placement, I did experience many new things and learned many new lessons every day. Each clinical day was like a new day, we go there every week and gain practical knowledge. I started my clinical by providing care to the residents and giving medications. While providing morning care, I was able to use my skills to assess the patient for any changes in their body. I got the chance to imply my nursing skills which I learned in my first and second semester such as taking vital signs and performing full head to toe assessment by assessing different system day to day. Clinical placement...
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...Clinical Journal 2 The clinical rotation was a great experience for me. At the beginning I was afraid of how I would approach a patient with mental health. Today I can say that I am comfortable talking to any of the patients on the floor. I was able to listen to their stories, what happened to them that they ended up in a mental health facility, what life they have outside the hospital and so on. My positive feelings that I experienced in my clinical rotation is that I was able to see and learn the mental health condition outside the classroom. One thing is when you learn from the book, another is when you see the patient with that type of condition and many of the times the patient not only have one mental condition, but many at the same time. Also, patients also have medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes and chronic pain that affect their treatment....
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...Have antibiotics won the battle against bacterial infection or are they creating more serious health problems for the future? Antibiotics are substances that kill or restrict the growth of bacteria and fungi. They can be used to help the body fight infection from micro-organisms, antibiotics is making use of one micro-organism's natural means of attacking another. The debate on whether antibiotics are a safe cure for bacterial infections has been a long debated topic. The purpose of this essay is to ascertain whether antibiotics have won the battle against bacterial infection or whether they are creating more serious health problems for the future. This essay will argue that contrary to popular belief, antibiotics are creating more serious health problems for the future; this is because of the health issues exposure to antibiotics causes, Internal Ecological damage and the negative effects of overuse or misuse of antibiotics. One very important reason why antibiotics have not won the battle against bacterial infection or why they are creating more serious health problems for the future is because of the health issues exposure to antibiotics causes. Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. It can cause significant danger and sufferings for people who have common infections that once were easily treatable with antibiotics. When antibiotics fail to work, the consequences are longer-lasting illnesses; more doctor visits or extended...
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...This week I shadowed the health coach to have a better view of clinical treatment. The health coach is a licensed social worker who does clinical work. I am interested in more one on one therapy. She was open to having me shadow her when met with a client. The clients that she usually conducts assessments with typically have anxiety or depression. I was interested in meeting with the health coach to help with my case presentation considering she creates BPSAs and treatment plans. I was able to sit in on a first appointment that she had with a patient that was experiencing depression. I think the process went well. In addition, this week the other intern and I had to find resources for a patient that had bed bugs. The health coach had a patient that was experiencing issues with bed bugs. I discussed this with my supervisor and how having a patient with beg bugs may cause me to avoid seeing that patients. However, it is important to remember that some patients have no control over certain situations. In addition, how it is our job to help the patient. I also re-explored the no show...
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...Today was the orientation of the pediatric rotation of clinical. My clinical group and I were introduced to our instructor Dawn Witty. Upon arrival we introduced ourselves, as she shared her background with us also. Shortly after, our instructor provided us with the safety information of the hospital. This information was helpful to me because I had no idea what code silver was, because of this helpful information provided, I am know more knowledgeable about the hospitals protocol on safety. Our instructor also provided us with a tour of the floor and informed us on where to meet each week for our clinical rotation. Today I was provided with helpful information necessary for the completion for my clinical rotation, I was also informed on what is to be expected as a...
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...Examples of Reflective Writing Example 1 I arrived on the ward at 7:30 ready to begin a 12-hour shift. After receiving handover, my mentor assigned me the job of bathing Mr B with the help of a healthcare assistant. Mr B has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a progressive disease of the nervous system with rapid deterioration due to spongiform encephalopathy. He is not expected to live to Christmas, even though he is only 19 years old. He is mentally aware of what is going on but is physically unable to demonstrate activities of daily living, including eating and drinking, has limited communication skills and is doubly incontinent. He is unsafe on his feet so mobilises with a wheelchair. I approached Mr B’s bed and asked his consent to take him for a bath. While the bath was running we began helping him to undress. He looked rather nervous. At the thought of myself being in his position, being the same age as him, I began to feel embarrassed too. I thought that I could not possibly be a professional individual if I let my embarrassment and sympathy get in the way of my nursing care. We assisted Mr B into the bath and started his wash. I knew he was uncomfortable and wanted to be able to wash himself, but was unable to do so. I was finding it difficult to look him in the eye, especially when it came to washing his genitalia. I tried to ease this by making conversation, but in a way this made matters worse. After the bath we dried Mr B, dressed him and returned him...
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...Learning through reflection 2 Reflection is an active process whereby the professional can gain an understanding of how historical, social, cultural and personal experiences have contributed to professional knowledge and practice (Wilkinson, 1996). Duffy (2007) believes that reflective practice is an active deliberate process of critically examining practice where an individual is challenged and enabled to undertake the process of self-enquiry to empower the practitioner to realize desirable and effective practice within a reflexive spiral of personal transformation. Learning is derived from experience but it doesn’t just happen. For it to take place you not only need to engage in reflection you must also record it. By thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it is what turns your experiences into meaningful learning. If you are to become a reflective practitioner you have to use that learning to increase your professional knowledge and skills to the benefit of not only yourself but also to your patients / clients. Why Reflect Reflection is really a process that begins with looking back on a situation, pondering over it, learning from it and then using the new knowledge to help you in future similar situations. Reflection, which is learning through experience, is not a new concept. As humans, we naturally reflect on our surroundings and experiences. However, the conscious, deliberate and ordered process of using reflection as a learning tool...
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...of communication amongst the health care professionals and how a good nursing documentation is an integral part of nursing. It will also demonstrate how reflection enabled me to make sense of and learn from this experience, as well as identify any further learning developments needed to improve my practice and achieve the level of competency needed for when I qualify as an assistant practitioner. While discussing the knowledge underpinning practice, evidence based literature will be reviewed to support my discussion and for the purpose of reflection the essay will be written in the first person. Spouse, J, et al (2008). Jonhs, C (2009) defined reflection as learning through our every day experiences, towards realising one’s vision of desirable practice as a lived reality. He also added that it is a critical and a flexible process of self inquiry and transformation of being and becoming the practitioner you desire to be. However, Ghaye, T et al. (2000) stated that for the health care professionals to develop a more reflective posture, they must fully embrace both the principles and the practices of reflection. It is about becoming more aware of how we learn and how this affects what we think, feel and do. There are different models for reflection; some are more complex and detailed than others. To help me with my reflection, I have chosen Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle as a guide: The names of the patient, staff members and health care setting will be changed to protect...
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...This paper will explore the importance of personal reflection in nursing practice and how it is a fundamental skill in the field. It also looks into how personal reflection moulds a nurse though reflection on experience and development in the preforming of tasks and skills that provide the best possible patient care. The next section analyses and explains the skill of taking a blood glucose level reading; known as a BGL that was preformed during an intensive workshop. It further looks into a personal reflection of how I felt I preformed the skill. The following paragraph identifies how I know that I preformed the skill well during the intensive workshop with rationales to support my performance. The paper then goes to conclude how I know that...
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...experience of learning from reflection on giving intramuscular (IM) injections, using Gibbs's (1988) reflective model. I demonstrate how practice anxiety, as a student nurse, can be dealt with through effective mentoring. I chose the seminal theory of Gibbs reflection on practice, as it illustrates six significant stages; description, feelings, evaluation, analysis of the incident, conclusion and an action plan Ghaye and Lillyman (1997). Gibbs cycle is used throughout the process of reflecting on the incident to help me make sense of my practice and understand what l could do differently to enhance good practice. I use my experience from a placement simulation as I could not be on actual placement due to unforeseen circumstances. Reflection is a process through which healthcare practitioners and students can learn from experience and use the knowledge to inform and improve practice Schon, (1983). The ability to reflect on one's actions is particularly imperative in clinical practice and discourse. As Jarvis (1992) asserted, there is no consensus on the definition of reflection as it is a broad concept. Reid (1993, p305.) define reflection as; “a course of action reviewing an occurrence of practice to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice” Schon (1983) identified two types of reflection which are; reflection in action, which takes place during the event where the practitioner may not be aware that it is happening and reflection on action, which takes place...
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...Critically discuss the importance of reflection in the practice of management Student ID:20583416 Course: The reflective manager (MD4046) Lecturer: Dr. Elias Hadjielias Fall 2012 Assignment no. 1 Table of Contents Introduction Page 1.1 General Introduction to Reflection 3 1.2 Objectives and Purpose of the essay 3 Main Body 1.3-1.6 Review of Literature 3-4 1.7 Personal opinion of the writer 4 1.8 A practical example of Reflection in a certain case 4 1.9 Recommendations from the writer 5 Conclusion 2.0 Summary pg.3 5 2.1 References ...
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...Examples of Reflective Writing Example 1 I arrived on the ward at 7:30 ready to begin a 12-hour shift. After receiving handover, my mentor assigned me the job of bathing Mr B with the help of a healthcare assistant. Mr B has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a progressive disease of the nervous system with rapid deterioration due to spongiform encephalopathy. He is not expected to live to Christmas, even though he is only 19 years old. He is mentally aware of what is going on but is physically unable to demonstrate activities of daily living, including eating and drinking, has limited communication skills and is doubly incontinent. He is unsafe on his feet so mobilises with a wheelchair. I approached Mr B’s bed and asked his consent to take him for a bath. While the bath was running we began helping him to undress. He looked rather nervous. At the thought of myself being in his position, being the same age as him, I began to feel embarrassed too. I thought that I could not possibly be a professional individual if I let my embarrassment and sympathy get in the way of my nursing care. We assisted Mr B into the bath and started his wash. I knew he was uncomfortable and wanted to be able to wash himself, but was unable to do so. I was finding it difficult to look him in the eye, especially when it came to washing his genitalia. I tried to ease this by making conversation, but in a way this made matters worse. After the bath we dried Mr B, dressed him and returned him...
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...and its impact on me and other colleagues. Using Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle I will identify the situation in which the issue arose, the thoughts and feelings it evoked, an evaluation of positive and negative aspects experienced. I will analyse the situation in order to reach a conclusion and to formulate an action plan. To preserve patient and staff confidentiality no one will be named. I believe Gibbs model of reflection to be a framework with which I can address an issue from the workplace as I find it easy to utilise and believe it supports my reflective learning style as a pragmatist. Cottrell (2008). This approach to learning advocates Ryle (1949) where thoughts and feelings impact directly on the way we behave. This way of thinking suits me personally as I trained as a Cognitive Behavioural Counsellor and believe I take a rational and cognitive approach to problems. Neenan and Dryden (2004). Consequently I believe it to be a model or framework with which I can use as I develop as an Assistant Practitioner. The incident I am using for reflection for this essay involves an 87 year old lady that had suffered a pre-tibia laceration and attended the minor injuries department of Accident and Emergency. Following examination by a Nurse Practitioner I was asked to treat the injury. I cleaned the wound aseptically removing the developing Haematoma from under the skin flap and occluded using steri-strips. A Mepitel non- adhesive dressing was then applied. I secured the...
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