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This essay will be a reflective account of an incident from practice based on Gibbs’ Reflective cycle; I will critically analyse the nature of the incident based on the best available evidence. This reflection will help to identify new skills and knowledge learnt as a result of the incident and the implications for my future nursing practice. Although I am aware many reflective models exist, I have chosen to use Gibbs’s reflective framework as it is a cycle and encourages me to think about what I would do differently next time. This clearly shows Gibbs’ awareness that a nurse will have a similar experience again. This reflection method supports Schon’s (1991 cited Issitt 2003) opinion that reflecting on practice after the event is the most effective way to maintain an improvement as a development can be made. As part of the UKCC Project 2000 pre registration nurses are expected to be able to reflect on practice experiences and reflection can help create holistic and flexible practitioners (Andrews et al 1998).

For the purpose of the assignment I will use a pseudonym to protect the client’s identity in accordance with the law as stated by the Department of Health (2003), there is also an obligation stated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) to protect client confidentiality. This pseudonym is Sue. The first stage of Gibbs’ model is a description of what happened; whilst on a surgical ward I was caring for a lady post operatively who had a bilateral total mastectomy performed. It was her first day post surgery and as per hospital policy she was advised to mobilise as soon as possible to avoid lymphoedema, an obstruction of the lymph flow causing chronic swelling of the limb (Harmer 2008), therefore she asked me if I would assist her to the bathroom. I was aware that this was the first time Sue would have seen her wounds and dressings and for this

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