Looking Back and Elaborating Over the course of my clinical placement at Bridgeport Healthcare, I would like to personally reflect on one occasion where I was able to interact with a patient and understand his experience within the healthcare system and develop an awareness about the importance caring in nursing practice. The patient's name was Mr. F and the nurse taking care of him was Harry. During morning care, I engaged in conversation with Mr. F and learned that he used to work as an architect for an international embassy and graduated from a very prestigious school in the United States. He said being in the hospital was a bit lonely and is definitely not like it was travelling around the world as he fondly liked to reminisce about. …show more content…
F about the quality of care he was receiving. It can be hypothesized that since I was unable to adequately respond to Mr. F’s concerns about the care he was receiving in a respectful, compassionate way, Mr. F could have normalized the lack of hermeneutic caring and continued to feel as if he was nothing but another illness to be take care of by nurses and a student nurse as myself - greatly disrupting the therapeutic relationship I wanted to form with my patient. I learnt throughout my first year in nursing school that providing meaningful, holistic care was the centrepiece of therapeutic nursing. Scott (2014) expressed that patients believe the humanizing, caring elements of nursing interventions are particularly more valuable than the technical competence, knowledge, and willingness to seek information aspect of nursing care. By shifting the focus to Harry, I could see that he was a busy nurse who had a lot of things to accomplish for his patient list. Harry provided quality medical care and seamlessly used the equipment to get vital signs and provide medication but was not able to engage in meaningful conversation (e.g. asking if the patient had any plans today). However, I don’t see the fault in Harry as an individual nurse, I can see Harry trying to provide adequate time for all the patients on his list without experiencing burnout. …show more content…
F had or did not have to make him develop this understanding of nurses. I would take his response into consideration with a combination of the diagnoses he has, his coping strategies, former architecture background, and known support systems to find a way to advocate for better nursing care and provide resources for the patient to feel comfortable in his healing environment. I could also provide direct care by asking Mr. F if there was anything I could do for him within my scope of practice. By changing my responses and mindset about what Mr. F said, I would be able to take an action-orientated approach to help the patient recover. Nonetheless, throughout the care exchange, I genuinely felt a deep sense of care for the patient’s wellbeing and experience within the health care facility. I feel like this type of behaviour is an important one to preserve whether it be between one patient or all patients that I will meet in my clinical placements. To further my reflective learning, I would begin to actively seek resources and support groups that I can offer to my patients and find ways I can advocate for safe practices and better environment for nurses to perform in. I would try to develop my ability to freely speak out about issues and feel comfortable voicing my judgements and providing a voice for the clients I care for. Through this experience, I
“If a patient is cold, if a patient is feverish, if a patient is faint, if he is sick after taking food, if he has a bed-sore, it is generally the fault of not of the disease, but of the nursing. I use the word nursing for want of a better” (Nightingale, 1860, p. 8). While Nightingale stressed the impact of one’s environment to promote healing, Virginia Henderson aimed to establish on the fundamental needs as a knowledge base to guide Professional nursing practice. Henderson emphasized on fourteen components required for effective nursing care which includes: breathing normally, eating and drinking adequately, elimination of body wastes, movement and posturing, sleep and rest, select suitable clothes-dress and undress, maintaining body temperature, keeping body clean and well groomed, avoiding dangers in the environment, communication, worship according to one’s faith, work accomplishments, play or participate in various forms of recreation, and learn, discover, or satisfy the curiosity (Fernandes et al., 2015). Her division of the fourteen components acknowledged patient needs with a holistic approach that is applied through the nursing process in a clinical setting.
As a Registered Nurse who knows the duties that his work demands, I have to demonstrate deeper understanding of the Health Directorate's core values of care, excellence, collaboration, and integrity in my professional nursing practice and patient care. To conform to the above mentioned values, I endeavor to appreciate that improving a patient's experience is integral in patient care. This can be achieved by doing away with fear and anxiety that protracts patients' healing process. Enhancement of the communication between my patients and I will also go a long way in hastening their recovery and their self-management.
Human caring is what sets nursing apart from other professions. As Watson (1998) stated, “care and love are the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of cosmic forces: they comprise the primal universal psychic energy. Caring is the essence of nursing and the most central and unifying focus for nursing practice” (p. 32-33). It is important to establish a good nurse-patient relationship in order to create a healing environment that would meet patient’s needs on all levels including physical, mental/emotional and spiritual, promote recovery, maintain health, and create positive outcomes. Jean Watson emphasized the importance of human
In the novel Looking Backward, by Edward Bellamy, a newly discovered vision of the future is placed into a mind of a man 100 years before its time. The nineteenth century experienced strife and confusion as to where the future was headed. The time period was a major stepping stone for the end of reconstruction. The workforce was ever-changing, making the economy very competitive. The answer to these problems in Bellamy’s eyes was equality. In Looking Backward, he presented to his audience his idea of a perfect society.
When patients are unable to meet their needs independently, they become distressed and encounter feelings of helplessness. Every patient is different and will exhibit needs that are individualized to them personally. This is where the nurse comes in. Their relationship to the patient must be built on trust and they need to know that patient well enough to determine what their needs are (Current Nursing, 2010). Orlando felt that nurses act independently on behalf of their patients. She believed that by using a nursing process, the nurse would be capable of meeting the patient’s immediate needs (Nurse Scribe, 2007).
As a Registered Nurse is a crucial component to ensure that there is effective communication between the nurse and patient. As well as being respectful to the person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs and rights. This is because everyone is different, and due to this it is important that I am being cautious to each person’s individual needs.
Conducting an interview with someone makes you see things in many different perspectives and in a new light. The person I interviewed saw nursing as a broader term that saw things in a different way even though she has just started. She knows that special people need to take roles in being a nurse. I interviewed my aunt, Ann Juknevicius. She is 30 years old and she has been a nurse for 2 years in Illinois now. Relatively she is a new nurse. One of the main reasons why I started the nursing program is because I look up to Annie a lot and she showed me so many different perspectives on how to look at people, different situations, and the way you handle things. I thought that it would be a great interview session to see if Annie’s expectations were the same as the nursing reality.
Regrettably, the existence of nursing depends on the medical inadequacy of others. Unfortunately, nursing exists because people get hurt, cannot care for themselves, or need assistance with daily activities. Carol Taylor (2011), author of Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Nursing Care, writes, “Nursing care involves any number of activities, from carrying out complicated technical procedures to something as seemingly as holding a hand” (p. 5). Taylor explains it is the duty of a nurse not only to learn the pertinent skills but also to bond with and comfort others. Nurses have to do and become many things: They must be stern when necessary, compassionate when needed, open minded
The following essay is a reflective account on an event that I, a student nurse encountered whilst on my second clinical placement in my first year of study. The event took place in a Fountain Nursing Home in Granite City. I have chosen to give thought to the event described in this essay as I feel that it highlights the need for nurses to have effective communication skills especially when treating patients that are suffering with a mental illness. Upon arriving to the Nursing home for the second time on Thursday November 14,2013; assigned the same patient as before. On meeting my patient the first thing I noticed myself doing without even thinking about it was giving her a visual inspection. Before nursing school I never really looked at
In the professional setting, knowing the patient through his or her diagnosis, name, history of present illness, laboratory results or reason for staying in the hospital only contributes to the manner of physical care of the patient. However, recognizing the patient 's spiritual needs such as emotional support, mental positivity, and intellectual understanding of his or her situation gives a better assessment, as well as a trusting relationship between the nurse and the patient, as per personal experience. In the ward, it is evident that most of the staff nurses spend their time doing documentations, preparing medications, following-up laboratory requests, as well as reading through the patients ' charts to affirm the physician 's order. Throughout the duration of our shifts as student nurses, I see that the most that the staff nurses get to be conversant with the patient is when certain procedures (such as feeding through nasogastric tube, taking
Since the early 1900’s nurses have been trying to improve and individualise patient care. In the 1970s this became more structured when the nursing process was introduced by the general nursing council (GNC), (Lloyd, Hancock & Campbell, 2007) .By doing this their intentions were to try and understand the patient in order to give them the best care possible (Cronin & Anderson, 2003). Through the nursing process philosophy care plans were written for patients. It was understood that this relationship would ensure the patient received the best care possible to suit them individually. This would consist of not just the patient as a physical being but their spiritual emotional and holistic being also (Cutler, 2010). The
First of all, I recognized that I was dealing with humans, and not just dealing with a disease process and application of the nursing process in the aspect of restoring patient health. I was dealing with emotions, and families, and cultural beliefs that influenced individual’s aspects of care. I started to see that health did not just incorporate healing the disease, but also recognized the importance of making sure patient’s felt that their
Not all patients are capable of independently identifying and articulate their care needs, so the nurse also adapts the role as an advocate. Clarity and continuity in a trusting environment enables good communication. Progressive identification of needs takes place as nurse and patient communicate with one another in the interpersonal relationship (Peplau 1988, p. 84). Being considerate to the needs and vulnerability of patients is a moral attribute, as nurses are accountable for the care they deliver.
Hogston and Simpson (2002) describe this traditional task-orientated method of nursing care as contrary to the nursing process, compromising the concept of individualised patient centred care. Price (2006) supports this view, suggesting that patient-centred care requires the nurse to be flexible and not confined to set care pathways or task-orientated methods. I complied with functional nursing and completed tasks assigned to me which Higginson (2006) states many first year nursing students do as they are preoccupied with worries about their ability to perform nursing duties. However, through this I found that I did not engage completely with the patients which according to Squire (2001) would have built a good, therapeutic and interpersonal relationship with the patients. Reflecting using Benner (1984), in terms of starting to become a proficient and capable staff nurse, I was a novice. Rather (2007) states that novices are taught rules to help them perform, and although I was not taught these rules within my first placement I still adhered to them and reflecting back I would consider my practice as limited and inflexible due to these rules. Consequently I saw managerial skills such as time management, prioritising and delegation beyond my capabilities, Hill and Howlett (2005) state feeling incapable of managing patient care is normal for a first year student nurse.
Within nursing, there is a very delicate balance between a nurse and her patient that must be maintained if the patient is to receive the care that he or she is entitled to receive. The patient must feel comfortable trusting his nurse to hear his needs and respond to them appropriately and in order for this to be the case, the nurse must first provide therapeutic communication effective enough to elicit such a response in her patient. There are both verbal and non-verbal components within the nurse-patient relationship. These components greatly influence how a nurse and patient will relate to each other and, ultimately, greatly influence the care that the patient receives.