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Nurse Practitioner Consultation Essay

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For the purpose of this essay, I will discuss the case of a five years old patient presenting to my place of work with the symptom of shortness of breath (SOB). To maintain confidentiality the pseudonym “Ryan” will be used to refer to the child and Ryan’s mother will be frequently referred to as “mum”. As this assignment is a critical evaluation of my own practice, elements of it will be written in the first person. Webb (1992) considers writing in the first person acceptable when personal experiences and opinions have played a significant role in shaping the ideas presented. My current role is that of unscheduled care practitioner (paediatric specialist) within a health centre, which aims to compliment the services of local GP …show more content…

Self-awareness is another important aspect to consider during this stage. I try to prepare myself for the encounter with a patient by clearing my mind from any distractions/stresses caused by previous consultations, so that I can focus entirely on the new patient. Walsh, Crumbie and Reveley (2004) explain that consultations can be stressful and emotionally draining and, in a busy clinical environment, it is easy to hang on to charged emotions from a previous encounter. Kaufman (2008) agrees that before the patient arrives in the room the practitioner should deal with, or at least acknowledge any negative feelings or stress. It is my belief that every patient, regardless of the severity of their condition/presenting complaint deserves my undivided attention and I am also aware of the importance of ‘getting right’ those first crucial moments of a consultation. How the patient is greeted, patient comfort and environment all shape the patients first impression and help to develop communication and rapport (Egan, 1998). Once I dealt with the above issues, I was ready to call my patient. I introduced myself to Ryan and his mum and welcome them both to the consultation room. To build rapport, practitioners should begin the consultation with a greeting, introduce themselves and state their role (Kaufman, 2008). With paediatric patients it is also important to establish who the accompanying adult is, to make sure that the person present has parental responsibility

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