This is a reflective essay based on a situation encountered during my first six-week placement on an ear, nose and throat ward at a local hospital. In order that I could use this situation for my reflection the patient will be referred to as "Mr H". This is in order that his real name is protected and that confidentially maintained in line with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct to "Treat information about patients and clients as confidential and use it only for the purpose for which it was given." In order to help me with my reflection I have chosen Gibbs (1988), as the model to help with my reflective process. This model comprises of a process that helps the individual look at a situation and think about their thoughts and feelings. …show more content…
Feelings I felt extremely self-conscious when standing by the bedside. I did not know how conscious the patient was of the situation around him, so it was obviously important to talk to him. I found it difficult to know what to say and was really conscious of others listening to me and wondered if I was saying or doing the right things. The atmosphere in the room was very quiet, my mentor and other staff present were very concerned he may die whilst we were washing him, so we were all doing our best to ensure the family were allowed back into the room as quickly as possible. The family were obviously anxious and upset at being away from him for any length of time. Evaluation The good that came out of the situation was that the care plan for the last days of life had been met. The patients and the family's psychological, social and spiritual needs had been addressed, and the patient was comfortable and free from pain (Kemp 1999). The care that was carried out protected the patients' dignity and respected him as a human being, with his family being involved as much as possible with his care. The bad thing about the situation was that medically there was nothing more that could be done for this patient. All the family could do was to sit by his bedside and wait for their loved one take his last breath, and to be at peace. Analysis I chose this incident to reflect upon because I found it
Confidentiality is one of the most important aspects when working with clientele. Our text defines confidentiality as, “rooted in a client’s right to privacy, is at the core of effective therapy. “(Corey et al. 2014). Anna Martin describes confidentiality in a little more detail by stating that, “patient confidentiality means maintaining private information about a client, and ensuring that no unauthorized person has access to this” (2017).As an individual working within a helping profession, one of the main goals to hold should be to keep clients protected and have their best interest in mind. Although keeping a client’s information confidential is often in the best interest for the client’s safety, this is not always the case. Certain instances may arise where it is essential to break confidentiality. Throughout this paper, we will look deeper into different situations where breaking or keeping confidentiality is necessary. Specifically, we will consider confidentiality principles as a counselor.
Parahoo, K (2014). Nursing Research: Principles, Process and Issues. 3rd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillian . p122 - 123.
Caring for patients at the end of life is a challenging task that requires not only the consideration of the individual as a whole but also an understanding of the
The model of reflection chosen for this essay is Gibbs’ reflective cycle (1988). This model has been chosen as it has clear systematic headings; it allows the individual to reflect precisely and accurately, (Jasper, 2003). The Gibbs’ reflective cycle incorporates 6 stages of refection (figure 2), (Rolfe et al, 2011).
This reflection was done using the Gibbs reflective cycle. It has six steps including Description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and finally the action plan. The description section is an introduction to the contents of the reflection, ensuring the reader gets a foundational understanding of the materials. In the Feelings section, I can discuss how I felt about an incident/activity that occurred. The evaluation section allows me to assess the positives/negatives of the way I handled the situation. Then the analysis section is for me to consider steps I could take starting from now that allow me to improve. The conclusion section is for me to bring all the elements of the reflection together. Finally, the Action Plan section is there for me to decide what I would like to do in the future.
Friberg, Creasia and (). Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice [5], 15, 82-83.
It is important to remember that care of the patient does not end when the patient dies. After the death there is still work to be done in the form of comforting the bereaved family members. It has been reported that some
My educational fear in the past was during my first week off ICU orientation, I was assigned an admission from the ER of a post cardiac arrest middle aged patient who was placed on a therapeutic hypothermia. I verbalized to the Charge Nurse of being hesitant to accept the admission since I’m fresh off orientation. She told me “this would be a good experience for you”. I want to keep good positive impression to my colleague being a new nurse of my new unit and took on the mission to accept the assignment. After receiving a report, the unconscious patient arrived on our unit on a ventilator with hypothermic jacket and with multiple drips. My heart started to pound and said to myself “what am I getting into, transferring here in ICU is a mistake, and I just want to cry”. While being shaky, I took good long deep breaths. After the patient was situated the on the bed, I carried on the task according to the doctors’ orders and the protocols. I stayed in communication with my charge nurse for assistance, questions and moral support. I succeeded the patient care uneventfully on a 12 gruesome hours by working and collaborating with the charge nurse, the senior RNs as a
As people approach the end of their lives, they with their families and their caregivers, face many tasks and decisions. They may be psychological, spiritual, or medical in nature, but all end-of-life choices and medical decisions have complex psychological components, ramifications, and consequences that have a significant impact on the suffering patients and their caregivers.
A statement that the patients’ information may be released under certain circumstances without their written consent.
Sometimes healthcare workers find it difficult to balance feelings of beneficence with the desire to respect a patient’s autonomy, especially in the realm of end of life decisions. However, it has to be remembered that doing good and helping are taking place with PAS when a patient, who is facing a bleak future of pain and suffering with no hope of recovery, asks for it. The patient decides what is best for himself and what is in his own best interest rather than the medical professional making that
In order to help me with my reflection I have chosen Gibbs (1988), as the model to help guide my reflective process. This is an iterative model
Unfortunately, medical professionals must deal with life and death scenarios on a daily basis but the world without these individuals would be a much different environment. The scenario of the doctor suspecting that the patient on a ventilator is brain dead, requires several ethical decisions before proceeding. Families of a patient who is brain dead must deal with the reality of their loss and should be allowed to process the information appropriately.
Moving on to the second stage of Gibbs (1998) model of reflection, whereby I will discuss my thoughts and feelings
The purpose of this journal is to reflect on my experience and skills gained during my clinical placement at Ben Taub Hospital. On my first clinical day, I was excited and nervous at the same time. My first placement was in the PREOP/PACU area. I was assigned to help a patient who had been in the PACU area going on 2 days. Normally, once the patient comes from surgery they are only in the PACU area for a short period of time before they are discharged home or given a bed in another area of the hospital. This particular patient still had not received an assignment for a bed. The physicians would make their rounds to come check on him daily. The patient was a 28-year-old Hispanic male, non-English speaking, he had a hemicolectomy. He had a NG tube, urinary Foley catheter, and a wound vac. My preceptor had just clocked in and she needed to check on the patient’s vitals and notes from the previous nurse. Once she introduced me to the patient and explained while I was there, she then asked me to check his vitals. (Vital signs indicate the body’s ability to regulate body temperature, maintain blood flow, and oxygenate body tissues. Vital signs are important indicators of a client’s overall health status (Hogan, 2014). I froze for a quick second. I have practiced taking vitals numerous of times and I knew I could do it correctly. I started with the temperature first, when I was quickly corrected on a major mistake I had made by my preceptor. I HAD FORGOT TO WASH MY HANDS and PUT