Reflective Practice Placement in Nursing

Question: Discuss about the Reflective Practice Placement in Nursing. Answer: Introduction The purpose of the essay is to present the reflective account that will describe a stress full situation faced during my practice placement. Driscolls (2000) reflective cycle will be followed to reflect on the practice, as it is considered as a recognized framework that can help to demonstrate ability of the nurse can help to reflect on different practice skills (Howatson-Jones, 2016). Driscolls (2000) reflective cycle is divided in three significant parts that helps to describe a situation, analyze the event and also allows proposing new recommendations for including the learning experience in practice (Bulman Schutz, 2013). I am going to describe the even that and the experience I obtained from it. On my practice placement, I and a nurse had to give the bed bath to a patient of 68 years of age, who suffers from cognitive impairment due to mild dementia. He has limited physical mobility and has the history of falls. Due to the confidentiality issues, patient will be called as Bob in the assignment. I and another nurse had to give bed bath to Bob in the side room. I was worried and not confident about conducting this procedure. But, my co-nurse said that it will easy to conduct if I keep up my confidence and it was important to isolate some patients. He was admitted to the hospital with the compliant of colon inflammation, stomach ache and loose stool. It was found that patient was suffering from Clostridium Difficile. The information about the disease was obtained after sending the sample of the loose stool to the laboratory. Clostridium Difficileis also called as the deadly diarrhea, which causes immens e suffering to the patient can also result in death in the patient with the age of 65 or above (Surawicz et al, 2013). For giving the bed bath to the patient, it is important to gain consent from them. According to Nursing and Midwifery code of professional conduct (2008), the consent and procedure was explained to the patient. Appropriate equipments were collected to perform the task. Since the patient was suffering from Clostridium Difficilehe required to be nursed in isolation. Isolation nurse is the procedure to take the patient to side room, who has been suffering from contagious infectious disease and to prevent the spread of germs and infections to other patient (Gilmartin, Grota, Sousa, 2013). Dignity of the patient was maintained buy only exposing the part that was being cleaned. Since the patient had impaired functionality, I and other nurse assisted him in moving so that his back and buttocks could be cleaned. Proper safety measures were taken according to infection control guideline. Aprons and gloves were used to avoid contamination and coming in contact with contaminated residues (Dougherty Lister, 2011). Unnecessary leaving the equipments in the room after the proc edure was also avoided. According to the Driscoll's modelthe second part of the reflective practice is to analyze my personal feeling about the incident. Throughout carrying out the procedure of isolation nurse and giving bed bath to the patient, I was feeling little worried and confused. I was also anxious because I had never come in direct contact with the patient earlier. It was the first time that I have been in the direct care environment. This was my first experience o bed bath a patient in isolation nurse. But, now I feel that carried out the whole activity correctly with the support of another nurse. I kept the communication going with the patient, while providing him with bed bath. Patient had felt comfortable and happy. However, this incident and experience helped me to learn about the care needs of the older patients. I learned that some of the personal qualities are important to achieve to provide personal care to patients. I also learned to promote autonomy and dignity of the patient, which is very important to provide patient-centered care. In comparison to my colleague my experience was good and new. I felt differently because my colleagues were not new to this experience. This incident also helped me to put the theoretical knowledge into practice that I gained through my course. During this experience I gained the knowledge about isolation nursing and what is the importance of isolation nursing. I also learned that why isolation nursing is important to be applied when patient is suffering from some specific infections that can spread easily (Collins, 2008). At first I did not felt comfortable about isolation, as I had never come across any such infection control procedure. However, the procedure became easy for me when my co-nurse explained me the important of controlling infection through isolation and by using infection control equipments (apron and gloves). I also learned about discarding the waste in the orange clinical waste bags and to maintain hand hygiene. Hand hygiene is very significant for minimizing the risk of patient, visitors and staff members from acquiring healthcare associated infections (Hand Hygiene Policy, 2010). So, it is important to wash hands properly with soap and water before leaving the side room. I would not like to alter anythin g about my experience, as it was very comprehensive and effective. If in future, I have to isolate any patient, so I would be more confident, as I understand the importance of carrying out the infection control prevention procedure in a better manner. I also learned that this procedure was also right for the patient, so if such situation would arise again, I would be more confident and will indulge in carrying out empathetic and light communication with patients to make them feel more comfortable and supportive. I had also felt anxious and apprehensive about conducting this practice, and therefore, I can understand that you might have felt the same. It was also difficult to control the patient with cognitive impairment and receiving their consent. But, you have to remember that these are also individual, who require quality care. So, the procedure which was carried out was appropriate. We both carried out the procedure together and I found that you were a good learner. You carried out the practice in a proper manner as it should be. However, you can improve your practice by feeling more connected to your patient and making conversation with them. Yes, I do believe that such incidents help to reflect our own values and beliefs. Our personal ethics and morals help us to provide appropriate care to the patient and to improve the quality of health care. The duty of care towards patient is the most important aspect that should be followed in nursing practice. I am impressed with the your skills and abilities, as you can significantly respond to patients needs more accurately in future. Bibliography Bulman, C., Schutz, S. (Eds.). 2013.Reflective practice in nursing. John Wiley Sons. Code of Professional Conduct for Nurses in Australia. (2008). [Accessed: 16 March 2107]. https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards.aspx Collins, A. S. (2008). Preventing health careassociated infections. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, Georgia. [Accessed: 16 March 2017] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2683/ Dougherty, L., Lister, S. 2011. The Royal Marsden Hospital Manual for Clinical Procedures Student edition. Gilmartin, H. M., Grota, P. G., Sousa, K. 2013. Isolation: A concept analysis. InNursing forum(Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 54-60). Hand Hygiene Policy. (2010). [Accessed: 16 March 2017] https://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/PD2010_058.pdf Howatson-Jones, L. 2016.Reflective practice in nursing. Learning Matters. Surawicz, C. M., Brandt, L. J., Binion, D. G., Ananthakrishnan, A. N., Curry, S. R., Gilligan, P. H., ... Zuckerbraun, B. S. 2013. Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Clostridium difficile infections.The American journal of gastroenterology,108(4), 478-498.