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- QUESTION
Reflection on a Situation from Clinical Placement
This task requires students to reflect on a situation from clinical placement or from their employment in a health care setting where you observed or participated in aspects of what you felt or perceived was an example of poor care, poor practice or care failure. The situation you reflect on might include or be related to one or more of the following features. • Poor physical care • Disregard for psychosocial needs of patients • Failure to comply with basic protocols/procedure/ (e.g. infection control, medication administration, failure to detect, failure to escalate etc.) • Disregard for patients cultural beliefs, values • Unethical/unprofessional practice • Disregard for professional/legal standards etc. • Near miss or error Use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988) and the framework below to guide your writing (you may use the headings within your reflection). There are six boxes in the cycle (page 3), so make sure you address all six in your reflection. Hint: use the headings in your reflection to make sure your reflection is focused on the assessment task.
| Subject | Nursing | Pages | 4 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Reflection on a Situation from Clinical Placement Using the Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988)
This paper employs the Use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988) and a six-criterion framework in reflecting on a situation from clinical placement that was associated with unethical or unprofessional practice. The framework focuses on six headings including description of the event, thoughts, emotions, or feeling experienced, values or beliefs underpinning my experience or thoughts, analysis of the sense that can be made out of the situation, conclusions that can be drawn, and action plan.
Description of the Event
I remember encountering a situation involving unprofessional practice during my placement in a surgical ward. I worked under my mentor’s supervision, and was in charge of caring for Mr. Tom (pseudonym), a 74-year old male patient. Mr. Tom had undergone a stomach surgery and I was given the responsibility of dressing his wound prior to his assessment by the doctor, who was still attending to another patient within the same ward. I eliminated the dressing under the supervision of mu mentor by employing the non-touch procedure after which I cleaned the wound, as the doctor had requested. My mentor was called to attend to another patient and she requested me to stay with Mr. Tom as the doctor attended to him. Even though the doctor had been examining the wounds of other patients, he came straight to Mr. Tom and started examining his wound without employing an alcohol gel or washing his hands. Moreover, I the doctor was dressed on a long-sleeved shirt that could contaminate the patient’s wound. I spent much time thinking on what to do, but by the moment I had gained enough courage to face the doctor, he had finished examining the patient.
Thoughts, Emotions, or Feelings Experienced
I was greatly astonished by the doctor’s action and fearful for the patient’s wellbeing. My expectation was that the doctor could use an alcohol gel or wash his hands prior to examining Mr. Tom. Nonetheless, I was intimidated by the doctor’s experience and I could not gather enough courage to tell him about washing his hands or using an alcohol gel. In addition, I was scared of embarrassing the doctor and making the patient concerned by confronting the doctor in front of him.
Values or Beliefs Underpinning My Experience or Thoughts
Schmidt (2016) highlights core values in nursing such as professionalism, caring and empathy, legal and ethical considerations, and critical thinking, as well as psychomotor skills. During the incident, my thoughts were influenced by the core values of professionalism and caring and empathy. I chose to act in a professional manner by not confronting the doctor in front of the patient, as this could have resulted in fear or concern on the part of the patient. In addition, my thoughts were underpinned by the core value of empathy and caring, I feared for the patient, and I thought that confronting the doctor in front of him could have subjected him to immense panic. My evaluation of this situation is that it was extremely challenging. I regret my failure to challenge the doctor’s action or practice prior to him examining Mr. Tom. Nevertheless, I am pleased by the doctor’s positive response to my mentor’s feedback, as I later observed that he could either wash his hands or even use an alcohol gel before attending to Mr. Tom. This incident also served as a learning experience to me, especially when it comes to the aspect of being assertive when working with my colleagues, as a means to safeguarding the wellbeing of patients.
Analysis of the sense that can be made out of the situation
According to Komar et at l. (2017), hand hygiene contributes significantly to the reduction of cross-infection, but many professionals do not often focus on the decontamination of their hands. This finding was evident in my placement experience, as the doctor failed to decontaminate his hands prior to examining Mr. Tom. Hammerschmidt and Manser (2019) argue that policies associated with staff dress should be reviewed as healthcare staff can transmit infections through uniforms. When the doctor was attending to Mr. Tom while wearing a long-sleeved shirt, I was worried that he could end up contaminating the wound. Komar et al. (2017) emphasize the need for nurses to identify and limit risks to clients and patients. As a student practitioner in charge of caring for Mr. Tom, my focus was on limiting risks to him by decontaminating my hand and wearing a short-sleeved shirt to avoid contamination of his wound.
Conclusion that Can be Drawn from the Situation
Considering the event that I experienced during my placement, I believe that I needed to have acted sooner or quickly by ensuring that the doctor washes his hands prior to examining the patient. In my view, my inaction subjected the patient’s wellbeing to a risk. Following a lengthy discussion with my mentor, I realized that I need to establish the confidence to confront the practice of colleagues and prioritize patients’ wellbeing. In addition, I recognize that I should be supportive to my colleagues to ensure that they do not subject clients’ wellbeing to risk considering that they may be under the pressures of work.
Action Plan
My focus in the future will be to establish my assertive skills when working jointly with my colleagues, as a means of safeguarding patients’ wellbeing. This undertaking will be my goal for the next placement, and I will discuss it with my mentor prior to beginning the placement. My approach is supported by constructivism, which is associated with the active construction or establishment of novel concepts and ideas.
References
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