Reflection: Health Care Assistant

Nursing is one of the most intimate health care professions. They are connected to their patients as soon as they are admitted into their care right through until they are discharged into someone else’s care. With this, nurses have a strict professional identity and scope of practice to prevent a nurse from over stepping their professional boundaries. A nurses’ duty of care does go beyond the average healthcare professional but still does not impair the

The following essay is a reflective account on an event that I, a student nurse encountered whilst on my first clinical placement in my first year of study. The event took place in a nursing home. All names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the patient (NMC, 2008).

The nursing practise has continually evolved and can be described as autonomous due to the significant involvement of nurses in patient care. This then necessitates critical reflection as a way to continually develop and improve the nursing practise. The Gibbs' model, one of the reflection models, assists nurses in complying to the codes and guidelines of nursing practice. For example, developing action plans, evaluating patient outcomes, and thinking critically. This essay will describe an event involving nurses and explain the feelings it evoked. It will also provide an evaluation of the positives and negatives, analysis and enhancement of learning, and an action plan.

The ‘zone of helpfulness’ describes the centre of a continuum of professional behaviour. This zone is where the majority of interactions between a nurse and a person in their care should occur for effectiveness and the safety of that person. ‘Over involvement’ of a nurse with a person in their care is to the right side of the continuum; this includes boundary crossings, boundary violations and sexual assault and inappropriate relationships with the

Above all nurses play an important role in the recovery of their patients. The actions and decisions of a nurse are manifestations of the true character that a nurse holds. (Lachman, 2008) Those who become nurses are not only expected to adhere to the norms of the profession but rather to

Skin integrity is an important concept that’s nurses assess on their patients. A key skill in nursing practice is to frequently assess the skin for possible breakdown or decreased skin integrity. Skin assessments should be conducted thoroughly once a shift and frequently reassessed for any signs of change. Skin discrepancies may be the first sign of an underlying issue. Early detection of any breakdown can help to implement interventions sooner. Unfortunately, unless there is a major skin discrepancy, skin issues can easily get overlooked, specifically in documentation and report. The focus of this paper is to research new skin integrity assessments to improve documentation effect and accuracy, resulting in decreased prevalence of skin breakdown in hospitalized patients. Topics discussed include reviewing current practices and new skin assessment techniques that decrease the prevalence of skin breakdown and pressure ulcers.

This essay will consider ethics in nursing, discuss values and morals and how dignity and respect in patient care is influenced; considering the importance of reflection and the implications it has on effective practice from the perspective of a student nurse. The scenario “Call Me Joe” provided by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2010a) highlights concerning issues and bad practice that are happening in modern day nursing practice, and using the Driscoll and Teh (2001) reflective model: What, Now What and So What, to consider the care that Joe is receiving; considering how the nursing practice affects him directly and the implications of the nature of knowledge in nursing practice. Part of the way in which nursing practice is

The aim of this reflection is to discuss patient safety in an acute setting according to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme. I will be using a model of reflection, Gibbs Reflective Cycle to structure my essay (Gibbs 1988 cited in Paterson and Chapman, 2013). In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council identifiable information will not be written, maintaining confidentiality (NMC, 2010a).

The object of this essay is to discuss the role of the Assistant Practitioner. How it has emerged; how it fits into the structure and skill mix of the NHS workforce and the effect it has had on that structure. It will also outline the principles of accountability and statutory regulations that govern the day to day practice of the role.

This essay is going to focus on the nursing skills that I developed during a period of placement simulations and in the community, placing emphasis on oral care, communication with a non-engaging patient and bed bath. It will outline the fundamental aspects of clinical nursing skills that I have begun to acquire. This will also highlight the learning processes which took place and how it helped me to enhance my knowledge, and ethical values in order to deliver quality and safety of care. Using other sources of current literature, I will use a reflective model to discuss how I have achieved the necessary level of learning outcome. By utilising this model I hope to demonstrate my knowledge and understanding in relation to these

Sometimes, our daily lives do not always allow us to operate in a in which our integrity is not compromised. For example, in daily nursing practice,

In recent years, reflection and reflective practice have become well-known term with in the health care arena. They are words that have been debated and discussed with in the health care setting (Tony and Sue 2006). Reflective practice is essential for nurses, as nurses are responsible for providing care to the best of their ability to patients and their families (NMC, 2008). Reid (1993) states reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice. Johns (1995) notes that reflection enables practitioners to assess, understand and learn through their experience. Reflective practice, therefore, offers nurses an opportunity to review their decisions and

I was particularly impressed by way this meeting dissected critical issues. The participants of this gathering welcomed openness and honesty from all. This meeting investigated ethical issues regarding patient care, and scenarios in which one’s discretion licensed him/her to question a patient’s judgments. This gathering also addressed the issue of productivity, in terms of sustaining it and enhancing it amid a taxing and demanding environment. The participants then proceeded to address common relational issues, which involved disagreements among nurses, and conflict mitigation. After witnessing the dynamics of this meeting, it became readily apparent that conflict

A professional nurse is one who puts the needs and importance of patient care above all others. While striving for professionalism, nurses need compassion, patience, empathy, strong moral and ethics, accountability and the commitment to always act in the best interest of their patients. Nurses are held accountable for providing quality, safe, and effective nursing care (Hood, 2014). A professional nurse has the responsibility to continually improve and implement nursing standards while maintaining integrity by involving themselves in various tasks. Regular involvement in reading professional literature and sharing of evidence- based research with other healthcare personal helps increase knowledge and skills. This nursing ability can be used to encourage the actions of others in the healthcare team resulting in improved patient care. Nurses should encourage each other to become involved in hospital committees, provide an environment to encourage the discussions of ethical dilemmas, promote professional growth of nurses to voice their concerns and share viewpoints to address issues. “A professional nurse should expect to commit to a life of continuous learning growth and development”. (Hood, 2014, pp. 29). Nurses choose this profession to help others. As professional nurses we must maintain our ethics, values, characteristics, and commitment to drive our profession forward (CCN, 2015). Nurses must be autonomous, accountable, and be able to delegate to unlicensed assistive personnel. Being autonomous as a nurse means having control over their practice (Hood, 2014). It allows a nurse to take risks while being held accountable for ones’ actions (Hood, 2014).

This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome.