Feelings/Personal Circumstances, What Happened, Current Feelings (Case Study Sample)

PERSONAL REFLECTION
NMC Restorative Reflection
Name of Institution
Name of Student
Grade Course
Date
Description of Events
Context
This is a genuine personal reflection on my conduct based on Nursing and Midwifery Council requirement for reflective practice for both good and bad conducts at practice. The reflection presents a genuine position and understanding of the incidences that led to my deregistering from the NMC register. Deregistration has been very detrimental to the progressive advancement of my career as a nurse and this reflection is a proof of remorse on all the actions that led to deregistration. This section of the event will provide clear description of the events that preceded deregistration.
First and foremost, prior to the occurrence of the awful final event that led to me been struck off the register of practicing nurses and midwives, I had worked as a nurse staff in the National Health Service whereby allegations surfaced of my unprofessionalism and non-adherence to the NMC code of conduct. According to the code of conduct, I had not adhered to the ‘Prioritize People’ code (NMC, 2018) – I had allegedly not given proper attention to a patient by not providing them with a blanket. Secondly, I had not adhered to the ‘Preserve Safety’ code (NMC, 2018) – I had erroneously provided medication to a patient and I did not openly communicate about it to the patient and the family members as required under the professional duty of candour. Thirdly, I had not adhered to the ‘Promote Professionalism and Trust’ code – This is because I had been dishonest in my practice and my attitude towards patients and fellow colleagues was negative and therefore a hindrance to professional service delivery. Subject to these allegations, I was first referred to the NMC and proceedings on my unprofessional conduct were opened. The NMC issued me with the first condition of practice whereby I was to be under supervised practice and subject to a weekly meeting with my manager. I left the NHS and managed to get employment as a clinical lead at the mental health facility. I continued working in this facility for some time under supervised practice but left the mental health facility to join a nursing home for continued practice. It was while working in the nursing home that I received the information that I had been struck off the list of legally practicing nurses by a panel of NMC.
What Happened
On the 11th of August 2014 after a hearing on my practice case, the NMC panel in quoting the NMC codes of ‘Prioritize People, Preserve Safety and Promote Professionalism and Trust’ (NMC, 2018) found that I was not fit to practice and struck me off the register of practicing nurses for a minimum period of five years. The reasons given by the council to justify their decision were that in not adhering to three primary tenets of the NMC code of conduct because of my previous unprofessional conduct, I could not be trusted to practice. Additionally, the panel found that I had acted dishonestly and therefore breached a fundamental tenet of the nursing profession having not informed an employer of the extent of the ongoing fitness to practice proceedings with the NMC and having provided falsified references from that employer to the NMC during the proceedings. The NMC concluded as a result of this finding that Ms Perreira’s “fitness to practise is currently impaired by reason of her misconduct” and it considered it likely Ms Perreira would behave dishonestly again in the future. The council also stated that I was not remorseful and therefore was unfit to continue serving as a nurse. In this personal reflection, I would like to make it crystal clear that the allegations presented and used against me by the NMC were called for. Not been honest and revealing to the manager the nature and extent of NMCs investigation on my previous practice was in itself very wrong of me because it exposed the patients to the same danger of my prior unprofessionalism. Also, despite the fact that I had informed the manager at the mental health facility of the ongoing proceedings at the NMC and he agreed me to type him in as reference, I had not actually done all the weekly supervisions that were required of me by the NMC and this is probably why when called by the NMC, enlightened about the matter at hand and asked whether I had taken all measures to improve my practice, he openly denied. This revealed my dishonesty to the panel and led to me been ultimately struck off the register.
As soon as I received the news, I went into a mental breakdown and immediately left practice. I left the nursing home and was taken into mental rehabilitation for depression and suicidal conduct. In reflection however, I picture that it would be better professional practice to uphold the NMC code of conduct on promoting professionalism and trust (NMC, 2018) by fully informing my previous employer in the mental health facility of the actual extent and nature of the ongoing NMC proceedings relative to my practice. On the contrary, I had only provided him with an overview and did not entreat him to understand the actual reasons why I was facing the proceedings and why the proceedings required me to be under supervised practice. I only admitted to meeting him weekly on the reference form which was not the truth and when he was asked, he could not support me. The extent and nature of the proceedings was quite serious for the sanity of the profession and if the employer new that beforehand, s/he would employ me only on the basis that I was ready to really reform and practice professionally by taking all the measures recommended by the NMC on the first condition of practice order.
Feelings/Personal Circumstances
As mentioned above, the knowledge of the fact that I was no longer a legally practicing nurse did not come to me as a great shock. In my practice, I knew full well that the proceedings at the NMC would end up in my conviction but what I maybe did not know is that attempting to forge a reference would be the last nail on the coffin for me. After working in the mental health unit for some time without the full knowledge of my employer about the extent of the ongoing case at the NMC and knowing that my practice was in a precarious state having not taken any of the weekly supervised sessions required of me by the NMC condition of practice order; I made a bold move to leave that place and look for another opportunity. It was while on this new job as a healthcare assistant with agency employment at a nursing home that I found the news that I was no longer listed as a legal nursing and midwifery practitioner by the NMC. Immediately I received the information, I went into depression and felt suicidal and had to be admitted to mental rehabilitation for an entire year. The actual feeling I got from the information of my striking off the register apart from been depressed and almost committing suicide was that I was never going to practice again because of my own doing and not upholding the code of conduct that I should have upheld. Despite the fact that I had greatly improved in my practice when comparing my initial practice at NHS where I was convicted and opened a case for not adhering to the professional code of conduct; not being open about my professional situation and the case at the NMC especially to the previous employer had led to my own undoing.
Current Feelings
Having progressed from the event that almost brought my urge to practice as a nurse to the ground and made me mentally unstable to the point of almost committing suicide, I now feel much better about the event. I am more ready to practice as much better and vindicated nurse if given another chance by the NMC. I am entirely remorseful on understanding that not been open and honest about my professional situation was the primary reason for deregistration. To that extent, I feel that I am now much ready to practice effectively by upholding all the tenets of the NMC code of conduct including prioritizing people, readily upholding the professional duty of candour and making an effort to effectively communicate while in practice both to the patients and other staff members and colleagues (NMS, 2018).
Evaluation and Analysis
What Actions Caused the Event?
The first action that in my view caused the event was the case of supervised practice that I was handling at the NMC. As stated earlier in the reflection, I had been employed as staff nurse in the NHS and after some time in my position, there surfaced claims that the patients in the facility were not receiving as much care as they were supposed to. Some of the claims related to not offering patients all the support they needed for instance not giving a patient a blanket which is a necessity, poor communication with patients and providing wrong prescriptions to the patient(s) and not taking professional responsibility for the same (violation of the professional duty of candour) (NMC, 2018). Immediately these claims surfaced, the NHS moved swiftly in action and opened up a file at the NMC for my unprofessional conduct and violation of primary tenets of the NMC code of conduct (NMC, 2018). As a nurse staff, I was held directly responsible for poor service to the individual patients assigned to me because I was directly responsible for ensuring the most professional care for them. An NMC panel hearing on this case of unprofessionalism gave a Condition’s Order for supervised practice whereby I was to meet with my line manager every week to assess my healthcare service in order to keep my practice in check and determine whether I was making the required efforts to improve on my professionalism.
Now with a case on my back at the NMC and having acted unprofessionally by denying a patient a blanket, exhibiting negative attitude while...