Reflection of an Encounter Whilst in a Clinical Setting (Research Paper Sample)

REFLECTION OF AN ENCOUNTER WHILST IN A CLINICAL SETTING
By (Student’s Name)
Course Name and Number
Professor’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
City and State
Due Date
Reflection of an Encounter Whilst in a Clinical Setting
The purpose of this reflective essay is to provide a critical analysis of my health-care experience with a client. In this regard, the Kolbs experiential learning will be employed as a model of reflection. Experience-based learning necessitates the use of critical thinking skills, which is also considered essential for people who wish to continue learning throughout their life (Astbury et al., p.35). It is possible for a healthcare practitioner to obtain fresh insights into his or her own practice and himself or herself when they learn from and about a particular event or action, something that Grainger (2020, p.98) generally refer to as "reflective practice."
This plan is envisioned as a means of assisting certified and self-employed professionals with their personal and professional growth, which in turn will aid in both their personal and professional progression. Kolbs devised the experiential learning Cycle in 1984, and it has since become widely used. Kolbs experiential learning reflection is divided into six stages, each of which helps the person who is looking back consider all of the many aspects of an activity or event (Secheresse et al., 2020, p.340). When compared to other reflective models such as Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, the paradigm takes into consideration more than just knowledge; it also takes into account actions and emotions, as well as the possibility of repeating the same experience. Compared to other models, Kolbs devised the experiential learning Cycle is more inclusive and adaptable when considering a situation critically. This indicates that it has the potential to assist people in making better selections in the future (Johnson, 2020, p.45).
The Kolbs Experiential learning cycle (1984)
The fundamental challenge associated with a medical education’s clinical phase is the requirement or demand placed on the educators, who have to manage their time for administrative, teaching, and other duties. In a situation where there is a competition between a clinical educator’s teaching activities and other activities, there is a sense in which teaching is normally apportioned less time. Even though many approaches have been developed for the purposes of increasing the clinical teaching effectiveness, there is a sense in which their implementation process has become more complicated and necessitates some special kind of training and much time. This reflective essay presents an integration of the Kolb’s experimental learning which is made to simplify the relationship between a nurse’s educational and clinical duties. With Kolb’s experimental learning, the fundamental aim is to remove the distinction that exists between patient care and teaching duties. As demonstrated in the figure below, the model consists of four stages which are concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. To some considerable extent, this approach corresponds well with the processes involved in patient care.
Description
During my first year as a nurse, I spent the majority of my time on the cancer floor, and for that reason, I will be speaking about an event that took place throughout that period of time. A patient who was elderly and had been admitted to the hospital because of stomach cancer was in our care while we were on the ward at the time. When he first came in, we looked at his records and saw that he had a lot of difficulties with learning, which implied that he also had difficulties with verbal communication. It was critical for myself and my colleagues to consider how we interacted with the patient to demonstrate compassion and how we adapted our care to fit their specific need. One nurse entered the ward with three members of the public who had come to look at the hospital's employment advertisements. The nurse said that they were there for an inspection. As soon as the nurse came into the patients' bay, she immediately informed those on the outside that those inside were receiving radiation. After the nurse said that, it took a while before another nurse was able to calm the service user down again. He began shouting, yelling, and slamming his head against the pillow as soon as the nurse's statements were heard by the service user.
Feelings
Prior to the accident, I observed the nurse escorting three members of the general public through the oncology section as part of the job interview process. I had only been working on the oncology ward for six months at the time of the incident, and I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. When I attempted to address this problem on my own, I realized that I lacked the confidence and experience to do it successfully. However, despite the fact that my increasing uneasiness made it more difficult for me to interfere, there is no doubt that both my colleagues and I should have done more to ensure the patient's safety. I was also taken aback when the nurse failed to pay attention to the specific needs of the service user during the visit to the ward. This resulted in a great deal of distress for both the service user and the broader public, which was completely needless.
Evaluation
With the benefit of hindsight, I can see that the event had both positive and negative aspects, which helped me better comprehend the service user's perspective and my own role as an oncology nurse practitioner. My responsibilities included performing physical examinations and assessing the health of service users, prescribing and administering medication, recommending diagnostic and laboratory tests, reading the results, managing treatment side effects, and assisting patients, including acting in their best interests when necessary. I am quite sure I did not complete the last task completely. The nurse said, “a person who was demonstrating how to operate the unit was completely unaware of the service user's communication difficulties and was concerned about them.” When we fail to share information and act swiftly enough to avoid a potentially harmful scenario, we are demonstrating a lack of group cohesion and solidarity (Grainger, 2020, p.102).
Analysis
It has been reported by Nursing Times Clinical that persons who are learning disabled frequently have difficulty adapting to new settings, which shows that encountering something that is outside their comfort zone may cause them to behave inappropriately. According to Franks et al. (2022, p.4), it is critical for healthcare professionals to understand how to engage with patients who have learning difficulties. This can be bolstered by regular and useful introspection and reflection. Prior to admitting a patient to the hospital, healthcare professionals should learn about their communication style, preferences, and issues that they are concerned about. Additionally, they should address any worries that the patient may have through discourse or by allowing the patient to tour the ward and meet with the nursing staff, if at all possible, in order to soothe their anxiety (Morris, 2020, p.190).
People with learning difficulties should also have everyday interactions that are patient-centred and holistic, and that incorporate both verbal and nonverbal communication, in order to meet their requirements. Professionals should keep their eyes open, look and listen to their patients, spend more time with them, be involved and communicative with them, and be patient when interacting with them. In some circumstances, professionals who have already worked with persons who have learning difficulties should be considered for the position (Secheresse et al., 2020, p.345). According to Morris (2020, p.459), one of the most challenging aspects of receiving health care for people with learning disabilities is being unable to communicate effectively with those who work in the area. It can be beneficial to provide the service user with an advocate who can speak on their behalf, as well as information in a number of formats, including visual, to help them. They believe that healthcare professionals should treat everyone the same way, be able to adjust their services to accommodate a wide range of demands, and understand that everyone's needs are distinct from one another.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) urges all registered nurses and midwives to adhere to professional principles such as putting people first, working quickly, ensuring people's safety, and acting in a professional and trusting manner, among other things. According to the professional code of conduct, another nurse failed to recognize when a patient was worried or in distress and failed to show compassion, pay attention to the service user's well-being, or use a variety of verbal and nonverbal communication methods to communicate with the service user, among other things (Fewster-Thuente and Batteson, 2018, p.6). In the health and care industry, the "6cs" are a set of values and behaviours that can be used to assess the overall quality of services. They were originally used in 2012 and are still in use today. The following are some of the values and acts that these individuals possess: consideration, compassion, competence, communication, courage, and commitment (Johnson, 2020, p.298). They are all equally vital and should be used in all aspects of service delivery to ensure that patients are always the first and foremost consideration.
Action Plan
What I want to do in the future is to be more proactiv...