Reflection on my nursing experience - Essay Example

? 30 Apr. Reflection on my nursing experience: This paper presents my reflection on my clinical experiences of interactions with my patients which required me to make use of my interpersonal skills. I shall explain my experience with reference to the Gibbs Reflective Cycle. The six stages of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle are quite sufficient to help me learn from my clinical experiences and make a better nurse. In order to make the reflection schematic, it is customary to offer a brief explanation of the six stages of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle. The first stage of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle makes an individual describe the whole situation so that he/she may be able to analyze the consequential feelings in the second stage. In the third stage, the individual evaluates his/her experience, and organizes his/her analysis in the fourth stage so as to have a logical interpretation of it. In the fifth stage, the individual works out alternative solutions to the problem, and chooses the most viable option for use in the future. In the sixth stage, which is the last stage of the Gibbs Reflective Cycle, the individual makes action plan according to which he/she would work in the future in similar circumstances (Jasper). To reflect upon one’s experiences is an extremely useful and beneficial practice if one wants to rationalize one’s approach in the future matters. In the capacity of being a human, everybody commits mistakes. To do mistakes is not a mistake, though if one does not learn from one’s mistakes, it is in itself the biggest mistake! Reflection upon past experiences provides one with an opportunity to see where one went wrong so that the unfavorable consequences would not have to be faced ever again (Lewis). For professionals, this practice adds to their knowledge, and enables them to adjust to unusual situations in life with least inconvenience. This practice also inculcates self esteem in an individual so that he/she is able to deliver his/her best in the profession. Besides, this is a process of self education. The self analysis an individual does while reflecting upon the past experiences allows him/her to have an interview of the self. It is essentially introspection (Cyprus). It enhances a nurse’s practice competence (Lenburg). “The goal of any therapeutic alliance … is to facilitate the emergence of the authentic self” (Freshwater 4). This practice is conducive for making one a better human being both for one’s self and for the society. The goal of conducting this reflection for me is to improve my therapeutic relationship with patients being a nurse. Therapeutic relationship with patients is controlled by a nurse’s interpersonal skills. Both verbal and body language play a role in it. I hereby choose to reflect upon my experience with Mr. X who suffers from brain tumor. In those days, I was placed in the surgical ward for two weeks in the third semester. One day, all patients moved towards the cafeteria for lunch except for Mr. X. He was lost in some thoughts. I approached him, and asked his permission to help him. He could not understand my language because he had a different language. I wanted to feed him. I used eating gestures to deliver my message. According to Hill and Howlett (69), an individual should work out the most rational option which is consistent with the desired result in order to be successful as a nurse. Understanding my body language, he nodded. I checked his diet schedule and fed him accordingly. Cherry and Jacob (400) consider body language a strong means of conveyance of messages to the patients. While feeding him, I looked him in the eyes so that he would know that I am doing my job whole heartedly. Eye contact with the patient conveys a nurse’s sincerity, honesty and truth of emotions to the patient that is conducive for the building up of sound rapport between the two (Faulkner 92). However, it is important to break eye contact sensibly and with careful judgment so as to keep it from seeming confrontational or offensive (Barker 60). I wanted to make him feel respected. I managed to do that despite the linguistic barriers through my body language. I realize how important body language is in therapeutic interaction with patients. While feeding Mr. X, I put a piece of cloth under his chin so that his clothes would not get any stains. From the expression on his face, I knew that he felt contented with my service. I told him my name and asked his. He was very keen to tell me his name, and we developed a nice relationship of a father and a daughter. He is the age of my father. Mr. X felt the same way. When I was done, he pursed his lips into a smile and pointed his finger towards me, saying “Daughter! Daughter!”. He knew this word of English for the least! My communication with Mr. X was mainly patient centered. I willingly approached him to help him while it was lunch time, though, while doing it, I also fulfilled all the requirements of the task centered communication. I used gestures to communicate with him. Nonverbal communication even conveys things that are left unsaid in verbal communication (Timby 98). My constant eye contact with him and the smile on my lips reassured both myself and Mr. X of my interest in serving him. I can tell that my interpersonal communication with Mr. X was effective as I made him take his meal which he was not willing to do at the outset. One of the most important lessons that I learnt from my meeting with Mr X was that a nurse should have at least a very basic understanding of the second languages. Mr. X spoke Urdu. I did not know a word of it. So I had to put a lot of effort in conveying my message to him. Although I did manage to do that sufficiently, yet at times I could see that Mr X was not very comfortable with my excessive gestures. A nurse should be educated on the standard gestures for particular instances like this. I was creating the gestures myself which was basically taking long. The standard gestures have been developed through extensive research and have been practiced over a lot of people, thus validating their value. My communication was made through the use of visual channel. Mr. X told me when he perceived my meaning with his eyes. “A sender, receiver, message and channel are the basic elements of communication” (Roath). In my communication, I was the sender of the message and Mr. X was the receiver of it. Our body languages were the medium of communication and eyes were the channel of communication. Thus, all principles of communication were essentially met as communication is fundamentally about giving, receiving and interpretation of messages between two or more individuals (Rosdahl and Kowalski 482). Concluding the analysis, I can say that the experience was useful for both of us. I learnt how to communicate with a patient whose language I do not know and Mr. X took his meal which he would otherwise have skipped. I approach Mr. X, conveyed my willingness to feed him despite the lack of verbal communication. He felt respected and honored and so did I to have fed him. I was able to help him take his meal. He was thankful and most importantly, we developed a father-daughter relationship. This essentially tells that I did good with the patient. Hildegard Peplau suggests in his theory that what matters more is what a nurse does with the patient than to a patient (Sheldon 59). In the future, I particularly plan to prepare myself for improving my communication skills so that I may be able to communicate with patients of second language in a better way. In order for a nurse to make his/her patient communicate with him/her freely, it is imperative that a rapport is built with the patient. A very important aspect in this type of communication is that the nurse should be familiar of the culture of a patient. Patients from different cultures perceive things differently. Therefore, in order to be a good communicator, nurses should frequently go through extensive literature on different cultures so as to have an in-depth understanding of each. As a health care professional, I want to take care of patients in the best way I can. In order to achieve his/her goals, a nurse need to master communication skills (Klakovich). Nurses conventionally don’t pay due attention to learning new languages. In a research conducted from 2000 to 2001, it was concluded that the language assessment system that forms part of nurse evaluation in Canada is not sufficient to evaluate nurses’ linguistic skills (Bosher and Pharris 288). Nurses should necessarily conduct thorough review of literature. I am going to get myself books on different languages. I know it is not easy to learn the languages completely. Therefore, I plan to learn at least some basic words of some common second languages which include but are not limited to Urdu, French, Latin, and Russian etc. In addition to learning the basics of these languages, I will gain a thorough understanding of the cultures of these languages. This way, I shall be able to improve my interpersonal skills manifolds. Works Cited: Barker, Philip J. Patient assessment in psychiatric nursing. Australia: Croom Helm Ltd, 2001. Print. Bosher, Susan D., and Pharris, Margaret D. Transforming nursing education: the culturally inclusive environment. NY: Springer Publishing Company, 2009. Print. Cherry, Barbara, and Jacob, Susan R. Contemporary nursing: issues, trends, & management. Elsevier Inc, 2005. Print. Cyprus, Sheri. “What is introspection?” 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. . Faulkner, Ann. Nursing: The Reflective Approach to Adult Nursing Practice. UK: Stanley Thornes Publishers, 2000. Print. Freshwater, Dawn. “The Therapeutic Use of Self in Nursing. 2002. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. . Hill, Signe S., and Howlett, Helen A. Success in practical/vocational nursing: from student to leader. 5th Ed. Elsevier Inc, 2005. Print. Jasper, M. Beginning Reflective Practice – Foundations in Nursing and Health Care. Nelson Thornes, 2003. Print. Klakovich, Marilyn. “Interpersonal Communication: An Essential Skill for Nursing Students.” 14 Apr. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. . Lenburg, Carrie B. “Promoting Competence through Critical Self-Reflection and Portfolio Development: The Inside Evaluator and the Outside Context.” Tennessee Nurse. vol. 63. no. 9. 2000. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. . Lewis, Beth. “The Value of Self-Reflection - Any Time Of Year, It's Important To Self- Reflect.” 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. Roath, Seeta S. “Interpersonal Communication in Nursing: Theory & Practice.” 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2011. . Rosdahl, Caroline B., and Kowalski, Mary T. Textbook of basic nursing. 9th Ed. Wolters Kluwer Health, 2008. Print. Sheldon, Lisa K. Communication for nurses: talking with patient. 2nd Ed. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2009. Print. Timbe, Barbara K. Fundamental Nursing Skills and Concepts. Wolters Kluwer Health, 2009. Print. Read More