Nursing course reflection - Essay Example

Nursing reflection Nursing has a big share in determining the quality and success of healthcare services. When I first enrolled into nursing course, I thought about the type of career path I had started in my life, and why I have abandoned my childhood career-course commerce. I stuck with it as major opportunity to gain skills and knowledge to help me take good care of patients and thus giving back to the society while earning to sustain my life. I have covered quite a lot in both class work and lab practical sessions and have enjoyed every single minute of the coursework.

So far, my experience with this nursing course is positive and is a great help to understanding what I will be experiencing in real life as a nurse. Throughout the course I have encountered intimidating as well as exciting activities; I have discovered quite a lot through my clinicals and after every session pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together clearer. Yet I recognize I still have a long way to go to consider myself a guru in the field of nursing. I have learnt that nursing changes with and is changed by technological innovations; it is in constant change and technological changes affect nursing practices.

Equally, ethical issues are widespread in nursing. I came to an understanding that the ultimate object of nursing students is attaining a particular confidence level attuned to their respective skill level to permit them to safely work within their practice scope while upholding capacity to address areas requiring further knowledge/training (Idczak, 2007). Before attaining this knowledge, I used to think that only the nurse’s determination and decision making were significant in providing nursing services.

And although I knew the importance of planning, I underestimated its value. Collaboration of all parties involved in patient care and particularly consideration of patient’s needs are at the heart of nursing and planning is vital for effective service provision. Thus, my stance on service provision has changed. Previously I would only focus on the carer for evaluation of quality of nursing services but from now on I will be considering the characteristics of all parties involved in service provision (carer, patient, patient’s family, and the surrounding environment), and I will emphasise on planning.

I have learnt nursing, sociological and psychological fundamentals that I believe will greatly help me in dealing with different situations in the course of my work. For instance, I have learnt basic counselling skills such as empathising with and listening to the patient that I can apply in practice. When I find an unsettled patient I can soothe and calm him or her down by offering words of encouragement and listening to his or her grievances. Similarly, I will apply these fundamentals in analysing issues beyond medical diagnosis, for instance, causes and reasons that contribute patient’s reaction so as to fully understand the context of every particular case.

Also, I have learnt putting into operation few spirit-lifting ways. From the sessions attended, I have learnt to implement interventions, their potential results and corrective actions to take if desired results are not realized. Indeed, this nursing course has enabled to attain broader and wider views of care provision to patients with diverse needs. I am optimistic to further improve in my counselling and psychosocial skills along mu nursing journey. Reference Idczak, S. (2007). I am a nurse: nursing students learn the art and science of nursing.

Nursing Education Perspectives, 28(2), 66-71.