Driscoll Model of Reflection in Clinical Practice - Essay Example

The duty of a nurse is to provide care for the patients. When the soldier was brought to the healthcare facility, there was a fundamental legal and professional issue that I thought about (Johns, 2000:23). As a nurse, my professional role required me to treat the soldier with care, compassion, and respect his rights without considering other external controls for example, who he had killed in the war. Although I am not an advocate of war as it brings many casualties, I had to perform my duties autonomously, therefore, maintaining professional values. I had to see the soldier as a patient who needed my help. I learned that nurses have to separate emotions and provide care for all the patients regardless of their legal or professional status (Barrows and Pickell, 1991:3).

The patient’s history is crucial when one needs to make a diagnosis. Therefore, it is important to listen keenly to the patient and understand their symptoms and how they could have contracted an illness or received an injury (Barnes, 2003; Epstein, Perkin, Cookson, and de Bono, 2003). In my case, I keen as the soldier told me about his ordeal and how he came about an eye injury. As I listened to his story I realized that he had been hit in the face with a blunt object, which had even caused temporary blindness in his right eye. He was concerned that he would not see again but I assured him that there was hope since the doctors and the nurses would put all their effort into ensuring that he is able to see again. I learned that communication and the application of a well-structured history would provide the required assistance in diagnosing any patient (Seidal et al. 2010:10).

In order to find solutions for the patients in the medical facilities, doctors and nurses need to learn many problem-solving. By looking at the patient’s history and recalling what he had said, I was able to analyze the problem quickly and come up with the required solution. I learned that in problem-solving one had to come up with a strategy or discuss with the colleagues how to go about the situation (Egan, 1998:27).

Physical examinations need to be thorough and done using the right techniques to ensure that they are accurate and that the nurse does not overlook any procedure (Springhouse 2008). I was thorough with the physical examination of the soldier and I was able to detect minor fractures that had caused him to feel more pain. I learned that a nurse should ensure that a physical examination is conducted using the right technique to ensure that an accurate diagnosis is made (Bickley, 2008:17).

Effective communication is important when one is taking the patient’s history and during the treatment to help the patient recover (Kurtz, Silverman and Draper, 2005:18). I fostered a supportive environment with the soldier and every time we had a conversation I would always remind him that he was going to be fine. I would assure him that he would regain sight and I would show empathy and offer emotional support by encouraging him to stay positive because he would be fine. I realized that offering encouragement to the patients motivated them and helped them in the recovery process. Through effective communication, I was able to see the soldier progress and there was evidence that he had seen a ray of hope after a while (Silverman, Kurtz and Draper, 2004:13).