Reflective Nursing Essay

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Kolb's Model Of Reflection In Nursing

Reflective practice is often defined as when practitioners engage in a continuous cycle of self observation and self evaluation in order to understand their own actions and reactions they prompt in themselves and in learners (Brookfield, 1995; Thiel, 1999). The goal is not necessarily to address a specific problem or question defined at the outset, as in practitioner research but to observe and refine practice in general on an ongoing basis. (Cunningham 2001). Reflection on practice is a key skill for nurses. Engaging in regular reflection allows practitioners to manage the personal and professional impact of addressing their patients' fundamental health and wellbeing needs daily (Oelofsen, 2012)

I believe that reflective practice is essential to carrying out clinical skills effectively. It allows the nurse to reflect on their actions and perhaps, think what they will do if a similar scenario were to occur at a future stage. I reviewed Kolb's model of reflection. This...show more content... However, I believe many people felt somewhat embarrassed if they didn't understand something. I now realize that asking questions in this lab was what got me so comfortable with taking people's pulse and temperature. I don't think I fully comprehended how well our tutor would teach us this skill in the lab. On reflection, it was this in–depth tutoring that made it so manageable to grasp these skills and made my confidence and the confidence of my classmates grow with each helping. On analyzing the lab, I accept that I was apprehensive about learning these new skills but I now know there was need to be apprehensive. Given that I briefly looked at the lecture notes and discussed the with one or two of my classmates before going in to learn these new skills in the clinical skills lab made it easier to learn and retain this

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Reflection On Nursing Care Plans

Reflecting on experiences and composing nursing care plans are just two of the many fundamental skills involved in nursing (Day, Trotter, Hill, Haines & Thompson, 2014). This essay will include four nursing care plans, two related to actual nursing problems, and two related to potential nursing problems. Additionally, included within this essay, using Gibbs reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988), will be a reflection recounting a situation the writer experienced while on practical placement in a local rest home.

On my third day of practical placement I was asked to answer a call bell that was activated from Mrs Bee's bedroom, when I approached her door I gently knocked and waited for an answer. When Mrs Bee answered and gave permission for me to...show more content...

I also felt scared and very worried about Mrs Bee, however, I mentally told myself to remain calm and composed, and gently support Mrs Bee through whatever she was experiencing. Concerns arose as I thought about what may have happened had I panicked externally, distressing Mrs Bee or had she fallen as a result of her tremor. After speaking to the registerednurse I felt a bit incompetent for not being able to identify the condition or symptoms, nevertheless I felt as though I handled the situation well and by remaining calm this eased Mrs Bee through her tremor. Lastly, I felt intrigued and curious about the cause, symptoms, and treatment options for essential tremors, and wanted to research this further.

The experience was positive as it extended my learning surrounding the medical condition, although it subjected me to an encounter I was not expecting, and had never experienced before. Additionally this experience made me realise the significance of being familiar with the residents and their medical conditions. Most importantly, this experience ended positively as the patient was assisted to the toilet safely as requested, and did not obtain any injuries or experience anything unusual.

I believe by conducting myself the way I did, I was able to show composure in unfamiliar situations, and increased my confidence in my coping abilities moving forward. I also believe given my limited experience and

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Course objective 1: Use beginning critical thinking and clinical judgement when providing safe, quality nursing care

This objective was reflected in the medication pass for my patient this week. He medication list was much more complicated than my past patients. Additionally, she had medications that I was very unfamiliar with. She was taking an anti–parkinson agent every day despite not having the disease. I was able to look up the medicine and discovered that she was taking it to reduce the shaking caused by a prior stroke. This morning was much busier and far more hectic than past weeks. The busyness was distracting during the time I prepped to administer medication to my patient. This experience reminded me that it is essential to maintain focus when dealing with drug safety. Nurses always use critical thinking and clinical judgement when going through the six rights for medications.

What were your goals today? Did you achieve your goals?

My goal today was to be there for my patient both with nursing care and any emotional support they may need. I found...show more content... We have been discussing the impact of culture and religion on patient care. I often will sit with residents that are sitting alone in the dining room, and one woman and I had a unique conversation. She expressed her anxiety regarding and upcoming appointment. She had been having problems with fluid accumulating in her lungs and her doctor did not know what the cause was. She expressed her nervousness and asked me if I was a Christian. I said yes, and she asked if I would be willing to pray for her. This interaction made me realize the profound role nurses can have in holistic health. I was able to bring her comfort and solace through something that held great value to her. I am thankful for this interaction and look forward to other connections to be made between lecture and

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Nursing Reflective Journal

My Reflection On My Nursing Journey

My Nursing Journey I once heard someone say, "Find something you love to do and you'll always be successful." If you want to be in a field where you are continually learning, nursing would be the top pick. This paper will reflect the journey I have taken from Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with the incorporation of my learning objectives from my clinical course. Although, I've been in healthcare for over 20 years, working as a medical assistant, I believe my journey truly began with nursing school. It is one thing to do a job that you have been shown to do, but it becomes different as I now understand why these processes are done as well as the physiological implications. The journey to get to this point had felt like a lifelong one with many disappointments and struggles along the way. However because of the knowledge I now have, I wouldn't change a thing as I consider it extremely valuable. My clinical experience for this semester was an opportunity to follow the house supervisor at Trios Healthcare in Kennewick, WA. The courses at Washington State University (WSU) consisting of leadership and management have taught me the value of collaboration as well as communication. With the opportunity to follow the house supervisor I was able to apply this knowledge to my clinical experience. This was especially good because one of my learning objectives was to participate in the management of admissions and transferring patients in the

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The nursing profession carries high standards of care, and reflective practice is one the ways of assisting nurses with reviewing their practice standards and ensuring it is continuously satisfactory. Throughout this essay the concept of reflective practice, what it is and how it can benefit nurses will be reviewed, and a personal reflection of traits will be conducted and a career plan will be formulated. To understand why reflective practice is important for nurses, it is crucial to understand the meaning of reflection. Reflection comes from the Latin verb reflectere, which means to bend backwards or to turn around (Daly, J., Speedy, S., & Jackson, D, 2013). As a nurse, reflective practice is the process of questioning and analysing your practice in order to ensure optium practice (Kenny. L, 2017). Reflective is beneficial as it assists with personal and intellectual growth (Tashiro, Shimpuku, Naruse, Maftuhah & Matsutani 2013), and is a way to comprehend why things occur (Johns, 2013). Reflective practice also ensures the practice does not become routine but instead aligned with the nurses values (Daly et al., 2013). Looking at my traits, attributes and...show more content...

In order for me to achieve this I have put forth a career plan. I have begun my Bachelor of Nursing (BN) this year and will complete it in 3 years (2020) if I continue doing full time study as planned. This degree will act as the foundation in my plan, as I will learn essential concepts such as anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, the care I need to provide etc. Upon completing my first year placement I will be qualified to work as an assistant in nursing (AIN). Therefore, once I complete my placement I will ensure I work hard to attain a job in the field. It would be preferable to land a job at Seasons or Logan Hospital seeing as they are near my house. I will try my best to maintain this job all throughout my

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Nursing Reflective Essay

Asking someone to depict a nurse, what will they tell you? The stance that the nursing profession is icomposed of angelic people in starched white uniforms, primarily women, whose main focus was patient care and following doctor's orders. This image, though iconic and attractive to some, is not accurate when applied to modern nurses. These people need and have far more capabilities, knowledge and education, as well as, the caring personality and character traits befitting one charged with the care of others. Is there some kind of checklist that will tell me if I will be a good nurse? Absolutely not! Self–reflection and awareness of the expectations and qualities that are required to be successful as a nurse will go a long way in helping one determine if nursing is in their destiny. Motivation. Every individual nurse has their own reasons for making their career choice. Some consider it a calling. They are compelled to care for and nurture other human beings. There are individuals that want the rewarding feelings from positive outcomes. Others are motivated because of flexible scheduling, monetary reasons and/or job security. Then there are some people like me, who have experienced extended time in a medical facility and experienced excellent care or poor care for themselves or a loved one. My husband's motorcycle accident in 2013, in which he sustained traumatic brain injury and other injuries, mandated our stay in the hospital for over a month. The outstanding

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A Reflection On The Nursing Profession

What has surprised you? I think the most surprising thing about my nursing school journey has been how much I have grown and changed as a person in the past two years. I have become a much more assertive and direct person. I have a greater appreciation for the monotonous moments in my life and have learned how to not over think things and just to appreciate every moment and day for itself. Part of this group come about from clinical and part of it developed through my work experience as a nurse tech in the Emergency Department at Seattle Children's Hospital. I personally have grown and learned a lot from the kids that I have worked with and its taught me the importance of slowing down and living in the moment. It's also taught me that happiness is something that only you can determine. I feel that throughout all my clincials I have learned important life lessons from the people from every age and stage of life. All of these lessons have helped to shape me into a more compassionate, understanding, and better therapeutic communicator with my patients and have shaped my personal nursing practice.

What has disappointed you?

It disappoints me to see the tremendous health disparities that exist within our health care systems as well as, the health disparities that exist aboard and could be so easily prevented and treated with proper health education and screening. In the future I want to get my DNP in acute care nursing and work with doctors with out borders to provide health

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My Reflection On My Nursing School Journey

Reflection on a clinical Skill

This essay will discuss a clinical skill in which I have become competent in practicing as a student nurse. I will use a reflective model to discuss how I have achieved the necessary level of competence in my nurse training programme. The reflective model I have chosen to use is Gibbs model (Gibbs 1988). Gibbs model of reflection incorporates the following: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and an action plan (Gibbs 1988). The model will be applied to the essay to facilitate critical thought, relating theory to practice where the model allows. Discussion will include the knowledge underpinning practice and the evidence base for the clinical skill. A conclusion to the essay will...show more content...

My mentor said that this was acceptable and I continued to administer the injection, omitting the use of the alcohol wipe. On the previous occasions when I had administered IM injections I had not cleansed the site and had never been instructed to adopt this practice. I am now going to enter into the second stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection, which is a discussion about my thoughts and feelings. I was aware of being under the supervision of two qualified nurses and this made me feel very nervous and self conscious. Once my mentor questioned my practice, concerning skin cleansing, I became even more aware of feeling nervous and under pressure. The patient was present and I did not want the patient to feel that I did not know what I was doing. I thought that as I had been observed carrying out this clinical procedure on many other occasions then my practice must have been seen to be correct. I was now feeling very confused about the use of alcohol wipes in the administration of IM injection. I was also concerned that the practice of the qualified nurses was so inconsistent, which led me to evaluate the whole process.

Evaluation is the third stage of Gibbs (1988) model of reflection and requires the reflector to with state what was good and bad about the event. I was aware that research by Workman (1999) suggests that the use of skin cleansing wipes is inconsistent and not necessary in IM injections if the patient appears to be physically clean Get more content

Nursing Reflection Essay

I choose to read this article because during my time on the Transitional Care Unit (TCU), one of my patients, after having a stroke, started to show signs of depression. Now, I was only with this patient for two days, so I cannot attest to her long–term prognosis, but I do know that after she was orientated to her current situation, her demeanor changed drastically. After she was told of her stroke prognosis and the fact that she would need prolonged hospitalization and rehabilitation services, she went from being inquisitive with appropriate eye contact to a flat affect and lack of eye contact. Due to this experience, this article about poststroke depression stuck out to me because I thought it might be applicable to my future nursing experiences....show more content...

According to the article 795,000 stokes occur annually with roughly 31% of these stroke survivors experiencing poststroke depression (Hamid & MacKenzie, 32–33). The greater the loss of function, autonomy, and communication, can be directly correlated to greater severity of depression. But, this can be counteracted by having a strong support system to aid the stroke survivor through recovery and rehabilitation. For patients who are verbal following a stroke, a regular depression screening should be completed to assess for its presence. This is complicated in patients who are non–verbal or experiencing various levels of aphasia following a stroke, because there are currently no screening tools that have proven valid. Once poststroke depression has been identified, it can be treated with antidepressants, motivational interviewing, life review therapy, support groups, and regular physical activity. In order to improve the knowledge regarding poststroke depression, further research is needed in the areas of screening tools for non–verbal/patient experiencing aphasia that are reliable and the impact of early recognition and

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Nursing Reflective Essay

This reflective essay is based on the personal SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) analysis, to understand my leadership potential. It will define leadership within the context of the National Health Service (NHS) leadership as well as highlight some of the current incidents relate to poor leadership. Additionally, it will briefly discuss some of the relevant leadership theories that can be applied to nursing practice whilst exploring my own leadership style. Lastly, this essay will reflect the scenario from practice to support my "strengths" and "weakness" whilst developing a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time–Bound) goal plan to address one of my weaknesses and then the conclusion will be drawn summarising...show more content...

These rewards come in the form of salary increment, bonus and recognition (Gill 2011). Employees who fail to perform well are punished (Bass 2008). Howell and Avolio (1993) study confirms that the contingent rewards leadership has a negative effect on follower's performance (Gill 2011). Similarly, transactional leadership is based on a contingent reward and punishment system, it does not offer much in term of motivating and inspiring people (Bach and Ellis 2011).

To become an effective leader, a leader needs to be self–aware of their personal strengths and weaknesses (Marquis and Huston 2009). Therefore, a SWOT analysis [Appendix1] was performed to identify the four aspects of my "strength", "weakness", "opportunity" and "threats". For this assignment, I will use one aspect of my strengths "good listener" and one aspect of my weaknesses "lack of

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Reflective Essay Nursing

Intro America's three million nurses make up the largest segment of the healthcare workforce in the United States and nursing is currently one of the fastest–growing occupations in the country. Nursing can take you in many directions, from working as a bedside nurse or a doctors' office nurse to a nurse educator or even a nurse administrator. There are several different types nursing degrees. Since there are so many facets to healthcare, a nursing student can choose to seek a field of specialization such as critical care, cardiac care, pediatrics or one of many specialized areas. The nursing curriculum is very defined and the angle used to approach the required courses can significantly impact your acceptance into a higher level of nursing education if you choose to pursue a speciality. When I decided to take a summer class, I put much thought and consideration into where I would be taking this course and how this specific course would affect me in the planning of further classes. The location which I am attending my English 101 class is Costal Alabama CommunityCollege. This college has locations in the Fairhope and Bay Minette area which are considerably close to my work and home and they also offer online classes. After much debate, I decided to register for the online class as this would give me more flexibility with my work schedule. When I enrolled for English 101, three of the five classes had already filled up quickly. However, they had two classes still

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Essay
Reflective
On Nursing Education

Choices are a huge component in shaping your life, from the little things to the not so minor, each choice leads to another series of events in your life sometimes they turn out to be the best experiences and other times they turn out to be your biggest mistakes. Each choice is overwhelming especially when it is an important one; in this essay I will explain how I came to the final decision of knowing that nursing is the career I want to pursue as well as outlining the importance and benefits related to reflective practice in nursing.

All throughout my life I've been an incredibly indecisive person from making simple decisions about what I'm going to have for dinner to those more important ones, such as which university course to choose....show more content...

Reflection is defined as careful or long consideration or thought (Collins Online Dictionary, 2016) basically it is a process of going back over a situation and thinking of ways to improve in the future. Reflective practice however is studying your own experiences to improve the way you work; this method is used in nursing often due to its numerous benefits. From a nursing perspective reflection is a form of self–evaluation that helps one judge personal performance and to make judgments about standards of practice (Crisp & Taylor, 2012, p. 255). Why should we undertake reflective practice as nurses? It's simple; it helps us understand our own intentions, values and visions within the challenging field. Nursing students are able to improve communication as well as intellectual and person growth (Tashiro et al, 2013) by taking part in the method of reflective practice, it also assists experienced nurses to deal with challenging situations (Asselin, Schwartz–Barcott & Ostereman, 2012). Other then all those obvious learning and personal growth benefits reflective practice is also an imperative skill that encourages nurses of all ages to improve care and constantly adapt to new ways of caring for their patients, this ensures that healthcare is constantly moving forward and Get

Reflective Practice In Nursing Essay
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Self–care involves finding a way to feel good about yourself. Sometimes, stress or what we perceive as stressful situation get in our way preventing us from taking care of ourselves. Stress is, unfortunately, inevitable. It's part of our normal lives, but when the pressure reaches unmanageable levels, that's when it can have adverse effects on people's overall health and productivity. However, Good health is a valuable asset and one I wish to have the rest of my life, but stress can hinder this asset if not properly managed. I like to look good, be happy while providing care and comfort to those around me or those I encounter which is the calling of my profession as a nurse. To achieve this, I need a way to balance and manage the stress level by incorporating self–care daily. To enjoy good health, I have learned it also takes balancing my school, health, and family.

To be honest, it is a stressful semester with lots of things to be done– clinical, assignments, research, papers, exams and so on all of which are due within a short period from one another. Put all these together create stress and tension on my health. Repeated high–level stress can cause anyone especially the nursing students to become maladjusted if there are no adequate tools to deal with the perceived level of stress. For this reason, I have incorporated some techniques into my daily activities, and I will share some of it in this paper as they worked for me and helped me this far.

First and foremost, I

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Reflective Essay On Stress In Nursing

I have selected the above topic as it allows me the perfect opportunity to integrate clinical experience from my current rotation on maternal and fetal medicine. While a community development programme that encompasses prevention of infection, early identification of infection and improved treatment is of utmost importance, one that addresses the complex social issues existing within communities is paramount. After delineating my priorities I will examine some of the key differences in care between mothers with HIV infection in sub–Saharan Africa versus those managed under the high–risk obstetric clinic in metropolitan Melbourne. Insight into the care of pregnant ladies suffering from the social and psychological turmoil of HIV–related stigma has been challenging but invaluable for my knowledge as a future doctor.

Concerning prevention of HIV infection, we must appreciate that while worldwide prevalence of HIV infection in women is 50%, in sub–Saharan Africa this figure is 57%.1 Moreover, young women when compared with young men, are 3 times more likely to be infected.1 Given the particular vulnerability of young women, programmes need to be focussed on reducing infection in young women and therefore in children. Gender equality is a worldwide problem, with many women not allowed basic human rights. Women should be offered equal access to information so they are adequately educated with regards to protecting themselves and preventing HIV infection. It is important that men and women understand that both parties need to take equal responsibility when it comes to sexual behaviour. Furthermore, we need to aim to eliminate physical and...show more content...

People are deterred from accessing these clinics for fear of stigmatisation. This highlights the need for integration of HIV/AIDS management into usual Get more content

Reflective Essay Nursing

This Friday, September 15th, I had my clinical observation experience in the ED. I was there from 7:00 am till noon, viewing the flow and duties of the nursing staff on the unit, as well as practicing the skills I have thus learned in school. Throughout most of the morning, I followed Jessica, who had been a nurse in the ER for ten years. It was an insightful experience that broadened my previously limited knowledge of the roles and experience of an emergency nurse.

Several of the roles which I observed this morning were expected: the nurses took vitals for incoming patients, performed focused assessments, and were the main communicators between family, the patient, and thephysician. I realized when the first patient came in around 10:00 am, the RN's role in assessments, gathering blood work, and carrying out all the necessary steps to situate and stabilize the patient as soon as possible. It was incredible seeing the nurses work together, in sync, in those first moments when the patient was brought in. And though expected, I appreciated seeing just how much communication was held and information was gathered from the patient or family members by the nurse. Jessica asked the right questions from both parties, while still showing incredible empathy and not making the whole situation seem rushed and flustering. I understood this as another essential role of the nurse in the ED; he or she must maintain even in such a fast–paced environment empathy and focus in each interaction.

When I spoke with Jessica I inquired more about the training and certifications required to work as an ER nurse and foster such skills. She informed me of the necessity of having ACLS and BLS certification, as well as of the VA's specific trauma nurse courses. All members on the ED are also required to have a PMDB certification (Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior). She added that a majority of the nursing staff are certified as emergency nurses. I learned from Jessica and the other staff about their interpersonal techniques to manage the stress found in the ED. They each mentioned facilitating debriefing and chats with each other when especially chaotic or stressful occasions arise. I learned there are weekly meetings

My Reflection Of My Nursing Experience In The ED
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It can be frustrating for nursing students to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical settings without some proper guidance and support. The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect an incident which occurred in Week 3 of the N308 clinical placement in 2017. The paper will generate conclusions relating to personal learning outcomes by describing the observation of a senior nurse's approaches to ethical care. From a nursing perspective, this incident illustrates the importance of effective communication, prioritization, and health education because disorganized care would pose a threat to patient's safety and the fundamental principles listed in the CNA code of ethics (Canadian Nurses Association, 2017). The incident involves post–operative care for a post–op day 30 (total hip replacement surgery) patient who had comorbidities including COPD, depression, and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). The nurse noted that the patient asked for pain medications on an hourly basis, refused to exercise or reposition in bed, and insisted to have pillows under her knees all the time. However, the nurse used some communication skills to calm the patient, convince her to do exercises, and remove the pillow under her knees. Furthermore, the nurse advised nursing students to practice prioritization and management skills in order to improve work efficiency and reduce stress (Nurse, personal communication, 2017). In summary, this incident was demanding for the nurse because a

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Reflective Nursing

Reflection is a process of exploring and examining ourselves, our perspectives, attributes, experiences and actions / interactions. It helps us gain insight and see how to move forward (Nursing Times 2018). I believe reflection is particularly important when it comes to Nursing, as medicine is constantly changing/ improving and us ourselves medical professionals must adapt with the changes in medicine. I find that reflection is extremely useful in doing this as we can look over procedures or experiences that we have had, how that made us feel, whether we would change anything, then in the future we can see the changes that may have been made, whether this has changed our feelings and opinions on medical practice.

In this assignment I shall be exploring how laws and abiding by them can affect healthcare personnel and how this can improve my future practice as a registered nurse. I will be using the Bortons (1970) reflection model in which it follows the process of what, so what and now what (Reflective Practice 2018). I am using this model rather than others such as Gibbs (mindtools.com n.d.) because I believe with Law my personal emotions and feelings will have no effect on Laws, whereas with Bortons reflective model it feels less about emotions and more about what I will do in the future.

There are many laws that affect nursing practice from the routine tasks such as Manual Handling Regulations (1993) to potentially serious and life–threatening issues such as The Misuse of Drugs Regulations (1985 and 2001) (legislation.gov.uk 2018).

I have spent the past 5 years as a Combat Medical Technician in theBritish Army, my job roles included providing advanced trauma medical care to soldiers, running daily sick parades for those injured or ill in the previous 24 hours, shift work on the ward and control of documentation and administration. When I qualify as a registered nurse into the Queens Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps (British Army Website n.d.), I may be deployed to various countries around the world to provide medical care to military and civilian personnel, in this occurrence I would be again cordoned by both Military, UK laws, and the laws of that specific country in which I was deployed but also as a Get

Reflective Reflection In Nursing
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Compassion, commitment, courage; three words that I would associate with the role of being a nurse. By going into nursing I believe that I will be able to make a difference, even changing one life for the better is far more rewarding than anything I could ever imagine. I have always admired the role nurses play in the lives of so many, not only patients, but also the families of those in their care. I believe that it is essential for a nurse to be able to listen and communicate with not only their patients but also those around them.

Over the years I have been fortunate enough to have been able to work with both the elderly and young children through my work experiences. I got involved with Age Uk, Bousfield play centre and was invited to a nursing and midwifery taster week. Whilst working at Bousefield Play centre I was able to see that every child is different and has their own way of expressing themselves. This opened my eyes to the fact that within nursing every patient in your care is different and this requires nurses to be able to adapt to each unique individual. To add to this, I was invited to attend a nursing and midwifery taster week, from this I...show more content...

I dealt with this by approaching her in a friendly manner and reassured her that I was listening. I was also able to enunciate my words in order for her to lip read. With Age UK my abilities were tested and I faced many new challenges that I had not dealt with before such as being able to deal with emotionally challenged situations. From this I have discovered that you must use your initiative as you can never be fully prepared for the challenges that you will face especially in the field of nursing but I am confident that I will be able to meet future obstacles and face them to the best of my

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Reflective Account On Being A Nurse

Over the past three and a half years of undergraduate education, I have received a very comprehensive education that has prepared me to function as a professional nurse after graduation next week. I have appreciated and truly enjoyed taking courses both within and outside of the University of Southern Maine nursing curriculum, and don't believe I am able to count the ways in which this education has challenged me to become an enhanced learner and well–rounded person. I have identified three courses that have brought me to the role I will now assume as a professional baccalaureate–prepared nurse: one of which is a core course; another, a non–nursing course; the last, a non–clinical nursing course, The first course that significantly caused me to grow as a person and professional was Introduction to Sociology, which I took at Colby College prior to transferring to the University of Southern Maine. Through this course, we discussed topics such as race, gender, and personal biases. I believed this course strengthened my critical thinking skills, challenged my underlying assumptions and beliefs, and instructed me to be able to identify injustices. These are all skills very important to have as a nurse, which is interesting, as I did not know that this...show more content... The quantitative data I used in this research study had sufficient evidence to identify a trend in educational systems: a trend where those of higher social class receive a higher quality education; a trend that, I concluded, needs to be resolved in order to eradicate inequality due to social class. Being able to identify these injustices, and having the educational background to use as a tool when looking at societal issues, should prove to be extremely invaluable when working as a

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Nursing Reflective Essay

Throughout my years as a Gambian native from West Africa, I witness the lack of health services across the country as an adolescent. From there on, I decided to pursue a profession in the medical field. In 2014, I made the choice to apply to the nursing program at Towson University. I vividly remember rushing to the mailbox to open the letter, that would have read "congratulations, you have been accepted", but for me, it was the opposite of what I had anticipated. A friend of mine informed me that the size of the letter indicated if I was accepted or not. Reading I was denied broke me into piece lead me to pursue another degree. Constantly, I thought to myself, what I would do with my future and how my parents will feel. It was already difficult to pay out–of–pocket every semester and work part–time while being a full–time student. Nursing is my gateway to accomplish other endeavors that would guide me to becoming a leader. My plan in life is to earn my Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and also serve as a leader within the health community. After a few months, I assure myself that everything happens for a reason. For that matter, I changed my...show more content...

I plan to work with my nursing degree here in the United States, but also implement a program back in Gambia to raise awareness on mental health and improve health and community–based services for women. My Psych clinical experience this semester at Brook Lane have influenced me to educate others about destigmatizing those with mental illness; whereas my internship at St. Agnes Breast Link Program, thought me how to plan a program in order to meet the needs of the community. Although, those two are reflective of my health science degree, I joined the Towson University Student Nursing Association at Hagerstown to volunteer at community events such as soup kitchens, Goodwill, March of Dimes and much more. After all, I am able to kill two birds with one

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Reflective Essay For Nursing School

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