Clinical Reflection

Many authors including, Pawlas and Oliva (2008) and Bennis and Nanus (1985) discuss the importance for the supervisors to spend much of their time listening to the views of others incising their students and incorporating these ideas into their thinking as a powerful tool for personal development. Moreover, on the job training, mentorship or continual education, are not always easy to access for the educator, my first-hand experience has been that this has been a valuable learning tool which has made me explore how I do what I do when supporting students in their clinical education. Given that my role is a long-term relationship, and that adults learners develop incrementally over time, a supervisor can assist in that change by working with students to establish meaningful long-term goals, working patiently on the

Skin integrity is an important concept that’s nurses assess on their patients. A key skill in nursing practice is to frequently assess the skin for possible breakdown or decreased skin integrity. Skin assessments should be conducted thoroughly once a shift and frequently reassessed for any signs of change. Skin discrepancies may be the first sign of an underlying issue. Early detection of any breakdown can help to implement interventions sooner. Unfortunately, unless there is a major skin discrepancy, skin issues can easily get overlooked, specifically in documentation and report. The focus of this paper is to research new skin integrity assessments to improve documentation effect and accuracy, resulting in decreased prevalence of skin breakdown in hospitalized patients. Topics discussed include reviewing current practices and new skin assessment techniques that decrease the prevalence of skin breakdown and pressure ulcers.

This last week at clinical was my favorite week of the entire semester. I could have spent all day in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). I am very thankful for the opportunity I was given at Cardons. I started in the unit where the babies were not critically ill, but still needed some developmental assistance before they could be discharged home. I cared for a set of twins who were on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), were fed breastmilk through their nasogastric tube (NG), and were not on any medications. Their mom is very active in their care and seemed thankful of the nursing staff for taking such good care of her babies. She comes to visit them every day. Her husband drops her off before he goes into work and picks her up on his way

The system was confusing at first, but once I started clicking around and exploring, it became easier to understand and locate the information I needed. I was able to find information like why the patient was there, vital signs, labs, allergies, past medical history, and medication schedule. After doing assessments I was able to document those findings and observations made during the assessments. For this task, I could improve by taking my time to chart and not chart findings vaguley. For my next clinical day, my goals for this task include taking my time while documenting, and to remember not to leave my patients information up on the screen if I walk

You will have to record the patient's medical history and examine them to help you identify their past illnesses. You will need to make sure you guide your patients and tell them the information they need to

-Interview patients for medical histories and chief complaints, measure vital signs, and review medication lists

S: How was your clinical experience this week? This week was an okay week. I spent most of my time trying to get back into the swing of things. I was a little rusty at the beginning of the week but it got better as the week went on.

I arrived at clinical 0630 and picked up patient information the morning of. I reviewed all assigned diagnoses, medications, labs, and orders with my assigned students, and we discussed our plan for the day. We both took report from the patient's nurse and then Elizabeth presented at preconference. Kala shadowed the Nurse Lead and I helped Elizabeth with brief changes, pericare, and vital signs. I continued to check on both Elizabeth and Kala throughout the day. Last, lunch and then post-conferance.

My time in the medical assisting program has been some of the best and some of the worst times of my life, but one thing is for sure, I wouldn't take it back for anything. I have made some of the best friends and colleagues from the beginning of this program. I have learned what the definition of preservence and hard work meant from this program.

These past couple of practice days I have come to understand some of the challenges that are getting in the way of good quality document that is done in a timely manner. On my second day of practice, I felt my practice some together in a more fluid manger. I arrived on the unit, we to report, set my priorities for the mooring: looked at my clients MAR for med to be administrated for the day, did my safety checks and priority assessment including vitals (standard for the morning and relevant for my client because his has HTN and takes and ACE inhibitor: Ramipril to decrease his BP and atenolol to decreased BP and HR). After meds were done and confirmation from my client that he had no concerns I completed my head to toe. I was able to complete my head to toe assessment in less time, but still not as quickly as I have planned. My client was very chatty and it was challenging to complete my assessments quickly. I am aware that I can get caught up chatting, so I was conscious throughout my assessment that I did not

My experience in mental health clinical was very different from any other clinical I had before. In a mental health clinical setting, I am not only treating client’s mental illnesses, I am also treating their medical problems such as COPD, diabetes, chronic renal failure, etc. Therefore, it is important to prepare for the unexpected events. In this mental health clinical, I learned that the importance of checking on my clients and making sure that they are doing fine by performing a quick head-to toes assessment at the beginning of my shift. I had also learned that client’s mental health illness had a huge impact on their current medical illness.

Reflecting upon my performance during the CAPSTONE simulation, I feel I did really well. After reading about the history of the patient, recent procedures, complaints, and lab work I quickly determined he most likely had suffered a perforated bowel. However, I did not limit my thinking to that specific ailment. Maintaining an open mind as a nurse is the only way you can prevent overlooking something because you are not open to considering it.

As a first year student I was assigned to take a patients vital sighs while my peer videoed it. Throughout the video blood pressure, pulse, respirations, and temperature was recorded to check if everything was in normal range, while ensuring a comfortable environment, and communicating with the patient to build trust and confidence in my ability to make an accurate assessment and judgement

The aim of this assignment is to reflect on the management of a patient with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Reflective practice is associated with learning from experience, (Johns & Freshwater 1998) and viewed as an important strategy for health professionals who embrace life long learning (Department of Health 2000). Engaging in reflective practice is associated with the improvement of the quality of care, stimulating personal and professional growth and closing the gap between theory and practice (Benner 1984; Johns & Freshwater 1998).

My clinical day began earlier than before. I began by checking my patient’s current chart, I was introduced to my nurse, and then I headed off to my patient’s room to perform my vital signs.