Debriefing Simulation As A Reflective Tool

The aim of this essay is to reflect and discuss my knowledge acquired in a simulated learning skill experience which forms part of my training as a student nurse in accordance with the Nurses and Midwifery Council (NMC 2010).

Burns, S. Bulman, C. Palmer, A. (1997) Reflective Practice in Nursing - The growth of the professional practitioner. London: Blackwell Science.

There are various models of reflective practice. The first model of reflection is demonstrated by Gibbs (1988) whose model focuses purely on the reflection after a specific experience the individual goes through. Gibbs reflective model consists of six stages.

The intent of clinical simulations is to provide a safe environment for students to practice and implement skills. This is a way in which to help prepare the student for the hospital setting. Enhanced confidence, clinical judgment, knowledge, and competence are factors that come from these situations. I gained further knowledge, but I did not experience the other skills during simulation. During the postpartum-hemorrhage and birthing simulation, I purposefully picked the scenarios that I felt most comfortable with. That entailed being the spouse of the woman in labor, the nursing assistant, and the patient’s family member. When embodying those roles, I felt at ease, because I was not the fixation; I was not the one in charge of the situation. During the preeclampsia simulation, I was “dubbed” the staff nurse. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I was in the second group, and this allowed me to observe the first group. I learned and made alterations from the first group’s performance. Observing the first group helped, but my performance was poor. I made several mistakes and was embarrassed by the end result. I did not do well with the assessments, answering the patient’s questions appropriately, and when calling the doctor, I was not fully prepared. Despite all the mistakes and feelings of embarrassment, I learned. I am very thankful for the awareness of what things went wrong. With further practice and

Reflective practice in nursing is the process where we examine our nursing ability’s and practice in order to critically think and analyze the way we work and think about the views of others in our practice, what we could have done and we could have achieved a greater result by doing this also allows us as nurses to include best practice and use our own judgment in patient care to show the factors that either aid and hinder nurse to patient relationship. (Lowenstein, Bradshaw and Fuszard, 2001) described reflecting in nursing practice “the nurse must first come to understand what he or she defines as ideal practice”.

My chosen practicum will be teaching in the skills/simulation lab at NCMC. This paper will outline how the experience will enhance my knowledge and develop skills necessary to fulfill the role of nurse educator. The goals, objectives, and timeline will be discussed in this paper. The project that will be developed during the practicum experience will be a debriefing philosophy and evaluation tool to assess student learning with emphasis on critical thinking skills.

Effective reflection helps the practitioner to see the situation from an outsider's perspective, so that they can develop a better way to respond to a similar scenario in the future. Reflection is meant to achieve a change in practice, rather than simply repeating the same mistakes (Schon, 1983). Many different models exist for structuring the reflective process. Regardless of the framework used, the reflection models are meant to accomplish three things. They are supposed to promote reflecting on events, self-evaluation and analysis, and a plan to change actions in the future. This Reflective essay will utilize Driscoll's 'The What?' model as its structure (Driscoll, 1994). This model has three components"

Gustaffson and Fagerberg point out that reflective practice has relevance for clinical practice as by understanding the contents of nurses’ reflections, it is also possible to understand the advantages of reflective practice and how and when such measures should be used by the nurses for further professional development.

What is a clinical exemplar? It is a story based on a real patient’s situation and a RN’s practice in clinical setting. Having a clinical experience it is an opportunity for any student nurse not only practicing skills and using theoretical knowledge, but also learning by doing and reflecting on experiences during the placement (Jones, 2013). This experience comes through exploring, developing, questioning, learning and reflecting at the early stage of personal and professional development. Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle is one of the models of reflective writing that will be used in this clinical exemplar.

My answers were not decisive which reflect my weak critical thinking skill. For example, when it comes to medication administration, in instances where things are not clear, it should always be referred to the doctor which in this case I belatedly remembered. Nurses should also make sure that they knew how to use all the equipment that is used in the nursing care. In a medical emergency situation, every second counts. In the simulation, epinephrine administration was delayed since the nurse did not know how to use the automatic injection. Over-all the simulation had a significant impact to my learning process.

Reflection should initially develop in below. safe environments where mistakes are tolerated. He/she can then reflect and discuss the decisions that were made Kolb’s Learning Cycle during their supervision sessions with their practice educator.

It is suggested that reflection can be used as a tool to facilitate learning through practice, this involves not only taking action in practice but also learning from practice through reflection (Palmer, Burns and Bulman, 1994). I felt that I was not taking action because I did not pass the information through to the nurse in charge.

Reflective practice in nursing is considered an important aspect to nursing. Durgahee ( 1997) defines reflective practice as a process of learning and teaching professional maturity through the critical analysis of experience, whilst John ( 2009) up to date explanation of reflection is learning through our everyday experience towards realising one vision of desirable practice as a lived reality.

In recent years, reflection and reflective practice have become well-known term with in the health care arena. They are words that have been debated and discussed with in the health care setting (Tony and Sue 2006). Reflective practice is essential for nurses, as nurses are responsible for providing care to the best of their ability to patients and their families (NMC, 2008). Reid (1993) states reflection is a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice. Johns (1995) notes that reflection enables practitioners to assess, understand and learn through their experience. Reflective practice, therefore, offers nurses an opportunity to review their decisions and

Personal reflection in nursing is essential and critical as it allows for continuous development and re-assessment of skills whilst working within a health care setting (Reflective practice: a tool to enhance professional practice 2011, pp.1-3). Personal reflection is important as reflective practice allows for the ability for one to reflect and examine their actions and experiences which overall will increase and enhance their clinical knowledge, as well as developing and improving their practice (Reflective practice: a tool to