Reflection On Head To Toe Assessment

Hi Terry. Nice initial post and I enjoyed reading it. I learned to gather my data accurately and perform the head-to-toe assessment thoroughly. The data that we gather during assessment should be factual and complete to provide diagnostic reasoning, decisions, and proper treatments for patients (Jarvis, 2012). I definitely agree with you, the Shadow Health Assessment with Ms. Tina Jones was also my biggest moment from this course. She was surely challenging, but I would say it was worth it. The comprehensive assessment was difficult and I spent hours in order for me to complete the assignment. I enjoyed doing the assessments of each system. I learned the importance of documenting accurately, clearly, and concisely. In addition to that, the

Even when last Friday week three was, it was the second time that I have a patient assigned to my care and as expected I was still feeling nervous due to the age of my patient. However, at the same time I was looking forward to experiencing taking care for a little one and be able to applied new nursing skills due to mu first interaction with a patients his age. The experience was very gratify and enjoyable to be able to help a little one to feel more comfortable while performing nursing skills. The fact that the instructor was with me during the assessment help me to feel more confident as well as be able to ask questions and concerts that developed during the assessment. My assigned patient has a twin who was also staying at the same unit but on a different room so it was very interesting to be able to interact with both twins and observed the development differences even when they are identical twins. The nurse assigned to care for the patient was very helpful and approachable as well which make things a lot easier going in reference to taking care for a little one for the first time besides OB rotation which was more observable and not so much hands on. So far, I am looking forward to next week rotation and excited about learning new

The last week of classes for NURS1005 were a series of clinical skills activities. These activities refreshed the student’s minds on what they will be doing on placement and how to do it. We got assessed on three clinical skills; taking and recording vital signs, blood glucose levels and doing a urine analysis. I’ve chosen to reflect on taking vital signs and how I performed them. Reflection is a very important part of learning from experiences which is essential in nursing. Nursing practises continue to change and it is easier to go with and to add to that change if you are reflecting on your practise. This essentially makes nursing practises better for the patients. I have reflected on the process of how I took the vital signs during my clinical skills activities. I was very nervous but believe I performed them well due to how I was taught, what I have read and seen and the vital signs signified how my peer was acting which was healthy and within a normal range. Even though I felt I did them well, there were improvements that could and have happened since. Most of the improvements are minor in comparison to the strengths I have but it is important to recognise improvements when needed so you are giving the best and accurate care. I was aware of these improvements needed and tried to strengthen them during my clinical placement which helped me learn different ways of doing processes and also the rationale behind the processes.

The not so good thing would be that I have gained confidence in talking to my patients but not the staff or the people I was working with. I was still very shy in communicating with them.

My practice in nursing has been influenced by various elements within my career. I have come to embrace that nursing is a learning process and one should expect constructive criticism. When I began as a “novice,” I found myself nervous in some clinical situations but I managed to remain focused on

My perceptions have changed dramatically since the Clinical 1 rotation. I have noticed that the minute I walk into my patient’s room, I start to collect data. I notice if they are breathing normal, what their skin looks like, what their cognition level is, and what equipment they have in their room. I have started to connect the “puzzle pieces” of the patient’s health, rather than just feeling like I have a bunch of random information. My perception of people has continued to stay the same from Clinical 1. I continue to have an interest in learning about patients and believe that they also have something to teach us. I have learned so much from the patients and it is fun for me to get to know different

4.1 By attending courses they might help you to understand the problems my patients have and have more empathy in their regards. It would also drive you closer and develop a better relationship.

The reason that I chose this topic is because I have seen the impact confidence, or lack of, has made on my practice. Confidence is an important aspect of care; not only because of what it symbolizes, but the direct effect it has on the patients and a nurse’s mindset.

Confidence is important in advanced practice nursing because it guides our actions and treatments; however, it is equally important to understand that no person can always be right or make the right diagnosis. In addition to providers being aware of their faults, it is also equally important for providers to learn from their mistakes and review where the mistakes were being made so that improvements can be made in the future. As an advanced practice nurse I must make certain I am continuously placing the patient first in their care; my objective as a practitioner should be to ensure the patient receives tremendous care that results in improvements in quality of life and in disease processes. In order to ensure quality care, I must realize my mistakes and understand that there are multiple ways to care for a person and that my way may not be the best for the patient as an individual. Ego should never impede proper treatment of

She has been diagnosed with intellectual disability and a drug addiction along with hypochondriasis. On average, she is in the hospital once or twice a week, frequently changing her doctor or even hospital. This woman knows of her disorder, but has actually claimed to be cured and told her family that they no longer need to worry about her with this disorder. After her family came back the Caribbean, she claimed to either have yellow fever or malaria, depending on who she was talking to. When asked about her illness on December 13th, 2014, she again refused to admit that she had the disorder, that she had been cured of it. In an ironic twist, she had to hang up to go to the doctor for a test due to a mini stroke she had a few weeks prior. When she was in the hospital for this, she had to get a nurse to give family members a diagnosis due to the lack of belief they held for her medical

Patient is a 75 year old female who presented to the ED with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Patient reports for the past 3 months she has been treating a UTI. She expressed that she has been complaint with medications, however has been to the hospital 4 to 5 times within the last 2 months for the same. Patient reports since been diagnosed with the shingles last year everything has been going downhill. The patient has been treated for the shingles since. The patient reports multiple stressor including: medical conditions, inability to care for herself, financial concerns, and poor familial support.

As nurses, we are the frontline advocates for our elderly patient, because the patient might be reluctant to share information about the abuse they are experiencing. When doing head to toe assessments nurses are in a position to see signs of abuse of medication, physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. These type pf abuse can be seen through skin assessment; finding of bedsores (pressure sore, decubitus ulcers), bruises, broken bone, poor hygiene, dehydration over or under medication, and an overgrown nail are really good indicator of abuse. There is also mental cues for abuse such as, depression, sudden change of behavior, fearfulness, anxiety, and confusion. Most of these findings are objective, but it can be hard to obtain subjective

L.V. is a 51-year-old Hispanic female. She is 5’4 height and 150 lbs. Patient denies pain, discomfort, or chest pain during physical assessment. Patient is allergic to Aspirin she states that she gets rashes when she takes it. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer 5 years ago and got her thyroid glands surgically removed. Patient denies the use of tobacco and drinks 2-3 beers on special occasions. Patient works for an American Restaurant as a server, she’s been serving for over ten years. Patient states that she’ll be getting her first colonoscopy next month and she just recently got her yearly mammogram done and results were normal. Immunizations are up to date and she gets the flu shot every year. Patient has four daughters and has been happily married for 20 years. Patient denies using glasses or contacts she visits her optometrist every year and has never had a problem with her vision.

It is obvious that all of our instructors have a common goal, which is for all of us to learn as much as we possibly can. I honestly think that by allowing as many opportunities as possible to see and experience as much as possible will help us all learn from our clinical experiences.

Looking back to the first day of clinical to the last day I have changed a lot during this time. During the whole clinical experience I had to use a lot of the growth mindset in-order to get fully through the whole process. My clinical teacher and I didn’t quite have the same opinion on certain things. While we did struggle through are different mindsets, it was a great learning experience. I will have people I work with that I don’t always agree with and I will have to find a way to compromise with them. This was something we talked about with each other and worked through. So, Im grateful in that aspect in learning how to deal with those situations. I also changed in that I’m more confident in giving my lessons to my students, along with I tried to not be as scared in-front of them.