Solution
Personal effectiveness for professional practice
This study is a reflection of my experiences working as a student nurse at a medium-sized hospital in my first year of placement. I was assigned to work in the emergency room department. This study does not provide the personal names of the parties involved as it follows the guidelines concerning confidentiality. The model that will be employed is the Gibbs Reflective cycle (1888) which breaks down an experience and allows an individual to reflect upon their experiences as they occur. It is a crucial strategy for professionals who provide high-quality lifelong learning opportunities (Adeani et al., 2020, p.141). Reflective practice is defined as the process of learning something about oneself or one’s practice by observing or participating in an event or action (Adeani et al., 2020, p.139). The article also includes the NMC’s guidelines that will help improve my expertise and skills in nursing practice. Thus, this paper consists of a reflection on an incident I observed my reaction and how I will apply learned skills and experiences in the future.
Description
I was helping out in the waiting area of the emergency department following an accident emergency that had occurred in the middle of the day. The nurses and medical staff were held up, attending to the hurt patients requiring immediate medical attention. The triage in the emergency department requires attending to patients in order of urgency and severity of a patient’s condition (Toloo et al., 2016, p.3). This helps optimize service delivery and ensure quality care and safety for patients in critical conditions (Toloo et al., 2016, p.3). While attending to emergencies, a middle-aged patient came in complaining about an ear infection and a slight headache. The patient grabbed my attention as he was so adamant about receiving immediate care. He was, however, instructed by receptionists to wait for his turn as his complaint was not a priority one emergency. He adamantly went and sat down. After around twenty minutes of waiting, the patient stood up and complained of feeling dizzy, and was instructed to wait a little longer.
The hospital was understaffed, and the ongoing emergency attendance made it worse for patients as they had to wait longer to be attended to by providers. While the patient was going back to his seat, I heard a huge thud and turned around only to realize the patient had collapsed. I immediately ran to his aid. At this point, thoughts and anxiety ran through my mind as I had no idea if the patient required CPR or just a proper positioning while waiting for him to wake up.
When I reached the patient, I monitored if he was breathing, which he was, and started positioning him on his back while observing for any visible injuries. The other nurses came to help take him to the emergency room at this point, and he woke up after 30 minutes. My presence and swift action helped reduce the chances of the patient requiring CPR and getting more harm from undetected sustained injuries when he collapsed (Hidayat et al., 2020, p.201). The patient was later observed, and I helped in explaining the situation to the patient. The patient’s condition was reported to the physician, and his records and report were charted. After the incident, I felt anxious and scared about my ability to help patients if such scenarios recur.
Feelings
This incident left me confused about my feelings. On one end, I was happy I helped the patient promptly and reduced further harm to him, and on the other end, I was anxious, and my confidence was significantly reduced. The anxiety I had when the incident occurred made my intervention process more difficult. Moreover, I was overwhelmed with guilt because if the patient had been attended to earlier when he insisted, the fall could have been avoided, and the outcomes could have been different. This incident made me realize the need for adequate staffing in the hospital to reduce waiting time in the emergency department (Sun et al., 2017).
Evaluation
In the patient’s case in this incident, I heard a thud on the floor and quickly rushed to help the patient regain consciousness and check for any injuries. My prompt actions and first-aid services before the nurses arrived to take him to the emergency room helped reduce the severity of the issue (Emergency Nurses Association, 2019). First aid helps preserve life and bring relief from severe pain (Kano et al., 2005, p.61). It also prevents the medical condition from deteriorating until the patient is attended to by a physician. Life-threatening hazards occur anywhere. Thus, it is crucial for nurses, receptionists, and other healthcare support staff to receive first aid training, which will help in identifying a
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