Reflection Artifact- Nursing

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Reflection Artifact-Nursing

Nursing is a field that requires dedication, knowledge, skills and the right attitudes. This in general should be an aim of any nursing course. Sometimes, these issues are easy to learn when learning any theoretical framework of nursing. However, many require hands on experience and applications. During this course, I have learnt a lot about nursing theory and application. I believe all these have made it possible for me to be in a position to have a bachelor’s degree. This reflection artifact will explain the points that have made the whole course worthy and therefore prepared me for the real workforce.

One of the thing that was emphasized is a comparison between person, health, environment and the definitions of these from different theoretical perspectives. In the course of learning, a strong emphasis was made on the consent of the patient in each healthcare scenario. This is part of recognizing the personhood of any patient (Mahmood, 2016). At the same time, nurses should always make sure that the choices that the patients are making are informed. This involves equipping them with the necessary information to make these choices. Learning the proper means of informing patients is a part of the learning process, and would be useful when dealing with them in a real life scenario. 

The foundations of nursing practice which include patient safety, infection prevention, health assessment and physical examinations, medication administrations and complimentary therapy. Understanding all of these is integral to being a good nurse and to being a good care taker for the patients. These were emphasized during the course of learning and mentioned in many instances (Potter, Perry, Stockhert & Hall, 2016). The proper and ethical way to do each of the above activities as a nurse was also emphasized. These help the nursing students and future nurses to be prepared for the real medical world.

The environment was also discussed amply. For one, it is true that in general, nurses may have to work at the community level. At this level, they may interact with the patients’ personal beliefs. Addressing the various ways in which these beliefs may affect healthcare is part of dealing with the culture. In general, a nurse or a nursing practitioner should know how to address the various issues that come up at the community level while maintaining professionalism (Strasser, Worley, Cristobal, Marsh, Berry, Strasser & Ellaway, 2015). Professionalism is often meaningful in terms of a code of ethics for the nurses. Professionalism also includes communication. Nursing practitioners may have to use both formal and informal communication. It is however, important to note that despite this, patient confidentiality should always be maintained. Sharing the details of the patients with other people who are not involved with the patient should be avoided. In addition, the nurses often have to deal with, and communicate with people in the healthcare department other than other nurses (Potter, Perry, Stockhert & Hall, 2016). These people may be higher or lower in rank compared to the nurses depending on the situation. The learning experience has raised awareness on this kind of communication.

One of the issues that was specifically addressed was the experience of death and grief. It is important for a nurse to understand that they may have to face such a scenario from time to time (Potter, Perry, Stockhert & Hall, 2016). Having the right means to deal with the situation for the nurse, family, and the friends of those involved is an important part of the nursing experience.

An important part of the nursing literature was the emphasis on critical thinking. Any career that deals with many different people from different backgrounds needs a good critical thinking ability. Nursing especially needs this skill as a large number of the nurses will be dealing with healthcare at the community level. This skill helps them to critically asses various situations critically and determines the best course of action (Strasser, Worley, Cristobal, Marsh, Berry, Strasser & Ellaway, 2015). The nursing theories emphasized that the best actions are those that give the most benefit while leading to the least harm.

Another important point that was addressed is the impact of the various nursing theories in current healthcare. One of the theories that was discussed is Neumann’s theory. According to this theory, the patient’s welfare is most important to the nurse. Dealing with any patient should be based on this. It was emphasized in various contexts that the patients would always be different, and recognizing this is important. Currently, this affects modern day nursing practice both at the community and at the individual level. Individual patients who come to the hospital may reflect a wide variety of beliefs. Nurses have to respect these beliefs and provide care that is within the framework of these beliefs (Strasser, Worley, Cristobal, Marsh, Berry, Strasser & Ellaway, 2015). Nursing theories also impact on research. The ones listed in this course emphasized on the need for further reading and education. This forms the basis for research in many areas. 

Finally, the course helped in the development and appreciation of different kinds of reasoning. All the concepts that were covered were different in nature. The theories were also different in terms of the basic issue they sought to address. However, the overall aim and goal of a nurse was maintained. This aim was to promote healthcare either at individual or at community level. The means was different but emphasized on respect, consent and professionalism. Seeing how different view-points often end up serving the same interest improved not only my critical thinking skills but also my appreciation for the various ways of reasoning.

In conclusion, the necessity of the various nursing theories and concepts to an undergraduate nursing student has been discussed. From the above, critical thinking and reasoning have been seen to be important to people practicing in the nursing field. These various people should be recognized and celebrated. The importance of patients’ consent and the respect for the autonomy of the patient is also important. This should always go hand in hand with education so as to make sure that the patients get the best. Generally, nursing care should be improved with research; the various theories show how this should work. This makes it completely alright to be an undergraduate in any nursing field after learning these theories.

References

Mahmood, K. (2016) Informed consent and medical ethics. Annals of king Edwardsmedical university, 11(3)

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockhert, P., & Hall, A. (2016) Fundamentals of Nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences

Strasser, R, Worley, P., Cristobal, F. Marsh D. C., Berry, S., Strasser, S & Ellaway, R. (2015) Putting communities in the driver’s seat. The realities of community engaged medical education. Academic medicine 90 (11), 1446-1470