Refelctive Essay
Reflective essay 0407203
In this essay the writer will describe an incident they witnessed whilst on Placement 1A; and in so doing, they will reflect on that incident and link it to an aspect of professional pratice in nursing. The writer will use Gibbs’ reflective cycle (1988). Arguing on the basis of Gibbs’ theory, Somerville and Keeling (2004:1) propose that Gibbs’ framework is merited for ‘examining personal thoughts and actions’ in a clinical setting. Various research studies also make a reference to Gibbs’ framework and it is widely suggested that reflection plays an important role in professinal practice.
My first placement took place at a nursing home that specialises in end of life care for patients who have severe neurological illinesses. In order to maintain the patient’s confidentiality as per NMC Code Standard 5 (2008), one of the patients at this home will be discussed in this essay and that patient will be referred to as David {pseudonym}. That being the case, this essay starts by quickly discussing the key word, “reflection”.
In the context of this essay ‘reflection’ can be better understood as the ‘examination of personal thoughts and actions’ (Gibbs, 1988; Nursing Times, 2004; Somerville and Keeling, 2004). In nursing this can involve paying a particular and keen interest in the way colleagues interact with one another or with service users during the process of rendering a service in a hospital or home. It can also involve paying a particular interest to the intermediate environment whilst at work. Research studies suggest that nurses who reflect on these encounters put themselves in a better position to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses and then work hard to improve and take appropriate action in the future.
In this essay the writer reflects on a situation that involved working with David, a service user, who is 70 years old and has drug and alcohol induced
In this essay the writer will describe an incident they witnessed whilst on Placement 1A; and in so doing, they will reflect on that incident and link it to an aspect of professional pratice in nursing. The writer will use Gibbs’ reflective cycle (1988). Arguing on the basis of Gibbs’ theory, Somerville and Keeling (2004:1) propose that Gibbs’ framework is merited for ‘examining personal thoughts and actions’ in a clinical setting. Various research studies also make a reference to Gibbs’ framework and it is widely suggested that reflection plays an important role in professinal practice.
My first placement took place at a nursing home that specialises in end of life care for patients who have severe neurological illinesses. In order to maintain the patient’s confidentiality as per NMC Code Standard 5 (2008), one of the patients at this home will be discussed in this essay and that patient will be referred to as David {pseudonym}. That being the case, this essay starts by quickly discussing the key word, “reflection”.
In the context of this essay ‘reflection’ can be better understood as the ‘examination of personal thoughts and actions’ (Gibbs, 1988; Nursing Times, 2004; Somerville and Keeling, 2004). In nursing this can involve paying a particular and keen interest in the way colleagues interact with one another or with service users during the process of rendering a service in a hospital or home. It can also involve paying a particular interest to the intermediate environment whilst at work. Research studies suggest that nurses who reflect on these encounters put themselves in a better position to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses and then work hard to improve and take appropriate action in the future.
In this essay the writer reflects on a situation that involved working with David, a service user, who is 70 years old and has drug and alcohol induced
References: BBC News (2008) Nurses raise dignity concerns. [online] Available at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7363525.stm (Accessed (05/07/2012) GIBBS, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford Further Education Unit. Oxford. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) The NMC code for professional conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics. Nursing and Midwifery Council: London. Somerville, D. and Keeling, J (2004) A practical approach to promote reflective practice within nursing. Nursing Times, 100, 12.pp42-45.