NURSING

Nursing



Nursing

The experience of reflection as an implement for understanding in workplace education, can allow the student to problem solve in practice. By exploring the persons own unique circumstances and past experience they can, in order to learn, bear in mind past beliefs and recollections as a basis to accomplish a desired learning result (Rolfe, 1998). Taylor (2000) suggests that, to reflect on action from an event, we must recollect our thoughts and memories. That is when we must use the faculty of contemplation, meditation and consideration, which permits us to realise the insight of our past experiences and thoughts, in order to adapt our behaviour, should we encounter similar related incidents in the future.

This reflective case study has been written using the Gibbs (1998) model of reflective writing. Confidentiality has been preserved throughout in accordance with the Health Professions Council (HPC) Code of Professional Conduct (HPC, 2002) and I have chosen the pseudonym of Joyce Charles for my patient.

Although this was the first week of my second placement in general practice this was the first time that we had met, therefore, I introduced myself and made clear at the practice and explaining that I was a Paramedic undergoing further training to become an Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) (as described by Silverman et al 1999). Joyce gave me verbal consent (Department of Health 2001) to take part in her consultation and treatment.

The rationale for reflection in relation in to this topic is to understand the difference in today's standards and how important the Health Care Professionals role will impact in providing care for patients suffering chronic disease.

Joyce had returned to the surgery following a glucose tolerance test, for diabetes, she was a 43 year old clinically obese female. The previous week she was seen by the Doctor as she had some sores that were not healing properly. Joyce was asked to return to see the diabetic nurse at the surgery clinic to obtain her results and ask any questions that arose. I was invited to work along side Faith, who was one of the nurse practitioners assigned to the Surgery and she would take the main lead in the consultation. Although part-time, one of her many roles, was to facilitate the diabetic clinic, with lots of experience, she was willing to share a considerable amount of her medical wisdom. Kadushin (1992) suggests that primary components of clinical supervision should be about education, support and management. Being a practice nurse in the surgery she had implemented many of the National Service Frameworks (NSF's) and Integrated Care Pathways (ICP's) enabling the practice to initiate Government targets in promoting healthcare to the community. My role in this consultation was to obtain a full history (Hatton and Blackwood) and to lead the health promotion conversation and to give general health information and diet and lifestyle.

Joyce was going to be given the news that she had Type 2 diabetes and after a few minutes she asked a number of questions and as she did so, her ...