Practicum Reflection

Some of the highlights concern the level of patient care, education, and responsibility. I have noted that nursing homes make the delivery of personalized care very practical. My instructor guided me in understanding every patient and paid close attention to my application of nursing theories according to a patient’s individual situation. Health education is very crucial since the treatment plan involves the patient and family members more than in the ward (Bergh et al., 2015). Both patient care and education necessitates all practitioners to take great care and a sense of responsibility. Lastly, I have learned the value of interprofessional collaboration (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Patient care can seldom succeed without a robust, well organized interprofessional collaboration.

I faced challenges such as stresses and job burnout since there is fairly more work when the level of personalized care is escalated. Also, there was role ambiguity, where I often found myself handling issues outside of my nursing roles. Mostly this happened due to a few human resources in the home. Another challenge entailed communication. As explained by Norouzinia et al. (2015), I noticed a critical communication barrier, which was brought about by both ages, cultural, and educational differences. Also, professional challenges became apparent during this program. For instance, some family members showed mistrust once they learned I was in my practicum program. Although these cases were minimal, they did make me feel challenged.

In my last week of the practicum, I did an assessment on the skin and the abdomen. The test was crucial since it helped retain comprehension, to apply the knowledge and skills in the fieldwork. For instance, I did skin assessment and skincare throughout the period, which is critical, especially for older adults who are susceptible to infections (Linos et al., 2018). I was also able to inspect first, then auscultate, percuss, and palpate during the abdominal assessment. Like skin assessment, the abdominal assessment was done regularly, and it helped maintain a fairly healthy GI. For instance, we could notice problems with the patient’s GI and take necessary treatment procedures to prevent further complications. Since some patients cannot explain how they feel, regular abdominal assessment turns out to be very crucial (Rabinowitz, 2017). This also allowed me to have hands-on experience with various patent positions through my instructor’s guidance.

In addition, I had an ideal time applying what I have learned in my courses. One that excited me is cultural competence. I understood that cultural competence is understanding and effective communication and interpersonal interaction with people from other cultures. It helped understand the values and beliefs of patients and other allied staff from other cultures, thus enabling peaceful coexistence and patient care (Murphy, 2011).

However, I missed the opportunity to attend to a patient with psychological or psychotic issues. I believe nurses have a critical role in managing psychotic disorders both in the community and at the hospital set up. Nevertheless, proficient and timely in performing the specific exam. My comprehension and skills have improved since the last exam, and I anticipate better performance. Thus far, there is nothing outside the course outline that I can cite from the practicum environment.

References

Bergh, A., Friberg, F., Persson, E., & Dahlborg-Lyckhage, E. (2015). Registered Nurses’ Patient Education in Everyday Primary Care Practice. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2, 233339361559916. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333393615599168

Linos, E., Chren, M., & Covinsky, K. (2018). Geriatric Dermatology—A Framework for Caring for Older Patients With Skin Disease. JAMA Dermatology, 154(7), 757. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.0286

Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in Health Care. Journal Of Medical Imaging And Radiation Sciences, 48(2), 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2017.02.071

Murphy, K. (2011). The importance of cultural competence. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 9(2), 5. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.nme.0000394039.35217.12

Norouzinia, R., Aghabarari, M., Shiri, M., Karimi, M., & Samami, E. (2015). Communication Barriers Perceived by Nurses and Patients. Global Journal Of Health Science, 8(6), 65. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p65

Rabinowitz, S. (2017). Abdominal Examination: Overview, Preparation, Technique. Emedicine.medscape.com. Retrieved 15 October 2020, from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1909183-overview.