Reflection Paper

Introduction

            The experience that one gains in nursing exposes you to different experiences that only end up making you appreciate the profession even more. The first years are full of excitement and anticipation as one tries to imagine all the possibilities that lay ahead in the hope of building what ends up becoming a promising career. Some days are however full of anxiety and you find yourself dreading each shift before it even begins. The lack of experience makes beginners question even the simplest of things like the type of patient one will be assigned. There is also the fear of making a mistake which makes the experience more tasking. As days progress however, the experience helps boost confidence and the hands-on experience acts as a reassurance that the knowledge gained in school and the in-training skills taught are adequate to do a commendable job. It builds the confidence to learn how to not only avoid mistakes, but also accept that they will happen and what actions to take on the rare chance that they do occur. Throughout the experience, the importance of leadership, the importance of evidence-based practice and the best approaches to take in order to offer the best quality of care came out as the important attributes that one should aspire to possess and gain knowledge about.

 

Reflection on Learning from Nurse’s Answers

            Nursing is one of the few professions where success is determined by the individual, and also the role others play in ensuring tasks are accomplished. When nurses engaged with their colleagues for activities aimed at improving their profession such as study groups, it builds the spirit of teamwork and makes it easier to perform their duties. The study sessions often involve teaming up with other members of the group and discussing topics that are too complex for one person. The topics are divided among the members of the group and each presents the topic to the group, explaining how to go about resolving issues that may have made understanding it difficult. The group can then go over each topic together to ensure that each member understood the topics discussed before moving on to another subject. Team work is beneficial as it makes it easier to understand tasks that may appear complex as it gets people to brainstorm on the best approach to use in order to get the desired results.

            From the response given, the benefits of working as a team extended to the profession of nursing as it enhances the experience on how teamwork operates in a practical setting. When patients seek treatment, they move from the reception and waiting lobbies where they are attended to by various medical staff before finally seeing the doctor. Similar to study groups, hospitals rely on the cooperation among members of staff and different departments to ensure that the patient receives the highest quality of care possible. The experience of working in the study groups have a significant role on how easily nurses find it to work in teams and cooperate well with others.

 

Insight Gained from Conversation Regarding Leadership, Provision of Care, and/or Evidence-Based Practice

            The experience taught on the importance of how provision of care affects the quality of care offered to patients. Patients use simple gestures like a bed bath to assess the quality of care provided, regardless of whether the treatment worked or not. Although such activities are required of nurses when providing care to my patients, patient are just as pleased with the services and they expect the same quality as the quality of treatment provided. Prescribing medicine and changing IV’s are just as important as how the nurses associate with the patient.

            As a nurse, it is also important to be a responsible leader and set a good example for others. Charge nurses for example take on the responsibility of taking care of all the patients in a unit. They also act as support units as patients often make consultations regarding medication and other requirements before, during and after treatment. Nurses must also learn to anticipate problems before they occur and come up with ways to ensure that the undesirable effects do not have a big or lasting impact. In addition, nursing involves assisting each other to deal with patients that prove challenging or in cases where patients need round the clock supervision.

 

Analysis of Impact of Nursing History on Professional Practice Today and in the Future

            Reflecting on the events that occurred in nursing history makes it easier to deal with similar occurrences in the present as well as anticipating what could occur in the future. Attempts made to find a cure for covid-19 for instance are focusing on activities engaged in the past when researchers were trying to find a cure for diseases such as the Spanish flu and SARS. Understanding how these diseases were treated in the past could help determine how to treat current and future pandemics.

            On leadership, nurses can emulate leaders that demonstrated exemplary leadership in the past and use them as role models. Nurses can try to follow in the footsteps of other nurses who built a reputation in the past as a way of enhancing their skills. Other than focusing on learning and acquiring knowledge, nurses can also adopt practices and policies used by those in leadership positions to set a foundation from which to build on. Emulating how good leaders operated in the past and present can bring about positive change as nurses in future will have good leaders as role models and create an environment where every practitioner works on improving their leadership and this will positively impact the quality of care provided in future.

Conclusion

The experiences gained through the nursing process are important as they equip nurses with the skills needed to become better at the profession. It teaches the importance of good leadership and how interaction with patients affects their perception of the quality of care provided. Through evidence-based practice, nurses gain the knowledge and experience needed to perform their tasks with ease. Lastly, history on nursing and other medical practices is important as it makes it easier to how medicine has been used to solve medical issues in the past, developments that are happening in the present and how the information can be used to offer better quality of care in the future. my experiences taught me to rely on the information I possess as well as occurrences in the past to better understand my profession and in so doing, I will be better prepared for whatever developments occur in future.