Nursing Clinical Reflection

Nursing clinicals is a time to learn, grow, and experience real life situations. One experience provided the opportunity for all three; to feel like a nurse, and make a difference in someone’s life. The instance occurred with a female in her late 50s, whom I was able to do my own plan of care, with the exception of medications. In having that responsibility, and learning how to conduct safety concerns is the reason this experience stands out as a principal learning situation.
The patient was admitted for injuries and pain related to an accident, with a history of respiratory problems and depression. Understanding based on the patient's history of chronic pain, acute pain would be a bit more difficult to manage. Furthermore during my assessment I needed to perform a thorough respiratory examination and monitor oxygen saturation. A key aspect in planning patient care, based on my assessment findings, is practicing good time management skills. Another added benefit while doing my own assessment was finding a health concern that was previously missed.
The patient was morbidly obese and in critically thinking, it was important to do a comprehensive skin assessment. In doing so, I found a few areas of skin breakdown. After informing my nurse, she instructed me on what I needed to do. From there I was able to gather the supplies and perform the …show more content…
Taking the time to see what was going on, I was able to learn information that put the patient in harm. If the patient did not trust me, or I did not take the time to listen, the patient could have carried out their suicide plan. The following day, I was working with the same patient, and she expressed how I helped her and she could see hope. She asked if we could keep in contact, but we discussed how it was not appropriate and crossed the patient-nurse boundaries. In the end, she was a happy and thankful for all that I had