Reflective Essay on Clinical Placement Experience

This reflective essay describes the clinical placement experience of a nursing student in a general surgical ward. The essay discusses the use of Gibbs reflective cycle and the student's experience with various tasks such as drain management, IV medication administration, wound dressing, and a clinical incident involving a MET call. The essay also highlights the importance of communication, co-operation, and practice guidelines in clinical emergencies.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Reflective essay
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Description:
This is an amalgamation of the experience I have obtained from the last five weeks of
clinical placement in the ECU practicum of the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) in the
general surgical Ward where I have been placed. I would be taking the assistance of the
Gibbs reflective cycle for this essay (Smith & Roberts, 2015). I have had a revelling
experience in the ECU and have learned a range of activities such as varivac drain
management including insertion and removal, administration of IV medication in both
preoperative and postoperative setting including PAOB, IVOB, PO, subcut and also eye
drops, doing wound dressing of surgical wounds, drawing blood through a PICC line, and
finally participating in a clinical incident involving a MET call. In each of the weeks I have
learned new practice skills which has enhanced and enriched my professional competence as
a future nurse.
However, I believe the most important and impactful experience for me had been my
encounter with the MET call. Elaborating further on the experience, the patient had gone
through a tachycardia episode with 135 heart rate and febrile 38. I had been assigned the
opportunity to carry out post-operative observations on the guidance of my preceptor after the
patient was sent to post-operative recovery unit after her appendectomy surgery. I noticed the
patient starting to shiver and I immediately checked her vitals and informed my preceptor and
my shift coordinator. A MET call was arranged for her on an urgent basis and immediately
necessary interventions were given to stabilize her (Levett-Jones, Reid-Searl & Bourgeois,
2018).
Feelings:

2
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
I would like to mention that after completing my placement in the G-61, I have mixed
feelings regarding the array of experiences I have had. First of all, each of the weeks I had the
opportunity to learn completely different and new professional aspects which enriched my
professional competence (Levett-Jones, Pitt, Courtney-Pratt, Harbrow & Rossiter, 2015). I
had very little idea regarding drawing blood from patients through PICC line, drain
management and wound dressing. In each case, even though I had felt initial nervousness, as
the task progressed I gained my confidence and completed my tasks accordingly with the
guidance of my supervisors and buddy nurse. However, emphasizing on the clinical incident,
it had been my first encounter with a patient going through any emergency. As a result I was
shocked and scared to see the patient suddenly deteriorate. Although, I was anxious I still had
faith in the MET team and senior nurses. Soon the patient recovered and was stable which
made me ecstatic.
Evaluation:
There have been many positive instances in this experience, first and foremost, I
would like to mention that the supervisors and mentors I had the opportunity to work with
had been very helpful and I learned a wealth of knowledge from them. Another positive
aspect had been that I could learn the skills of drawing blood, administering intravenous
medication, and managing varivac drains. Especially, regarding the MET call incident, I had
the opportunity to learn how the medical emergency team functions in an emergency
situation. It helped me learn skills of decision making in critical situations (Tollefson &
Hillman, 2016). One negative aspect will be that due to my limited knowledge and extreme
nervousness, I was not able to contribute and help with the MET call as much as I would
have liked to.
Analysis:

3
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Placement experience is a crucial step in the journey of student nurse as it provides
practical hands-on knowledge and expertise regarding the care experience to be carried out in
the practice in future (Levett-Jones, Reid-Searl & Bourgeois, 2018). In my case, I had the
golden opportunity to not just learn key skills of post- and pre- operative patient management
such as drawing blood, managing drains and catheters and administering IV medication, but
also arrange and encounter a MET call situation. I had the chance to learn how the MET
nurses and ward nurses followed the practice guidelines of NMBA and Australia National
Competency Standards for registered nurses effectively (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au,
2018). In a clinical emergency, each doctor and nurse had a singular role with overlapping
responsibilities. All the health care members need to co-operate and collaborate to achieve
the care outcome for the patient and prioritize patient safety (Cec.health.nsw.gov.au, 2018). I
contributed very little by just getting the IV fluids and communicating with the daughter of
the patient, yet the learning experience had been remarkable for me.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, my ECU practicum placement experience in the general
surgical ward G-61 had been excellently helpful. I had gained expertise in a range of
professional skills which I had only theoretical idea about before. I understood the
importance of communication, co-operation and practice guidelines in clinical emergencies in
the MET call incident and it can be hoped that I will be able to employ these skills and
knowledge in my future practice effectively.
Action plan:
I understood that confusion, nervousness and lack of confidence in clinical
emergencies are my most notable flaws. I will be reaching out to my supervisor to build on
these soft skills and based on her suggestions, I will be enrolling in online courses and

4
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
professional workshops to improve my skills. Along with that, I believe I need to expand my
knowledge professional guidelines and standards of practice to provide effective and safe
care even in emergencies. Hence I will be attending course and seminars I would be
improving my knowledge so that my understanding of my roles and responsibilities are clear
(Levett-Jones, Reid-Searl & Bourgeois, 2018).

5
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
References:
Cec.health.nsw.gov.au (2018). Clinical Excellence Commission - index. [Online]. Retrieved
from http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au/programs/between-the-flags/standard-calling-
criteria [Accessed on 31st Oct]
Levett-Jones, T., Pitt, V., Courtney-Pratt, H., Harbrow, G., & Rossiter, R. (2015). What are
the primary concerns of nursing students as they prepare for and contemplate their
first clinical placement experience?. Nurse Education in Practice, 15(4), 304-309.
doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2015.03.012
Levett-Jones, T., Reid-Searl, K., & Bourgeois, S. (2018). The clinical placement: An
essential guide for nursing students. Elsevier Health Sciences. Retrieved from
https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=vw9aDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT6&dq=importance+of+clinical+pl
acement&ots=sEX3-
0pNze&sig=nIHSZZruuhuuAnk8K1QEb_Dxdek#v=onepage&q=importance%20of
%20clinical%20placement&f=false
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au (2018). Registered nurse standards for practice. [Online]
Retrieved from http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-
GuidelinesStatements/Professional-standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-
practice.aspx [Accessed on 31st Oct]
Smith, J., & Roberts, R. (2015). Reflective practice. Vital Signs for Nurses: An Introduction
to Clinical Observations, 222-230. doi: 10.1002/9781119139119.ch14
Tollefson, J., & Hillman, E. (2016). Clinical psychomotor skills : Assessment tools for
nurses(Revised sixth ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning
Australia. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?

6
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
hl=en&lr=&id=VRpSDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=Tollefson,+J.,+
%26+Hillman,+E.+(2016).+Clinical+psychomotor+skills+:
+Assessment+tools+for+nurses(Revised+sixth+ed.).+South+Melbourne,+Victoria,
+Australia:
+Cengage+Learning+Australia&ots=ht0umtW_kF&sig=CzjQnkmspw190oHTG46bd
6VQl2s#v=onepage&q&f=false