Approaches to Professional Nursing Practice

This article discusses the importance of reflection in nursing practice and provides a case study of an incompatible blood transfusion. It includes a description, evaluation, analysis, identification, and discussion of the incident, as well as a plan of action for future nursing practice.

Running head: APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 1
Approaches to Professional Nursing Practice
Student’s Name
Institution of Affiliation
Date

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 2
Approaches to Professional Nursing Practice
Reflection provides an opportunity for clinical reasoning while at the same time
impacting on patient care positively (Chakkaravarthy, Ibrahim, Mahmud & Venkatasaly, 2018).
Nursing is at the core of health care. Whether a student or a registered nurse, reflection provides
an opportunity for growth for the nurses and thus enables them to pursue their endeavors of
delivering quality health care to the patients. Reflection is crucial in helping the nurse adapt to
the ever-changing work environment. Open-mindedness is required for effective reflection. This
write up will give a description, explanation, an evaluation, analysis, identification and
discussion as well as the conclusion regarding the incompatible blood transfusion.
The incompatible blood transfusion
Description
Miss Ruth Stoll and Mrs Martha Kovendy met at Clinpath Laboratories where they gave
blood samples. Miss Stoll was accompanied by her sister-in-law while Mrs Kovendy was
accompanied by her husband. According to “ABC News”, 2003, Miss Stoll was giving the
sample which could later be used in transfusion before her heart surgery if a need arose. The two
ladies were attended to by a nurse. As the two ladies got attended to, those accompanying them
waited for them in the waiting area. Nurses should give the right services to the patient.
Therefore, the need for their supervision (Nursing and Midwifery board of Australia [NMBA],
2015). The absence of supervision during transfusion led to mix-up of blood. The blood used on
Miss Stoll caused her death.

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
Feelings
I felt angry. I regretted why I was pursuing a career in nursing. I wondered whether the
nurse who attended to the patients was skilled enough. This incidence would not have occurred if
the right procedures had been followed.
Evaluation
A patient who had gone to seek medical help only to die in the very place that she was
seeking help? Family members who were looking forward to seeing either their mother or sister
recuperate and get back home and a husband who earnestly waited for his dear wife to return
home. This was the biggest drawback for that medical facility.
The thought of blood mismatch for a patient within the facility is horrific in itself to the family
(Whitty & Littlejohns, 2015). Beyond the loss of a family member, their confidence in the health
system and the safety of the patient got eroded. The medical facility needs to do much to redeem
itself.
Analysis
Implications of incompatible blood transfusion to my future nursing practice
Life is sacred and must be preserved at all cost. The lack of caution on the part of the
nurse who was taking the blood samples led to the loss of life. The negligence was singled out in
poorly labelled test tubes, lack of recording of packaging bags and ignorance of the nurse on
what she was exactly doing. Going forward, I will be very keen on how I handle issues in the
health care facility. I need to go beyond the basic understanding of medical problems. The
provision of quality services to the patient requires integrated approach where the patient is

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 4
central to the system (Nursing and Midwifery board of Australia [NMBA], 2007). I will engage
a mentor who will guide me through my assignments as I enhance my competencies. Better
service delivery will arise from my understanding of organisational policies and procedures as
well as the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and their strict adherence.
Identification and Discussion
I am now well informed about the consequences of individual actions. It is clear that once
I am assigned a task, I should handle it thoroughly to its completion. The process of delivering
health care should not cause harm to the patient (Nursing and Midwifery board of Australia
[NMBA], 2010). The role of family members when it comes to supporting their ailing member is
not limited to just escorting them to health centers, handing them to health personnel and then
waiting for them outside, they should also be keen to see the procedures being carried out on
their patients and whether they conform to the standards (Banks, 2016). I would be willing to
invite family members to see the care and treatment that I am giving to their patient.
Professional competency and adherence to policies and procedures are vital to delivering
safe health care (Halcomb, Stephens, Bryce, Foley & Ashley, 2016). Since I understand that I
have an ethical and moral obligation to preserve life, I would have passionately served the
patients and labelled the blood samples appropriately. However, due to constraining regarding
staffing I found out that I was the only nurse available and lunchtime was approaching very fast.
As I tried to serve the patients hurriedly, I forgot to label the test tubes before placing the blood
samples. Later I realised that the labelling of the test tubes was not correctly done. I thus need to
improve on my communication and critical thinking skills which will enable me to communicate
with the patients and get them relaxed as I attend to them. This will also help me to get
composed and deliver quality services.

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 5
Plan of Action
As a future registered nurse, I will improve on my competencies so that I can avert a
similar error during a blood transfusion. This will be achieved through:-
An in-depth reading of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards so that I am at
par with industry requirements on health,
Communication- this is the exchanging of information either through speaking, writing or by use
of any other medium (Jandt, 2017).
Joining a Professional Nursing Organization- whatever I do or say should be guided by ethical
principles and moral values (Harriss, 2014). I should be able to do the right things both to the
patient as well as my colleagues. Joining a professional body will ensure that am at par with
industrial requirements.
Conclusion
Health care management involves processes which need to be clearly understood. The success of
the delivery of quality, efficient and safe services depends on the effectiveness of the system.
When a patient visits a health centre, his or her problem will need to be diagnosed and described.
The patients highlight their feelings for a diagnosis to be done. The caregiver then evaluates the
feelings as well as the physique of the patient, analysis and gives treatment or recommends for
further action.

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 6
References
Banks, M. (2016). ISQUA16-2476 IMPROVING THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF HEALTH
CARE FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE USING
THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTH SERVICE
STANDARDS. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 28(suppl_1), 55-55.
Chakkaravarthy, K., Ibrahim, N., Mahmud, M., & Venkatasalu, M. R. (2018). Predictors for
nurses and midwives' readiness towards self-directed learning: An integrated
review. Nurse education today.
Halcomb, E., Stephens, M., Bryce, J., Foley, E., & Ashley, C. (2016). Nursing competency
standards in primary health care: an integrative review. Journal of clinical nursing, 25(9-
10), 1193-1205.
Harriss, A. (2014). What Nursing and Midwifery Council revalidation means for OH
nurses. Occupational Health & Wellbeing, 66(9), 27.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-03-12/Coroner-recommends-changes-after
blood-mix-up/1816102
Jandt, F. E. (2017). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global
community. Sage Publications.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2007) ‘National framework for the development of
decision making tools for nursing and midwifery practice’. Retrieved 05 January 2015,
www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Frameworks.aspx

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 7
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2010) ‘A nurse’s guide to professional boundaries’.
Retrieved 05 January 2015, www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-
Statements/Professionalstandards.aspx
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (2015) ‘Supervision guidelines for nursing and
midwifery.Retrieved25September2015’,www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/
Registration-and Endorsement/reentry-to-practice.aspx
Whitty, J. A., & Littlejohns, P. (2015). Social values and health priority setting in Australia: an
analysis applied to the context of health technology assessment. Health Policy, 119(2),
127-136.