Nursing Reflection Assignment 2022

Running head: NURSING REFLECTION
NURSING REFLECTION
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author’s name

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NURSING REFLECTION
Introduction:
Providing care to the patients by being culturally competent through a patient centred
approach can improve the quality of care given as well as create an understanding of health care
among populations who are culturally diverse and encourage a holistic approach to care
promoting the health outcome of the patients and thereby increasing patient’s satisfaction.
Despite the fact that there are nursing standards stating the guidelines of the nursing practices,
the Australian Aboriginals and those who are culturally diverse faces health disparity
(Health.qld.gov.au 2019). Cultural competence encourages a more holistic approach to care by
facilitating patient centred approach and care by building a nurse patient relationship to achieve
the desired outcome (Health.qld.gov.au 2019). Evidences have shown the prevalence of
morbidity and mortality in the culturally diverse patients to be greater because of their
inaccessibility of the health services due to their diverse cultural, social and linguistic needs
(Allen et al. 2013). The paper is a reflection on the experiences I had during my clinical
placement in an aged care facility and the skills and facts I have learnt from the situation on the
importance of interpersonal skills and cultural competency in providing quality care to the
patients. I have used Gibb’s Reflective cycle for writing the reflection since it has several
sections describing the stages of my experience including the knowledge I have gained and the
action plan to prepare myself if the situation arises again.
Discussion
Description: During my clinical placement I was allocated in an aged care facility. I was
working under the supervision of the senior nurse manager who guided me whenever I faced any

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NURSING REFLECTION
difficulties. It was a learning phase for me and I utilized every experience and knowledge I have
gathered to care for the aged patients. On a particular day, I noticed that, a male patient of 72
years old, who has undergone a surgery for a chronic heart failure and was shifted to the medical
ward, was sitting alone on his bed and was facing serious trouble as he looked pale and restless.
As I approached to him, instead of showing a welcoming gesture, he showed signs of disgust and
he seemed to be feeling uncomfortable. I could see the feeling of discomfort on his face but I
was too eager to help him providing him the care he needs and therefore, I immediately went to
him for checking his blood pressure. While I was doing that, he was completely quiet and felt
uneasy when I touched him. Since, he was a native Australian I feared to initiate a conversation
with him and thought that he might not understand my language. When I checked his blood
pressure, I found it really lower than the normal range and therefore reported to the doctor about
the same. The next day, following my visit, on seeing him looked distressed, I went to him with
the prescribed medications, but I was surprised to see that he refused to take them and made an
unapproachable gesture. I tried to put pressure and forced him to take the medicines since they
were important and must be given to the heart patients. He looked scared and offended because
of my behaviour and shouted and called another nurse. The Registered Nurse (RN) came and
accused me for the situation that aroused.
When I went talked to my supervisor regarding this, she pointed out my mistake and said
where I was lacking.
Feeling: I found it difficult to deal with an Australian Aboriginal patient. It was a challenging
situation for me as I could not decide what to do or thought about the same.