Nursing Reflection on NSQHS Standards 4 and 5

Running head: NURSING REFLECTION
Nursing reflection
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1NURSING REFLECTION
The paper provides an understanding about NSQHS standard 4 and 5 by reflecting on a
clinical placement experience which helped in developing the skills related to the two standards.
Reporting:
In relation to the NSQHS standards 4 and 5, I can say that I have good knowledge and
understanding regarding the steps needed for medication safety and patient identification by
caring for a patient with asthma during one of my clinical placement. During my clinical
placement, I was given the task of taking care for a patient, Mr. X (Hypothetical name provided
because of confidentiality requirement) who was admitted to the hospital following an
exacerbation of his asthma symptoms. He was also a hypertensive patient. I was given all
handover information regarding the patient and I had the duty to provide prescribed medication
to patient and monitor patient for deterioration in signs and symptoms. Before reviewing
patient’s health status and providing medication to patient, I also took steps to correctly match
patient and identify any risk of allergy in patient.
Responding and relating:
I was very nervous while being assigned to provide nursing care to Mr. X because it was
the first time where I had to handle a patient with exacerbation of asthma. I knew that safely
providing medication to Mr. X would be a challenging task because asthma exacerbation is
triggered due to exposure to allergen and it would be important to carefully identify the
medications for which the patient is not allergic (Kaminsky & Irvin, 2018). Use of
corticosteroids can provide relief to patient, however side-effects related to hypertension and
allergic reactions made my clinical experience challenging as I had to be vigilant and constantly
monitor patient for any fluctuation in his sign and symptoms (Zazzali et al., 2015). As it was a

2NURSING REFLECTION
busy ward, I also decided to follow the basic guidelines for patient identity matching so that any
errors do not arise because of identity mismatch and patient misidentification. This is also
necessary because of the similar names and admission of patients with various types of ailments.
Reasoning:
I was able to safely administer medication to Mr. X without any major complication
because I was aware regarding the need to accurately review and record patient information
while engaging in documentation process. Before providing the prescribed medication to patient,
I reviewed the handover chart given by the other nurse during shift change. The handover chart
gave me clear idea regarding the medication history of patient and current medication for patient
at the point of care. However, to further promote safety of patient, I also entered into
communication process with Mr. X to confirm all the information presented in the documented
records and reduce any likelihood of errors because of poor documentation of vital patient
information. Armor, Wight and Carter (2016) reports that poor communication related to drug
use occurs most frequently in health care setting and life threatening medication errors occurs
particularly during transition of care. This mainly occurs because of incompleteness of patient
information and delivery of care through multiple staffs. I also witnessed the same issue as I
found that drug allergy chart was blank and the handover has not filled it. To ensure safety of
patient, I took the additional step to repeat information related to medication history to patient
and asked her regarding allergy to any drugs. Adhikari et al. (2014) supports the fact medication
error can be prevented during transition of care by involving patient during medication
administration and clarifying all information to ensure that safety of patient is maintained. I also
followed the same steps to ensure that I had accurate medicine information available with me.