Preventing Falls and Partnering with Patients: A Reflection on Patient Experience

Nursing
Student’s name:
Institutional:

Understanding patient experience and partnering with him in his own care such as asking
questions and participates in decision making has clinical benefits (Epstein & Street, 2011). The
chosen scenario here is about an old man 75ears old who was doing prescribed exercise as he
was walking to the shop, he fell and got injured at his left. He also has other medical conditions;
anaemia, type 2 diabetes and hypertension, has industrial deafness and has allergic rhinitis. He
has an experience of his father being amputated wrongly by a foreign doctor and being delayed
or waiting for long in public hospital when he had kidney stone. The essay will focus on the
topic preventing falls and harms from falls and partnering. Gibbs reflective cycle will be used
and it consist of description of the scenario, feelings and thoughts, values and beliefs and the
conclusion.
Mr. William Taylor was out 20 meters away from home doing prescribed routine exercise he had
gone down to the shop and when he was walking back he didn't stop to blow his nose he tripped
over a piece of concrete and he just belly flopped into a gutter which peeled his skin off his nose
and his left elbow and wrecked his right shoulder. The major injury was that he lost immediately
the use of his right shoulder and he was in pain, nobody was there to help him out. The risk of
falls and harm from falls is increased for people whose vision is impaired, have poor balance,
weak muscles, low bone density and those under some medications (Dionyssiotis, 2012).
Another experience is the patient being kept in the waiting room in public hospital for 11 hours
without being attended yet he was in a pain of grade 8, he had to ask for codeine pills every 3 or
4 hours, no one came to talk to him until half way period he was told he was next in the line but
meantime 5 or 6 ambulances came and they had priority and at 11th hour he was called but
luckily he felt the urge to go to the toilet and passed the stone

I feel empathy for the patient when he fell and nobody was there to save him he had to crawl and
perseverance the pain. I feel uncomfortable as a nurse about the issue of the patient waiting for
11 hours without being attended to and being given codeine pills every 3 or 4 hours. I feel
discouraged as a nurse when the patient does not want to be treated in public hospitals where
more nurses work. I think it was unethical for the doctor to amputate patient's father leg and
never sutured correctly the muscle. I think also its good for the patient to understand his
conditions, drugs he is using and what they treat because this reduces anxiety and hastens
recovery (Carman et.al, 2013)
Mr. William believed that public hospitals don't offer immediate services because of waiting for
11 hours it made the patient become uncomfortable and suffer in pain. This belief originated
from how public hospital personnel offer the services. He also has the belief that his father was
amputated wrongly because of the view of other people that it was unnecessary amputation. and
also the doctor being from another nation and it was a local hospital. He also believed also the
physiotherapist was good because he helped him in arm assistance and he never wanted second
option because he trusted in his surgeon
Care was inadequate various situation. This includes the patient being kept waiting for 11hours
without any intervention and being given pills codeine which is a morphine which can cause
dependence and overdosing. Blood tests was not taken for further investigation which lead to
him feeling dizzy after sometimes and he felt. His surgeon did not also offer him choice of
physiotherapist. He just gave an opinion. He was tested but they never found out why he was
anaemic. His father also had not been amputated correctly and he never had a chance to do his
work like being a stock and horseman.