Reflection on Death of a Patient in Nursing Care

This essay reflects on the death of a patient in nursing care and discusses the nurse-patient relationship and its impact. It uses the Gibbs reflective cycle to analyze the experience and its implications for future practice.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1PSYCHOLOGY
The thesis statement of the essay argues with the discussion, the analysis and the
refection regarding an acute event that took place while caring for a parent within the hospital.
This essay is my personal reflection regarding my personal insight over the death of a patient
whom I have been care and looking after in the hospital I serve. Throughout this essay, I will
highlight on the nurse patent relation and how his death has affected me. With the analysis of the
Gibbs reflection cycle, I will furthermore illustrate this reflection essay as the aid in the
recognition and towards the development of the skills and the knowledge, the accidents and the
improvement of my behavior towards the critical events in my upcoming career.
Discussion
The process of the reflection in the nursing care practice is generally guided by several of
the models of the reflection (Howatson-Jones, 2016). This essay will use the Gibbs model of
reflection as it is considered useful for structuring the parts by clearly separating in smaller
sections in the style of an ongoing cycle regarding the reflection and learning. Founded by
American psychologist and sociologist, Graham Gibbs, the reflective cycle encourages people
for thinking in a systematic way. I have chosen this cycle to illustrate my personal experience
during the specific event including the death of a patient at my ward.

2PSYCHOLOGY
Figure – The
Gibb’s reflective cycle
Source – (Gibbs, 1988)
The figure above is the cycle of the reflection by Gibbs which I will us to explain my personal
insight regarding the death I observed. The below section will explain my reflection on the basis
of the 6 steps which are as follows.
Step 1 - Description
Ethan was in a good shape until he fell down at the washroom of his home back in the
last yeear. He has been presented in A &E apart from the past medical history of myocardial
infection and tachycardia. I was assigned for taking care of Ethan who was then having certain

3PSYCHOLOGY
mobility issues and as having short of breath. I cared for him on thee ward with regular
observations , medications and other nursing care. With the lower level of oxygen saturation and
deterioration of health Ethan was being admitted to the hospital under my care for more than a
year. I came to know from the physician that though taken proper care, Ethan was furthermore
diagnosed with colorectal cancer, with large malignancies both in his rectum and colon. He was
under diagnosis when his BMI dropped and he became frail. On the next day, Ethan passed
away.
Step 2 – Feelings
This was my very first experience of death in my nursing career. I remember how Ethan
and I along with some of the other staff of the ward had developed a strong rapport and relation
of patient and nurse. His death on the ward were sudden and was relatively unexpected for all the
nursing staffs in the care unit. The nursing staff allowed me sit away since I was noticeably
upset, distressed and was unable to disguise my emotions. I found it difficult to react of having
seen my very first experience of death and felt in experienced regarding how to deal with the
emotions and the feelings that I was experiencing.
Step 3 – Evaluation
He had lived her life as if each and every moment belonged to him. From healthy
conversations to cracking jokes in the ward with the other health care givers and the other
patients in the ward, Ethan was lively and I am sure he had no regrets. Her death as sudden and
within his sleep and I am sure he did not suffer. His family was able to be with him in his last
stage. I still think he should not have neglected his symptoms which were not so specific though
at the initial stage. Ethan wanted to take his last breath at home which was not possible.

4PSYCHOLOGY
Step 4 – Analysis
Prior to his death with the following of the diagnosis of the terminal colorectal cancer,
Ethan was supported by all the health care professionals who were involved in his care. Any
patient in the last stage of the colorectal cancer, with large malignancies both in rectum and
colon is highly vulnerable. Furthermore 8 elements of his liver were damaged and cancerous
which led in risk of the suppression of his immune system. On reflection, this was not at all
unexpected to me following the deterioration of the health status of Ethan.
Step 5 – Conclusion
I am personally not sure if there is anything else within my nursing care parameter that I
could have done that would have impacted the outcome. I was upset and sad later for being
reacting in a negative manner and being in distress. This is because I should not have felt this
much of shocked since it is my duty to serve the ailing patients towards palliative care. My
professional does not include the expression of the emotions for these and thus I chose to bring
this case in my appraisal.
Step 6 - Action Plan
I believe and I know that this case will rise again. I serve the profession, the industry
where there is 1000 of births and deaths every day. Life is a cycle including birth and death and
we all are a part of it. It will happen many times in my career that the patients whom I have been
attached with mentally due to their long tenacity of hospital admission die, when I think they
should not. Taking this as my first experience I will learn to be kinder to myself and to also

5PSYCHOLOGY
recognize that it is completely alright to grieve in these occasions and to take some time off
before handing a new patient.
Reference/ Bibliography
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further
Education Unit.
Howatson-Jones, L. (2016). Reflective practice in nursing. Learning Matters.
Okamoto, R., Koide, K., Maura, Y., & Tanaka, M. (2017). Realities of Reflective Practice Skill
among Public Health Nurses in Japan and Related Learning and Lifestyle Factors. Open
Journal of Nursing, 7(05), 513.
Redmond, B. (2017). Reflection in action: Developing reflective practice in health and social
services. Routledge.
White, P., Laxton, J., & Brooke, R. (2016). Reflection: Importance, theory and practice.
Zheng, R., Lee, S. F., & Bloomer, M. J. (2016). How new graduate nurses experience patient
death: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. International journal of
nursing studies, 53, 320-330.