Reflection on Clinical Assessment

Running head: REFLECTION ON CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
REFLECTION ON CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

REFLECTION ON CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
1
Introduction
The clinical assessment is an important part of work for the nurses, which is used to
diagnose and plan treatment for the patient. Health assessment is essential to identify the
problem of the patient and the medical needs required for the procedure. It can be done by
conducting the physical examination of the patient that help in better diagnosis of the disease
(Schmitz et al., 2016). It requires to critically reflect on the past nursing experience to evaluate
the strength and weakness in the practice area (Smith, Brown & Crookes, 2015). The main aim
of the essay is to reflect on the simulation experience related to cardiovascular assessment to
examine my weak areas that need improvement. The reflective cycle has made use of Gibbs
cycles that are linked with the learning experience. It encompasses six stages of reflection, which
includes description, feeling, evaluation, analysis, and conclusion and action plan (Husebø,
O'Regan & Nestel, 2015).
Description
The incident describes the cardiovascular assessments done in the simulated patient. The
patient had an irregular heartbeat and cardiovascular complications; hence, there was a need to
perform a cardiovascular evaluation. In the simulation process, we tried to maintain the ethnicity
and nursing principle. I perform hand hygiene before assessing the patient and recorded his vital
signs, which includes respiration rate, body colour, temperature, blood pressure. I inspected
precordium and venous distribution and other physical changes along with performing
auscultation. All the assessment were recorded, and lastly, the case was handover to other
clinical staffs using the ISBAR tool.

REFLECTION ON CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
2
Feeling
Before the simulation, I was mindful that I would deliver quality work in assessing the
patient; however, at the time of assessment, I was quite nervous and low in confident which
ended up with many shortcomings. I felt happy that I have completed the simulation; at the same
time, I felt that I should have worked as per my competency and nursing principle. My mentor
reviewed my work and gave mixed comments related to my steps and role in cardiovascular
assessment. I was feeling guilty about the delivery of work and thought I need practical nursing
skills to become a competent nurse.
Evaluation
In the simulation process, I have done well in the area of preparation and safety where I
have identified the principal rationale for the assessment, gather required equipment, preparing
the patient with maintaining the privacy and dignity of the patient. However, I failed to perform
each of the five steps of hand hygiene. The assessment of psychomotor skill did not go well as I
did not communicate the purpose and procedure before taking postural blood pressure. The
process of inspection also went satisfactorily. However, I forget to inspect the conjunctiva of the
patient. I provided only a brief description of the palpation, which was limited with significant
rationale. The step of auscultation did not go well as I lacked in identifying the major landmark
which could have given a significant idea about cardiovascular complication. My interaction
with the patient was good as I have built a therapeutic relationship by using both verbal and non-
verbal communication skill efficiently. I have successfully used the ISBAR tool for handover,
and overall, the simulation was well with minimal encouragement.