Reflective Paper on Nursing Reflection Assignment

Running head: REFLECTIVE PAPER
NURSING REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT
Name of the student
Name of the university’
Author note

1REFLECTIVE PAPER
Introduction
Reflective practice is termed as a crucial aspect of the nursing profession as it
provides the professionals with the ability to enhance their personal and professional skills by
enhancing their skills and knowledge related to clinical practice (Redmond 2017). In this
reflective paper, I would be reflecting upon one clinical situation, I observed in my clinical
placement in the emergency room and in this aspect, I would be using Gibb’s reflection
cycle. Further, with the help of this reflection, as per Smith and Roberts (2015), I would be
discussing my ability to utilize critical thinking and theoretical basis depending on which I
perceived the clinical situation and increased my clinical knowledge.
Description of the situation
While my clinical placement in the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University Hospital
(KAAUH), I was posted in the emergency room (ER) for 5 weeks. During this placement, I
observed and experienced a clinical situation that provided me with an opportunity to
understand my strengths and weaknesses. My week in the ER started comfortably and with
the support and cooperation of the nursing professionals and physicians in the ER, I was able
to implement my learnings related to patient education, patent assessment, developing care
and treatment plan. However, at the end of the 5th week, one patient AB was admitted the
ER, due to which I was able to understand the critical healthcare condition that advanced
nursing professional go through in the clinical situation. The patient AB (54) (pseudonym)
was shifted in the ER after primary assessment and while her admission in the emergency
room, she was breathing heavily and was fidgeting on the stretcher. This was a regular
scenario in the healthcare facility, however, the situation that occurred while the physical
assessment by the physician, tested my abilities as a future advanced practice nursing
professional.

2REFLECTIVE PAPER
As the patient was fidgeting with pain, the physician in charge asked for intravenous
morphine (low dose) s that the pain of the patient could be relieved, however, when I was
assisting the physician in collecting patient’s vital signs, she grabbed the injection and tried to
insert that in her neck. This behaviour of the patient was completely unexpected and upon
watching this complete scenario, I was unable to respond to the situation for a specific time.
However, I shouted and with my presence of mind was able to press the emergency alarm
button so that I could gather more nursing professionals to control the situation. Further, with
the help of the physician, I was able to take the injection from the patient’s hand. Therefore,
with my critical thinking abilities and presence of mind, I was able to remove the immediate
threats from the clinical situation, however, until then, all the patients in the emergency
department were shocked and traumatized and looked threated of the situation (Thompson
and Thompson 2018).
Feelings
Prior to this adverse event, I was communicating with the senior nursing professionals
and was discussing the patient assessment methods that are being followed in the KAAUH
hospital. However, upon admission of AB, and observing her painful health condition, I was
nervous because it was my first week in the ER placement and I was still learning the
nuances of the professional nursing process. Hence, I decided to volunteer myself for the
patient assessment with the physician in charge of the emergency department. However, upon
watching the adverse condition personally, I was shocked because I never faced or witnessed
such a situation in which an individual attempts self-harm activities. Further, at that time the
physician was assessing another patient in the adjacent bed and hence, I was alone standing
beside AB to assess her vital signs so that I would provide the patient with a lower dose of
morphine. Hence, this situation for alarming for me and if I was not being able to help the
patient or prevent her self-harm attempt it would affect my future nursing goals. Despite this,