Reflective Practice in Nursing: Ethical Issues and Effective Nursing

Reflective practice
Student's Name:
Student's ID:
Subject:

1
Introduction
The fundamental aim of the paper to use Gibbs reflective model to reflect upon an incident
related to nursing practice based on an ethical issue. Usually, nurses are faced with an ethical or
legal dilemma, where nurse must incorporate knowledge of legal and ethical aspects. As per
Nursing and Midwifery Code of Conduct (NMC), the nurses must gain knowledge regarding
ethical and legal aspects. The paper will explore the critical incident that raises ethical issue and
understanding of how to become effective nurse.
Gibbs reflective cycle
Description
My placement was in a busy public healthcare setting that treats different older patients those
who were coming for rehabilitation and rest. Mrs. Annie was a 75-year-old patient in the ward
who was dealing with orthopedic problems. She had broken her leg badly by falling from the
staircase in her home and also had bone deterioration. Due to this, the physiotherapist assisted
her to use a special strap and stick so that she can walk properly. Most of the time, she was
feeling afraid of falling, and so she used to call the nurses by pressing the calling bell to come
and help her. The nurses who were busy at times often overlooked Mrs. Annie and told her to
stop pressing the bell (Trollor et al., 2016). Most of the time, I witnessed that the nurses moved
the calling bell out of her reach so that she will be unable to call the nurses in any emergencies.
Feelings
When I first met Mrs. Annie, I introduced myself to build a strong and respectful relationship
with her. I wanted to make her feel relaxed as I observed that she felt quite nervous. It is the
responsibility of the nurse to understand the needs of the patient by developing a therapeutic
relationship with them (Mammen, Hills & Lam, 2018). Most often, the nurses complained about
Mrs. Annie's behavior that she is arrogant and does not understand that nurses are busy and tired.
I could understand the concerns of the nurses, but still, believe that their attitude towards her was
not fair. After observing the overall situation, I asked my mentor what is to be done to overcome