The city and country where its located

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REFLECTION ON STIGMATIZATION OF MENTAL HEALTH PATIENT
By ()
Name of the course
The name of Tutor
Name of the university
The city and country where its located
Date

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Introduction
This essay uses the Gibbs model of reflection to reflect upon my experiences with
people suffering from mental illnesses. This essay discusses the experiences related to
the stigmatization that mental health patients face in their daily lives. Stigmatization is
one of the biggest challenges that is faced by patients suffering from mental illnesses.
Many patients do not understand how to cope with the negative perception of society,
as well as the prejudice that they face. Stigmatization has a long tradition. In ancient
Greece, the word stigma means a brand that was used to mark slaves and criminals so
that they would be identified easily whenever they went (Abuhammad et al., 2018).
Some few decades ago, people in society did not bother to help people suffering from
mental illnesses. Most of them were tortured, and others are enclosed in inhumane
conditions to prevent them from being seen to avoid bringing shame to the family.
Understanding stigmatization is critical since it will help me to reflect upon the role
which can be played by nurses to assist mental health patients suffering from the
disease (Harris et al., 2017). Reflecting upon this issue also helps in identifying ways
in which stigma can be reduced at both individual and social levels.
Reflection
Description
This reflection focuses on the experience I underwent during my clinical placement. I
was working in the hospital when a patient who has schizophrenia was brought in the
hospital. When some of the patients in line waiting saw the patient, most of them left
their seats and went somewhere far away from the patient. During the incident, there
were two other nurses and a clinical officer. The patient was untidy but was calm and
non-violent. The patient looked unsettled, and he was speaking alone. The reaction of
the people who were in the waiting bay was very astonishing since the patient was not

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aggressive. Such a response is one of the issues that cause stigmatization for people
suffering from mental illnesses. Most people have the perception that people with
mental health sicknesses are always violent, and no one wants to be close to them.
The other shocking thing about the same incidence is that the relative who brought in
the patient talked to him rudely and dragged him around like an animal. I felt that
treating a human being that way was unfair, especially since it came from members of
his family. The patient and the relative spent around fifteen minutes in the waiting
area, and none of the nurses or doctors were willing to listen to them and direct them
in the right section where they would get the medical attention that they needed.
When the relative who was with the patient tried to speak to one of the nurses, the
nurse was rude, and he shouted to him and reprimanded him for bringing the patient
where the other customers were and hence causing panic among the other patients in
the hospital. I felt this was not right, and therefore I talked to the relative of the patient
and assisted them in getting an appointment with the doctor in charge, after which
they were referred to a psychiatric hospital where the patient would get appropriate
care. The fact that no one wanted to be near the mentally disturbed patients is a
testament to what patients suffering from mental health experience every day
(Turkmen et al., 2018). It is unfortunate that the incident happened inside the hospital
and also involving people who are expected to offer care and assistance to people
suffering from mental illnesses. This was a bad example to the patients who
experienced the situation, and it further contributes to stigmatization for people who
have schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
Feelings
The incident made me feel angry about the kind of treatment that the patient received.
The people at the hospital were running away from the patient despite not showing

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any signs of violence or public disorder. This, therefore, shows the degree to which
people associate mental illnesses and violence and how many people in the society do
not want to be around a person who has a mental illness (Ozer et al., 2017). I was
further angered by the reaction of the senior nurse towards the patient and their
family. Being rude and refusing to assist the patient is not only unprofessional, but it
also shows how people suffering from mental illnesses face discrimination even from
the healthcare workers and hence resulting in great suffering by the patients and their
families. It was very disgusting to see a nurse with an experience exceeding ten years
behave so shamefully. The nurse should be the one to show the patient around and
advise other people within the hospital on how to care for mental health patients
(Helmus et al., 2019). The nurse should have told the other patients that mental health
patients should not be stigmatized or treated differently because they also need love
and social support like any other person. The experienced nurse should be setting an
example to the junior staff and those of us who were at the hospital for clinical
placement. However, his actions were very unprofessional and inhumane, and despite
being inexperienced, I felt what he did was unacceptable. Apart from the incidence
making me angry, I also felt pity for the patient and his family. From his look, the
relative of the patient was shocked by the reaction of the nurse since the nurse shouted
at him, and this caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. I could also tell that
he felt embarrassed by this incident. I felt pity because of the treatment and the
embarrassment that the patient had to undergo. I think even the other patients who
witness the incidence were surprised at how the senior nurse reacted to the
schizophrenia patients even though they were also running away from the patient.
Everyone expects nurses and other healthcare professionals to be kind and
understanding, but that day that was not the case. After the incident, I felt that I had

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done the right thing by helping the patient through all the procedures in the hospital. I
also felt relieved that the patient would get appropriate care after he was referred to a
specialized mental hospital where he could get better health services. After the
incident, I felt as if I was not in the right place to learn what I should have learned
during my clinical practice. The reason why I felt this way is that even after reporting
the incident to the doctor in charge of the facility, the nurse was not reprimanded for
his action, and I felt this was not right. I also thought that I could not learn from a
nurse who was so unprofessional and judgemental.
In contrast, the nursing profession is all about offering optimal care for patients
without discrimination. I also feared that my colleagues mistreat me for reporting the
incident to the medical officer in charge. I overcame the fear since the deep inside. I
felt that I did the right thing, and hence there was no need to fear anything.
Evaluation
Upon evaluating my experience as well as my feelings and thoughts that I
experienced at the time, I feel that I did very well by assisting the patient who had
been mistreated. Every person visiting the hospital should be treated with dignity and
should not be discriminated for whatever reason. As a nurse on clinical practice, I,
therefore, felt I had an obligation to treat the patient in the right way and to assist
them in whichever way I could. The good thing about the experience is that it was an
eye-opener on the kind of stigmatization that mental health patients face on a day to
day basis even from people who are supposed to help them overcome the
stigmatization and discrimination. This experience, therefore, has helped me to think
of my role as a nurse in educating the public about stigmatization (Feldhaus et al.,
2018). The thing that went bad about this experience is that despite reporting the
incident to the medical officer in charge, no disciplinary action was taken against the

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doctor, and this might increase such future incidences. I, therefore, feel as if I should
have faced the nurse and told him that his behavior was inappropriate, especially since
he was one of the senior nurses at the facility.
Additionally, I was disappointed that despite several other nurses being present during
the incident, none of them reacted appropriately, and they all stood and watched
helplessly. This incidence could have resulted in a worsening of the patients'
condition. It could also have led to the relative having a negative attitude towards
healthcare workers, and this might affect their health outcome in the future (Ihalainen‐
Tamlander et al., 2018).
Analysis
The reaction of the nurse towards the patient was unwarranted. This attitude towards
mentally ill patients could have been developed as a result of previous interaction
with such patients. According to Bilge and Palabiyik (2017), 12.5% of patients
suffering from mental illnesses experience discrimination and stigmatization from
healthcare professionals. However, not many of them are willing to report the
incidences because they fear being confronted and being mistreated further by the
other workers (Tanriverdi et al., 2019). This incidence shows the amount of suffering
mental health patients undergo, and this might result from the worsening of their
already bad condition. This experience also shows that the families of the patients
suffering from mental illnesses also contribute to stigmatization (Bruno et al., 2019).
They do not treat the patient appropriately, and sometimes they might feel
uncomfortable being with a mentally sick person in public because of the
stigmatization from the members of the public. Social stigma leads to the
internalization of the stigma of mental illnesses. As the relatives and the patient hear
the negative perceptions people have towards mental health patients, they absorb

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these perceptions, and they live according to these perceptions, and this affects the
self-image and identity of the patient and hence making it difficult to recover from the
illness (Sebastian and Richards, 2017).
Conclusion
The situation I experienced during my clinical practice has improved my knowledge
and understanding of the challenges mental health patients face in their day to day life
(Lebowitz and Ahn, 2016). The experience taught me the importance of treating
mentally ill patients with dignity and kindness. This is because I experienced first-
hand how treating patients severely can affect their mental health and that of their
relatives. I also learned the importance of stepping up and assisting patients whenever
I am in such a position. Despite the lack of action by all the other experienced nurses
who were present, I saw it fit to take action and assist the patient who was abandoned
and mistreated by the nurse. I learned how nurses and other healthcare professionals
contribute to the stigmatization of mentally ill patients. This is what the patients and
their families face every day, and it makes it difficult for them to get the right kind of
treatment, which makes it difficult for them to recover from their illnesses (Lyndon et
al., 2019). People have developed different stereotypes about mental health patients.
Some people believe that the patients are not sensitive, and hence they can say
demeaning and offensive things thinking that the patient will not understand
(Stolzenburg et al., 2018). The truth is that the patients are very sensitive and
emotional and negative things said in their presence affects them psychologically. Just
like all other people, mental health patients need to be loved, they need friends and
need to be treated with dignity to overcome the situations that they are experiencing
(Wakeman and Rich, 2017).
Action plan

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As a registered nurse, I will always be there for clients, no matter their physical or
mental condition. I will always ensure that I care and treat all the people that visit the
hospital with dignity and assist them with everything that they require while in the
hospital (Holder et al., 2019). I will also endeavor to carry out sensitization campaigns
to educate the families and patients on how to deal with stigmatization to prevent it
from affecting their lives. Additionally, I will also participate in community-based
campaigns educating people about the need to end stigma towards patients suffering
from mental illnesses (Svensson and Hansson, 2016).
Conclusion
The use of Gibbs reflection model has enabled me to review and analyze thought and
feelings which I experienced during the incidence. I have also assessed my thought
now and identified the good things that I did during that time and the things that I did
not do at the time. This has, therefore, provided me with an opportunity to evaluate
and identify areas that I could improve to fight the stigmatization of mental health
patients both in the society and within healthcare facilities. This has helped me to
come up with an action plan which is based on participating in campaigns aimed at
sensitizing the community about the need to end the stigmatization of mental health
patients and how the community and support these people to get better.

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References
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