Nursing Reflection: Gibbs Cycle in Alcohol and Drug Withdrawal Rehab

This nursing reflection utilizes the Gibbs reflective cycle to analyze a clinical placement experience in an alcohol and drug withdrawal rehab unit in Damascus. The reflection covers the initial negative mindset, the pleasant environment encountered, and the affinity built with patients. It evalu...Read More

Running head: NURSING REFLECTION
NURSING REFLECTION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:

1NURSING REFLECTION
Introduction:
Reflective practice in nursing helps in introspecting upon past experiences that
underlines the weakness and undertake measures to improve the scope of practice
(Dubé & Ducharme, 2015). The Gibbs reflective cycle helps in thinking
systematically about any activity or experience and to structure our reflection in
appropriate order (Husebø, O'Regan & Nestel, 2015). This assignment is plotted
according to the Gibbs reflective cycle to direct the past experience with patients in
the alcohol and drug withdrawal rehab unit at the Damascus.
Description:
I will be reflecting upon the experience I had while I was posted for a week to a drug
and alcohol withdrawal rehab unit in Damascus. Before visiting there, I had a negative
mindset about such alcohol rehab centers, as I was concerned about the environment, the
patients and their difficulties that I never dealt with before. But as I reached there, the
environment was totally different from what I used to think. After I settled and stared with
my job, I found that the patients were actually very pleasant, well-mannered and calm. As I
was getting involved with the work and the team there, I observed that the patients were
being encouraged for the workshops and it was showing effective outcomes.
Feelings:
As time passed, I built affinity with many of the patients there. Patients in the rehab
were very pleasant, while few were found very aggressive. Despite the aggression and
misbehaviour, the professionals within the rehab facility were caring and gentle towards the
patients as through positive behaviour it was possible to improve their condition. This attitude
of the professionals within the facility motivated me as a care professional in giving my best
to the patients.

2NURSING REFLECTION
Evaluation:
In a week of working in the rehab, I experienced both positive and negative which
improved my understanding of my work and my role as a nurse in a rehab unit. It all started
as I started taking care of a patient who was recently admitted. As he was charged for alcohol
abuse, so the unit decided to perform a risk assessment on him. During the assessment, the
unit was imposing harsh questions on the patients. I felt empathy for the patient and was not
satisfied with the assessment, as it was not helping the patient, rather the patient was getting
depressed and demotivated.
Analysis:
While working there I analyzed that the patient who was getting proper treatment
according to their requirement was recovering faster than those who were lacking proper
attention. The nursing assistant was using tough assessment methods by judging patient
behavior. But it was not helping the care process, rather it was making them more aggressive
and complicated. However, the patient I was assigned with, shown little improvement and I
observed changes in his behaviour after he was treated with little care and proper therapy
sessions according to his requirements by the unit. This focuses on NMBA (2019) standard 3
which is based on prescribing and implementing therapeutic interventions (Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia, 2019).
Conclusion:
From the experience, I have become more aware of the importance of being a nurse
and the about our job. In the past one week at Damascus rehab unit, I have learned that the
patient there needs proper treatment, they should be handled according to their need. It is
important to gain knowledge about the complication and the needs of the patients. According
to NMBA (2019) standard 2 which states “Plans care and engages others”, implementation of

3NURSING REFLECTION
broad-spectrum approach using a multi-disciplinary team is required to provide care to the
patients admitted in a rehab unit (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2019).
Action plan:
From the experience in Damascus alcohol and drug withdrawal rehab unit, I have
come to know my weaknesses. It is stated in the NMBA (2019) standard 4, that it is
important to evaluate outcomes and improve practice in order to bring effectiveness in the
strategies and in the health care profession (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia,
2019). It is required to be improved my weaknesses in order to become better in my
profession. The action plan will focus on my weaknesses and requirements I need to work on.
Objective 1. Patience:
To work in a rehab unit as a nurse, a lot of patience is required. I have witnessed
situations where the patients create problems and they go out of control. Patients some time
take a lot of time to understand and recover, and to handle such situation a nurse should have
patience and stay calm (Zamoscik, Godbold & Freeman, 2017). And in such circumstances, I
have observed that I start losing hope and sometimes think of quitting. So I need to work on
my patience by meditating, practising gratitude and training myself more for handling such
situations.
Objective 2. Knowledge:
I don’t have much expertise in dealing with the rehab unit patients, so it becomes hard for
me to understand and judge the condition of a patients behaviour. To improve knowledge,
one needs to study more about the rehab unit and its patients. By going through case history
and research paper, one can gain understanding about the process (Spruce, 2015).

4NURSING REFLECTION
Objective 3. Reflective practice:
Reflective practice can help a person understand and reflect his/her negative and
positive experience which helps in improving and correcting the flaws (Cushion, 2018). After
every session, I will have to judge my work by think and understanding all the positive and
negative points that happened. And then I will improve and try to change what went wrong in
the past sessions. This will help me in growing better in my work.
Objective 4. Independent:
As I was new, I was not allowed to handle patients independently. I was working in a
group or else was allowed to stand and observe. To improve myself I need to practice freely
and learn to handle cases on my own.

5NURSING REFLECTION
Reference:
Cushion, C. J. (2018). Reflection and reflective practice discourses in coaching: a critical
analysis. Sport, education and society, 23(1), 82-
94.https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2016.1142961
Dubé, V., & Ducharme, F. (2015). Nursing reflective practice: An empirical literature review.
Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(7),
91.https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v5n7p91
Husebø, S. E., O'Regan, S., & Nestel, D. (2015). Reflective practice and its role in
simulation. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 11(8), 368-
375.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2015.04.005
NMBA. (2019). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Professional standards.
Retrieved from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-
statements/professional-standards.aspx
Spruce, L. (2015). Back to Basics: Implementing Evidence‐Based Practice. AORN journal,
101(1), 106-114.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2014.08.009
Zamoscik, K., Godbold, R., & Freeman, P. (2017). Intensive care nurses’ experiences and
perceptions of delirium and delirium care. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 40,
94-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2017.01.003

6NURSING REFLECTION

7NURSING REFLECTION
Author note: