Reflective Journal: Analyzing Clinical Issues and Ethical Dilemmas

This report presents a reflective journal analyzing various clinical issues encountered in nursing practice. The journal explores three key themes: meeting the educational needs of patients and their families, addressing communication problems with colleagues and patients, and navigating clinical issues and ethical dilemmas. The author reflects on personal experiences, analyzes the situations, and evaluates potential strategies for improvement, such as enhancing patient education, improving communication protocols, and addressing ethical dilemmas related to patient care. The report concludes with a summary of the findings and references to relevant literature.

Reflective Journals

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Clinical objectives:......................................................................................................................1
Theme 1:.....................................................................................................................................1
Theme 2:.....................................................................................................................................2
Themes 3:....................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Clinical issues are said to be the work done with real patient and are relating to the
medical treatment as a medical problem. It can be said that it is very important to consider for the
real professional. The present report is based on a reflective journal which will assist in
understanding the real life clinical issues or experienced. The report will assist in analysing the
three different clinical issues that are faced and will evaluate them on basis of strategies. Th
report will also include the learning experience from the event or experience, analysing the topic
and will include the opinion regarding such events,
Clinical objectives:
As a health care professional in mental illness practices, I can analyse my core objective
which will assist me in reaching to the advance level of my nursing practice. The main objective
of being a healthcare professional is to bring the efficiency on order to treat the patient well. It
also important to being in nursing practise to improve access and reduce inequity, improve
quality, safety, performance and accountability.
Theme 1:
Meeting the educational needs of the patients, families and significant others.
Feelings and thought:
Through practising in the mental disability area, more often I have felt that the patients
with mental illness and disability are sufferings because of their lack in education. I often
thought that, through proper education regarding the disability it would be more significant for
the patient in order to be informed related to their problems (LoBiondo-Wood and Haber , 2017).
I have felt many times that, by providing more education, I can encourage the patient to take and
ask for proper treatment or their wants. During my practises, I often thought that the families of
the patient could be more open towards the treatment if they would have proper education and
knowledge regarding the mental illness and disability.
Analysis:
I can be analysed from the situation that I is very essential to prove proper education and
knowledge regarding the mental illness and disability so that they can take proper treatments. I
have analysed that the lack of proper knowledge and understanding of medical disability could
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lead the patients less involved in the information regarding the steps in their treatments. From my
experiences, I can say that educational needs are most essential for the families in order to have
full information related to the treatment of the patients, their disability and their rights in health
care organisation.
Evaluation:
Through my experience from the nursing practice in mental illness (George, 2011). I can
say that because of lack of education regrading the mental disability and illness, they can be able
to understand the treatment and are not very much involved in. Trough this experience I can
evaluate this it is very essential that the patients and their families should be well informed
regarding their rights and treatment they should get. It can be said that, the patients and their
families should be well informed so that they can choose the type of service they want and are
suitable or themselves. It can be said that it is important for me to evaluate the effectiveness of
the educational knowledge in order to encourage the menially disable patients or their families.
In order to achieve this, I will implement the system of information of choice as a strategy in
order to properly inform the patients and their families to be encouraged so that are being able to
choose the kind of service they want (Butts and Rich, 2013). Through evaluation, I can be able to
supervise and monitor the effectiveness of the strategy.
Theme 2:
Communication problem with colleges/ clients/ clients families.
Feelings or thoughts:
In a health care organisation and being a nursing professional, I will be the person who
will communicate regularly to the patients or their families as well as to other colleges. I have
felt that proper communication is very essential to properly maintain and treat the mentally
disable person. Many times, I have felt that the patient can not communicate to me properly or is
hesitated to speak up. At that time, It is very essential that the families of patients can
communicate with me regarding the treatment of any others wants (Nettina, Msn, & Nettina,
2013). I have also experienced, that due to hectic scheduled, I can not properly communicate to
my colleagues also which also brings problems and difficulties regarding proper working and
fulfilling my duties.
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Analysis:
I can effectively analyse from my experience that the communication problem with
colleges can leads to inefficiency in my working as I need to be informed regarding the proper
procedures and treatment which needs to be given to the patients. It can be analysed that being a
nursing professional it is essential for me effectively communicate to the patient or to their
families as it is very essential for the well being of the patient as well as to provide them the
quality treatment on time (Terry, 2012). I have analysed that at the time communication to the
patient in to their families, I need to be calm and speak slowly so that they can get my words
more efficiently. It is my duties in order to give them emotional support and proper participation
which assist them in getting more informed (Communication Skills for Nurses , 2019). Apart
from this, I have also analysed that communication problems between colleges can also leads to
delaying in working ad providing better cure to the patients.
Evaluation:
From my experience regarding the communication problem with patients, their families
or with the colleges. I can say that, such problems may lead a negative impact on the treatment
and well being of mentally disabled person . Through such experience, I can evaluate that it is
very essential to have proper communication procedures in healthcare organisation. The nursing
professional and other staffs are properly trained in order to communicate to the mental disabled
patients or their families (Fairman and et.al., 2011). I have analysed that there are various
strategies which the management can be adopted in order to train the nurses and other
professional of using the verbal and non-verbal mode of communicating to the patients and their
families. I have observed that the well trained professional can effectively handle and that the
patients and will be well informed regarding their needs and wants. I have also evaluated that,
proper strategies of staff meetings needs to adopted which will assist in enhancing more
communication between the colleges as well.
Themes 3:
Clinical issues and ethical dilemmas
Feelings or thoughts:
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Being a nursing professional, I felt during my practice that there are various ethical
dilemmas that I have to face. I have experienced that there are many situational that leads a stress
for ethical for nurses (Ellis, 2019). I felt that there some issues which leads to put dilemma. I
often feel uncomfortable while addressing such ethical issues which I encounter in patient care.
Some of them are related to strafing ratio or end of life care. Many of the dilemmas occurs while
caring for patient of mental disability that may leads to harm them.
Analysis:
From my experience of ethical dilemma which I faced from practices, I have analysed
that many nurses and professionals. I have been analysed that, patients are treated in order to
become independence and are encouraged to choose their treatment through themselves (Smith,
and Liehr, 2018). But, I have also analysed that, three are many situations arises in order to
choose from among two more acceptable option or between equally unacceptable course of
action. Being a healthcare professional, I need to treat the patient, but some times it leads to harm
them which creates the ethical issues.
Evaluation:
From the experience of such ethical issue which I have faced, I can evaluate that it is very
essential that management should understand and train their staff that every patients is different
and they need to treat them differently (Nibbelink and Brewer, 2018). It can be evaluated that
treating with mentally disabled patient, the staff should maintain the duty of care in order to
protect their right. I can evaluate that, if a proposed course of action or proposed treatment could
be harmful to the individual, I have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages.
CONCLUSION
By summing up the above report, it can be concluded that it is very essential to study the
real life clinical issues in order to effectively understand the health care organisation and work
practices. The above report has analysed the three real life clinical or nursing issues. It can be
analysed from the report the reflective journals which has concluded the learning, analysing and
concludes the feelings and opinion regarding such events.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2013). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice.
Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Ellis, P. (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing. Learning matters.
Fairman, J. A. & et.al., (2011). Broadening the scope of nursing practice. New England Journal
of Medicine. 364(3). 193-196.
George, J. B. (2011). Nursing Theories: The Base for Professional Nursing Practice, 6/e.
Pearson Education India.
LoBiondo-Wood, G., & Haber, J. (2017). Nursing research: Methods and critical appraisal for
evidence-based practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Nettina, S. M., Msn, A. B., & Nettina, S. M. (2013). Lippincott manual of nursing practice.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Nibbelink, C. W., & Brewer, B. B. (2018). Decision‐making in nursing practice: An integrative
literature review. Journal of clinical nursing. 27(5-6). 917-928.
Smith, M. J., & Liehr, P. R. (Eds.). (2018). Middle range theory for nursing. Springer
Publishing Company.
Terry, A. (2012). Clinical research for the doctor of nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Online
Communication Skills for Nurses . 2019 [Online] available
through:<https://www.ausmed.com/cpd/articles/communication-skills-for-nurses>.
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