Reflection of a Professional Nurse in Mental Health Setting

This report provides a reflective analysis of a student's experiences and learning in mental health nursing, focusing on the ethical and cultural frameworks. The student discusses the importance of non-judgmental care, self-awareness, and the application of ethical-legal guidelines in patient assessment, intervention, and evaluation. The report highlights the development of a positive attitude towards culturally diverse patients, particularly Aboriginal and Islander people, and the impact of the course on the student's beliefs, attitudes, and values. The student emphasizes the significance of ethical-legal and cultural awareness in delivering appropriate mental health care and concludes that the course has enhanced their ability to provide patient care effectively. The report also mentions the use of case studies in the learning process to enhance the understanding of the ethical-legal framework and provide appropriate interventions.

Running Head: REFLECTION OF A PROFESSIONAL NURSE
REFLECTION OF A PROFESSIONAL NURSE
Student Name:
Student ID:
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REFLECTION OF A PROFESSIONAL NURSE
Introduction
In mental health nursing, the role of the professional nurse is to remain non-judgmental and self-
aware. When I evaluate and conduct an intervention on patients, then consideration of the
ethical-legal framework is necessary. Culturally appropriate mental health care management is
necessary for catering to a broad spectrum of patients. In the current reflective analysis, the
consideration of a change in my beliefs, attitudes, and values across the term while incorporating
such framework is seen, is been discussed here.
Analysis
The course term has provided guidelines on mental nurse’s framework where ethical-
legal guidelines have to be adhered to. Hence in order to follow the framework, I have developed
a positive attitude towards culturally diverse patients, who come for treatment in Australia,
especially the Aboriginals and Islander Strait people. I have started to value the ethical-legal
framework to deliver non-judgmental care to patients, such that I can evaluate each patient
equivalently. I believe in the mental health nursing models to deliver care to patients coming
from the various cultural background. From this term, I have been able to become more aware
regarding the application ethical-legal and culturally appropriate framework in mental health
nursing. Before this term, I did not possess such ethical, legal or cultural awareness to implement
in assessment, evaluation, and intervention of mental health nursing technique.
A most important ability of a professional nurse is to deliver care through self-awareness.
Such self-awareness needs to focus on the ethical-legal and cultural framework. The framework
allows me to be more accountable, autonomous, beneficence, non-maleficence, fair and veracity
towards culturally diversified patients. These values for professional nurses are applicable so that
as a nurse I do not make a distinction when caring for Aboriginal people and between other
Australians. The framework will help me not being biased towards culturally diversified people
present in Australia. As a nurse is aware of the ethical-legal framework will let me handle patient
cases and apply proper interventions.
The change in my belief, attitude, and values has come from learning in this unit. The
learning in this unit specifically focuses on mental health nurses to develop these qualities. I had
to undertake a case study analysis where I was tested whether I could provide my judgment on
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REFLECTION OF A PROFESSIONAL NURSE
mental health patient's case that involved ethical-legal and cultural issues. The reflection for this
term also focused on understanding and analyzing my level of concepts related to the ethical-
legal framework. The focus of this unit led to this change in my beliefs, attitudes, and values.
This influence has given me the confidence that with directional and focused learning with case
study evaluation and reflection, one can gain competence of learning from a term.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I can say that as a professional nurse I have gained significant confidence
in learnings of a term. This has given me the capability to use the ethical-legal framework in
assessing, intervening and evaluating a patient's mental health. Most importantly the
development of attitudes, beliefs, and values will enable me to deliver patient care in an
appropriate manner. In the absence of learning from this term enhancement of such skills and
capability would not have been possible.
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