Nursing Reflection: First Day Experiences, Learning, and Adaptation

This paper is a personal reflection by a nursing student on a significant experience during their first day at an extended care facility. The student recounts the events, including interactions with other nurses, feelings of being treated unfairly, and the ethical implications of workplace bullying. The reflection delves into the student's values, beliefs, and the impact of the situation, analyzing the experience through the lens of the adaptation theory. The paper highlights the importance of ethical conduct, compassion, and the need for supportive work environments in nursing. The student discusses how this experience shaped their approach to new nurses and their commitment to fostering a positive workplace. The student intends to address such situations with supervisors and continue working towards improved relationships among workers. The paper concludes with the student's reflections on the demanding nature of the nursing profession and the significance of ethical practices and compassion in patient care.

Running head: NURSING 1
Nursing
Name:
Institution Affiliation:

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Introduction
In this paper it is a personal reflection in which would discuss on the situation from my practice
which has been meaningful to me as a nurse. Additionally, it would recall on what happened,
who was involved, what I felt, the values and the belief of the impact, and what others felt in
regards to the situation. Moreover, there would be analysis on the same which would critically
analyze on the issue; overview of the main concepts of the theory would also be integrated.
Elaboration’
What happened?
My first situation as a nurse was at the extended care facility. This was my first day as a nurse
and I was excited I did this career; I was at the facility at 6.30 in the morning sharp which is a
feature for me even then since I am chronically on time. This was a beautiful experience for me
being on time. When I got the other nurses sounded intimidating since there were some who are
not accommodating, I had stranded for some time before the head of the nurses came to show me
around. The other nurses did not exactly treat me as a nurse in the making, but rather so much as
a nurse helper- this was a bullying case. I was assigned a lot of baths, took blood pressures, and
did a lot of patient turns. This was unfair considering this was my first day at work; everybody
should have been accommodating to help me fit well in the job. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time,
but years later this single experience has taught me how to treat other new nurses in the new
facility which I work.
Who was involved?

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The people who were involved were the other nurses who had previously work at the facility.
They were not so accommodating or welcoming a new member of the team all they did was
assign me all the work, to me I seemed as a helper rather than a nurse.
What I felt
At first I felt out of place, and at the same time felt bad since I was being treated as a helper
rather than a fellow nurse. They should have treated me much better to an extend of showing me
how they do work. They should have been very accommodating to having an additional staff at
their facility.
The values or belief which impacted my feeling
The belief which impacted on my feeling was that, as nurses we should have been working
together and rather not intimidating one of their own. Nurses are guided by ethics values that are
aimed to protect every individual whereby they are treated equally regardless of ethnicity, race,
or religion.
What the others involved felt about the situation and why
The other nurses who were involved in this situation did not feel any remorse based on what I
heard later it is what they do to new comers in this facility. They regard the new nurses as
helpers and rather not one of them. Nonetheless, there are few who felt sympathized with me for
all the work they had assigned me given that it was my first day at work.
Key issue directly related to own value
The key issue related to me was ambitious(Mott, 2014). I have always been ambitious and no
matter the situation doing all the work I believed that it was for the good course and one day the

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work I was doing would be rewarded. I have found that ambition could really be a powerful
value it lead individual to change what they want to see in the world.
Ethical, cultural, social, economic or safety considerations taken into account
The ethical issues which should be taken into account are integrity and trust(Diener, 2016). The
idea to understand integrity could include idea to conduct business affairs with the honesty and
the commitment, thus a high level of trust could develop among the people working in the
business. In the case of this situation the other nurses did not put integrity in their work.
Health/illness consideration to take into account
The health consideration which should have been put into account was on the aspect of fatigue.
Being allocated almost all the work it was unfair considering handling one patient to another
could be tiring and time consuming.(Sauer, Hannon & Beyer, 2017).
Values and beliefs arises
The values and beliefs have arisen from the motivation to lead others. As much as the situation
was not accommodating there was some hope that this would not go on for long time and
ultimately all will get much better. These aspects were impacted from the social or individual
preferable from one end of the nurses(Lee, Bernstein&Nokes, 2014).
Analyses
In this situation to a great extent it was a bully case where the nurses who have stayed longer in
the facility took advantage of me since I was new. Nursing profession is built on the practice of
compassion as well as code of ethics while caring for the patients(Mott, 2014). According to
studies it shows that such situations have arisen in the world more frequently and this aspect

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should not be spared since the repercussion could be devastating not only on the health of the
bullied person but on the structure as well as financial spending on the organization(Favela&
Vital, 2015). The nursing theory which could have applied in this situation is the adaptation
theory. In this it defines adaptation as adjustment of the living matter to the other living things as
well as environmental conditions. This is a continuous process which could affect on the change
and involve some interaction as well as response. This is true since with time I was able to adapt
to the new jobs as a nurse to an extent was able to help other new nurses from being bullied in
the workplace. In the comparison of this event, I would say that at first I did not know anyone,
did all the work but with time I began to adapt to this new environment.
New perspective
Based on the above analysis, I would say I have learnt that adaptation is essential and it is a
process. In any place that you work not everybody would accept you but with time when they get
to know about you they would begin to accept you. At first, they would regard you as threat
since you are in their territory and you might outshine them in their work and get promotion
before they are promoted instead.That is why they subject you to tough conditions. Based on
what I have learnt it is needless to say that as much as a person is new to a place, treat them well
and equals, there should be no bullying in the workplace in the sense that some employees feels
more superior than others(Spiri, Brantley& McGuire, 2016). Nurses are guided by code of ethics
and compassion to the patient that is what they need to focus on to effectively deliver their
work(Hockenberry, Wilson & Rodgers, 2016). When I encounter such situation again in the
future, I intend to raise the issue with the supervisors and be given by work schedule on what I
should do. It is important to note that the change might not come as quick as possible but it is
work in progress(Vukmir, 2016). Guidance from the others and working on a common objective

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would help enhance the relationship between the workers(Vukmir, 2016). What I have learnt
about the nursing is that it is a demanding professional and it is guided by code of ethics and
compassion to the patients.
Conclusion
In this paper it is a reflection of a meaningful situation I have encountered as a nurse. The paper
has reflected on the issue I encountered at a new facility during my first day at work. The others
nurses were not accommodating and in some situation there were bullying cases where I was
seen as a lesser person. Within the paper it has reflected on various aspects which have been
highlighted and discussed in details. This reflection has clearly given me a lot to think about the
nursing professional.

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References
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