Nursing Report: Reflective Analysis of Patient Care Incidents

This nursing report delves into the critical aspects of adult patient care, emphasizing the application of learned skills and ethical considerations within a healthcare setting. The report begins with an introduction outlining the significance of nursing interventions in patient recovery and discusses the importance of intellectual skills in medical decision-making. Section 1 identifies the application of biological, physiological, social, behavioral sciences, ethics, law, humanities, and health promotion in healthcare experiences. Section 2 provides a critical reflection on a difficult decision made during a patient care incident and demonstrates the utilization of research in nursing practices. Section 3 covers the use of technology in nursing and reflects on time management strategies. Section 4 focuses on collaborative teamwork and patient need identification. The report concludes with a summary of key findings and insights gained from the experiences, highlighting the importance of compassion, ethical conduct, and continuous learning in nursing practice.

Nursing with
Registration as an Adult

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
SECTION 1......................................................................................................................................1
Identifying learning and its application in healthcare related experience..............................1
SECTION 2......................................................................................................................................2
1. Critical reflection of an incident to make a difficult decision showing how and why the
decision is made.....................................................................................................................2
2. Providing evidence of understanding and ability to utilise research and the way this relates
to nursing................................................................................................................................4
SECTION 3......................................................................................................................................4
1. Providing evidence of ability to use technology................................................................4
2. Short reflection on how to prioritise and manage the time effectively..............................5
SECTION 4......................................................................................................................................6
1. Critical reflection of an incident related to working collaboratively in a team and the way
this relates to nursing..............................................................................................................6
2. Identifying and giving a short explanation on how I have worked with a patient / client to
identify their needs and helped in meeting them....................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Nursing field is an important area in medical care which is because nursing interventions
help in addressing patient’s demands and play an important role in their faster recovery. The
report discusses about use and importance of intellectual skills and abilities to utilise them while
making crucial decision in medical care experience.
SECTION 1
Identifying learning and its application in healthcare related experience
Biological and Physiological Sciences:
The term biological science is defined as study of living and life organisms, adaptations,
their life cycles and environment. These are more diverse life science degree programmes
embracing a broad range of specialist fields and varied spectrum approaches (Dykes and et.al.,
2017).
Physiology is the study of body functions of living organism how cell, tissues and organ
functions are integrated within an individual. It is related to experimental and scientific discipline
of general education value which is of fundamental importance in health-related science and
medicine. Its scope ranges from understanding events at molecular level to integrative
physiology of organs and systems (Carthon and et.al., 2015).
Biology is an important subject for all nursing students because it introduces them to
foundations of life. Being nursing student, knowledge of biology and physiology science helped
me to gain knowledge of how different parts of human body are being operated. I have applied
this knowledge during my healthcare placement while I was addressing an elderly patient who
was diagnosed with autism.
Social and Behavioural Science:
It refers to branch of science that deals primarily with human actions and seeks to
generalise about human behaviour in society. This includes psychology, sociology,
anthropology, ethology and other disciplines. Patient care is focus of my formal education as I
work towards earning a nursing degree. It is seen that patients who are ill or injured experience a
wide range of emotions. Nurses who are trained to understand these changes in behaviour of
patient provide better care to them who feel angry or depressed (Urquhart and et.al., 2018).
1

Behavioural science has helped me to effectively communicate with my patient and know
about his mental health along with his physical problems. Social science is the field which helps
nurse to understand how illness and diseases change patients’ mental health and the way proper
behaviour will help in bringing down his anxiety and depression issues.
Ethics, Law and the Humanities:
Nursing ethics refers to practice that should be conducted by nurses while caring and
addressing the patient (Xiao and et.al., 2017). These include medical ethics, non-maleficence,
beneficence and respect for autonomy of patient. Laws refer to legislation and acts which govern
nursing field in United Kingdom whereas humanity is an academic principle which studies the
aspects of human society and culture.
Applying of law, ethics and humanity creates balance in the field of nursing care (Ethics
and Human Rights.2018). It is important to have these three core competencies while addressing
patient or working in health-related services. I applied ethical code of conduct while taking care
of my patient which was the prime duty to avoid any kind of maleficence i.e. to harm or commit
any evil act against him/her. Further, it was my legal duty to oblige to rules and regulations of
nursing field and work according to legislation.
Health Promotion
It refers to the process of guiding and enabling people to increase their control of not
using unhealthy habits and to improve their health (Stephens and et.al., 2015). Main aim of
health promotion activities is to make people aware about importance of health and avoid
practice which deteriorates their health. Being nursing student, it is my moral duty to make my
patient aware about unhealthy habits which may affect his health. Further, I made my patient
aware about exercise and diet plans that they should follow in order to live a healthy lifestyle.
SECTION 2
1. Critical reflection of an incident to make a difficult decision showing how and why the
decision is made
Case of Miss White:
Miss White is an elderly person and live along with her family. She was suffering from
Bipolar Disorder from past 4 years. Miss White is admitted in the City Hospital where I work
before 1 month. I have been caring for Miss White over the last several days and this afternoon
2

she was approached by her sister Lucy who express concerns regarding treatment she is getting
by hospital and me.
It is a tough job to treat and take effective care of people (Piscotty, Kalisch and Gracey‐
Thomas, 2015) but being engaged in nursing field it is my moral duty to treat my patient with
love and care which help in his faster recovery. Miss White is a cheerful lady and puts efforts
from her side in her treatment. Miss White never complains about any issues or problems in her
medical treatment further, she appreciates how effectively nursing staff of City Hospitals handle
critical situation.
To resolve this situation, I took an initiative from my side and made decision to meet
Miss Lucy and listen to her complaint and address it properly. After meeting Miss Lucy I found
that she is not satisfied with management system and medical care given to her sister and state
that she will make a formal complaint against me. The complaint made by Lucy was not justified
as I am working acute mental health ward and poses basic knowledge required for treating
patient like Miss White further, her sister is being placed under observation by trained Doctor
Mr. James who give effective treatment to White. It was important to know and meet demand of
patient during their diagnosis I assured Miss Lucy that her demand will be met by me. To deal
with these circumstances, knowledge and skills applied by me are as follows: Compassion: Kindness and compassion is major requirement of every nurse and assure to
handle patient frustration, change in behaviour, etc. (Nydahl and et.al., 2017). I assured
Miss Lucy that her sister will not be harmed by hospital staff neither morally nor
ethically and her needs will be met accordingly. Applying Ethical Behaviour: I assure Lucy that I will apply strong professional and
ethical code of conduct further give a commitment to serve her sister with humanitarian
behaviour. I will assure that no maleficence happens with her during her treatment.
 Attention to Detail: Nursing staff including me will give proper attention to every issues
and problems of her sister so that she gets proper medical care and faster recovery from
bipolar disorder.
The decision made by me in case of Miss White was appropriate both ethically as well
morally. Initiatives made by me to meet her sister Lucy and to know about her concerns brought
out a positive result. Lucy was satisfied with my assurance and gave a positive feedback by
saying that she likes behaviour of nurses in the hospital. Further, my nursing manager also
3

appreciated me for taking this step but my departmental head was not happy and states that I
should have informed about this step to him and should not take any action against this situation
without his consultation.
2. Providing evidence of understanding and ability to utilise research and the way this relates to
nursing
To evaluate decision which was made by me in case of Miss White, a patient of Acute
Mental Health Ward was to take initiative to meet her sister Lucy to know what issues she has
from hospital staff and medical care given to White. I utilised research made by me during my
physical interventions and training in handling and safeguarding patients. This helps me to
analyse the effectiveness of decision made while addressing White.
I did some training like physical interventions, promoting equality, moving, handling and
safeguarding during my nursing course which allows me to effectively handle patient. It was
beneficial interventions as it provide me with certain level of knowledge and skills that will be
required in nursing field. Further, moving and handling people is regular task in health-related
services, proper training help me to effectively provide treatment to Miss White and handle her
with safety.
Further, practising equality for patient enables me to analyse my decision which was
justifiable both morally as well ethically. This is because; it is the duty of nursing staff to address
each and every need and demand of patient. Further, ethically patient can come to complain
about any issues or problems he/she faces during their diagnosis. Moreover, applying of proper
skills enable me to handle situation more effectively and assure Miss Lucy that her sister will be
given accurate treatment from staff of city hospital.
SECTION 3
1. Providing evidence of ability to use technology
The use of computer technology has made nursing care more efficient and effective.
Nurses work closely with doctors and other medical professionals to implement a proper nursing
care plan for their patient (Jones, Hamilton and Murry, 2015). Techniques like electronic health
record (EHR) is quickly becoming a standard practice in health care. Technology and computer
software help me to get quick access to important information about patient's health or illness.
Technological equipment help in measuring current situation of internal organ and is responds to
4

medicine and treatment. I use machines like; Sugar Checker to check level of glucose within
blood and to monitor the effectiveness of medicine given to treat it. Further, Blood pressure
monitor to check current level of blood pressure and to ensure that it do not exceed the limit set
for normal person. X-ray machine to check patient bone structure after they met with an
accident and to ensure proper medication for faster recovery of wounds (Muldrew, McLaughlin
and Brazil, 2018).
I use various search engines like, Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia to gain knowledge about
new inventions in drugs and medicines. Further, to learn about various nursing skills and
knowledge to be applied while addressing patients and to know about experience of trained
professionals in nursing field. More over through computer technology I was able to get
certificated learning and training under online program made for giving detailed information to
Nurses. Technology has made possible to get research findings for various medical practices and
up gradation taken place in field of medical science.
2. Short reflection on how to prioritise and manage the time effectively
Being engaged in a nursing practising and taking care of patient is tough task it needs
proper management skills (Hockenberry and Wilson, 2014). The most essential requirement of
nurse is to get things done on time and bring balance through managing time for each patient. I
utilise various skills to prioritise task and managed time effectively which are as follows: Listing of activities: It is essential to prioritise work beforehand and list down all
activities which needs to be perform during nursing care. I make my list by noting
priority activities which I need to do like; addressing all my patient in morning, meeting
with Nursing Manager and discussing task which I need to do. Through this I get to know
which task is more important for me in a day. Maintaining Flexibility: Many times patient resist in taking medicine and performing
daily routine activities further, due to interruptions by such patients create problems in
managing task. To tackle and resolve this circumstances I build my flexibility skills to
easily adjust with situation this help me to manage task effectively.
 Cluster Care: This technique is used in nursing field to cluster or combine number of
visit s nurse make to different patient. I adopt cluster care method in addressing my
patient. This is very useful tool this is because I deal with patient of mental illness which
5

requires frequent visits as they are unable to manage their task. Cluster care help me to
get things done quickly and freeing up time for other things around me.
SECTION 4
1. Critical reflection of an incident related to working collaboratively in a team and the way this
relates to nursing
In delivering health-care services, an effective team plays a key role and help in
immediately recovery of affected patient. Team efforts has taken place in health care
organisation due to evolution in global demand for quality services for effective treatment of
patient. I worked in an acute mental health ward and daily deals with many patients suffering
from chronic mental problems like Autism, bipolar disorder, etc. There is the team of 10 people
that is assigned with task of taking care and meeting demands or needs of patient within mental
health ward. Being a member of the team, my task is to make round visits to each patient room
and do physical interventions like; handling or moving patient for ADL activities.
Team task is very essential to perform each job within medical care of patient. Our group
is built as Inter-professional nursing team where different members who are expert in distinct
profession come together to provide quality service to client (Gerber and et.al., 2018). Each
member of team was asked to perform within legal and ethical framework in order to provide
high quality services. This provides us with great benefits as incorporation of sharing duty and
responsibility along with accountability from each nursing staff of team. Further, in our group,
team members from different disciplines utilised their skills and observe client carefully which
help in preparing comprehensive care plan for each patient in mental ward. Better care of patient
is possible through inter-professional collaborations of nursing staff. I was able to handle my
tasks effectively and in case if, I fall short in managing my work, it can be compensated by other
team members. This effective co-ordination among staff helped in formulating plans and
strategies for fulfilling health-care services of mentally ill patient.
On the other side, there is a challenge for members of inter-professional teams is to
manage team processes that occur in all teamwork. Along with this, we have to manage
individual professional identities. There were many barriers which I face during my team
experience in nursing care:
6

 Communication Issues: There was communication gap within our team as members
were not properly communicating with each other. Team members were not reporting
about patient’s health and needs to other persons in group. This resulted in missing of
some critical symptoms that led to serious issues for patients. Improved communication
can help in proper collaboration and support in effectively treating my patient. Differences in schedules and professional routines: The major issue while working in
this team for me was difference in scheduled timings. Doctors were not reporting on time
and due to this, I was not able to give proper medication to my patient. Equal support
from doctors can help in giving proper medications and faster recovery of patients. Complexity of care: Different professions of team members have led to many complex
situation in our group. There was lack of quality assurance from doctors and no backup
plan for treating a critical or risky situation. Further, there was no collaboration of my
colleague with me. All these circumstances led to complex situation.
 Discriminatory behaviour: There was discriminatory behaviour in team as nursing
manager was partial and used to give preferences to work of those team members whom
he knows personally. Further, manager was neglecting efforts placed by me and other
members in group.
2. Identifying and giving a short explanation on how I have worked with a patient / client to
identify their needs and helped in meeting them
Nurses play a major role in identifying and fulfilling needs and preferences of clients.
They are closely related to them and know how to deal with any issue or problem faced by
patient mentally or physically. I used following ways to identify my patient’s needs. These are: Meeting with them: It is the best and efficient way to look out for needs of patient. I used
to make two meetings with my clients first in the morning and one which I name as wrap-
up meeting. These meetings help me to know about their requirements and give me
considerable time to fulfil in my next visit. Applying Empirical Knowledge: It is an essential approach placed by nurse to know
what is good and bad for their patient. This approach helps me to know which needs of
clients are to be addressed.
7

 Building Personal Relationship: Personal relationship with client helps me to know in
detail about what are their preferences and needs. Clients who build personal contact with
me share their issues and problems of life which is very beneficial for me to treat their
mental health issues.
Patient’s need were identified by me from above ways after analysing of which I tried to
fulfil the same. For instance, a patient’s need is a comfortable bed or clean environment. This
demand was fulfilled by me through consulting nursing manager of mental health ward. Further,
if client demanded for regular visits of his family members then I fulfilled it through informing
his/her family members.
CONCLUSION
The report concludes that nursing care and intervention are essential tasks which help in
addressing needs and preferences of patients. Further, it has been assessed that detailed
knowledge of different terms of medical science like Biological and physiological sciences;
ethics law and humanities, etc. are essential and useful to nursing students while addressing
patient. Also, it has been articulated that there is high importance of team work and it can be
improved to get better outcomes and effective care of patient.
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Carthon, J.M.B. and et.al., 2015. The quality of hospital work environments and missed nursing
care is linked to heart failure readmissions: a cross-sectional study of US hospitals. BMJ
Qual Saf. 24(4). pp.255-263.
Dykes, P. C. and et.al., 2017. Prospective evaluation of a multifaceted intervention to improve
outcomes in intensive care: the Promoting Respect and Ongoing Safety Through Patient
Engagement Communication and Technology Study. Critical care medicine. 45(8).
pp.e806-e813.
Gerber, H. and et.al., 2018. Social Medicine and Interfaces in Sectoral Health Care Provision.
Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes
(Germany). 80(4). pp.346-350.
Hockenberry, M. J. and Wilson, D., 2014. Wong's nursing care of infants and children-E-book.
Elsevier Health Sciences.
Jones, T. L., Hamilton, P. and Murry, N., 2015. Unfinished nursing care, missed care, and
implicitly rationed care: State of the science review. International journal of nursing
studies. 52(6). pp.1121-1137.
Muldrew, D. H., McLaughlin, D. and Brazil, K., 2018. Ethical issues experienced during
palliative care provision in nursing homes. Nursing ethics, p.0969733018779218.
Nydahl, P. and et.al., 2017. Safety of patient mobilization and rehabilitation in the intensive care
unit. Systematic review with meta-analysis. Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
14(5). pp.766-777.
Piscotty, R. J., Kalisch, B. and Gracey‐Thomas, A., 2015. Impact of healthcare information
technology on nursing practice. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 47(4). pp.287-293.
Stephens, T. and et.al., 2015. Capacity building for critical care skills training provision in
resource limited settings: the nursing intensive care skills training (NICST) project.
Intensive care medicine experimental. 3(S1). p.A444.
Urquhart, C. and et.al., 2018. WITHDRAWN: Nursing record systems: effects on nursing
practice and healthcare outcomes. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 5,
pp.CD002099-CD002099.]
Xiao, S. and et.al., 2017. Nursing process health care indicators: A scoping review of
development methods. Journal of nursing care quality. 32(1). pp.32-39.
Online
9

Ethics and Human Rights. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/>.
10