Analysis of a Patient Fall Incident: A Reflective Practice Report

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Broadening Perspectives on Practice
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Reference.......................................................................................................................................13
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TITLE: Reflection on Accident Incident of 76 years Old Person With Learning Disability
Encountered on Placement
Introduction
The study a reflection that is based on interaction of mine with a seventy-six years old person
who has a issue of learning disability. I am here taking an alternative area or sector of nursing of
adult nursing is my ground. Driscoll’s (2007) reflective model is used here in reflecting the
throughout stages concerned in the experience of placement, especially that concerned to a case
of a patient. The structural form of Driscoll’s reflective model, (2007) has four points cyclical
approach that includes
i) What? : Returning to the situation
ii) So what? : Understanding the context and
iii) Now what? : Modifying future outcomes
With the employment of this model, I have given the description of my personal experience in a
detailed form with the focus into the positive and negative aspects of the backdrop with the
sectors of improvement as per the reflection model of Driscoll. The significance of the reflective
model of Driscoll is that the model is based on the reflection on experience. This can be helpful
for the people to compact with the experiences in a improved way in upcoming future. If a
person doesn’t learn from the past experience, it is difficult for the person to deal with same kind
of experiences in a better way for the future occasions. I got the assistance f the model in
reflecting the critical incident and that gave me a positive effect on me.
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In the time of giving the description of the event, the issues of clinical ethics were ensured. A
nurse should maintain the codes of practice and the confidentiality while dealing with the fine
points of a patient as per the Code for Nurses and Midwives. Mr. XYZ, (a pseudonym) had
faced the fall. The Pseudonym is a fictitious name that is used for hiding the original identity of
a real person.
Discussion
Driscoll’s reflective model is used here to reflect the situation and describe the probable
outcomes from the situation. This reflective model includes the following things.
i) What? : Returning to the situation
ii) So what? : Understanding the context and
iii) Now what? : Modifying future outcomes (Bassot, 2016)
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Figure 1: Driscoll’s reflective model
(Source: Bassot, 2016)
 What ? : Returning to the situation
The purpose of returning to this situation:
Being a nurse, it is my duty to attend the patients who are admitted to the hospital. The purpose
of returning to the situation is to attend the patient of 78 years old man who admitted to the
hospital because he had a fall and he also has the problem of learning disorder (Bassot, 2016).
What exactly occurred:
Mr. XYZ is a 78 years old man. He was admitted to the hospital because of his learning disorder.
The patient had fall on the ground when he was trying to come back from the walk in the
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evening. After he fell he had a leg injury and his left leg bleed for a while. I was in charge of
look after the patient to guide him in his eating, walking, drinking, bathing, taking medicines and
other activities (Bassot, 2016).
What did I see and what did I do:
As per the sayings of National Institute for Care and Excellence, if a an elderly falls, he or she
must need to be checked if there is any probable injuries before moving the person, an immediate
first aid to the person is to be made. After the fall, a housekeeper saw the person and he took him
for the farther check up to the doctor. I was not there at that time as I went to bring his afternoon
medicines and he was not supposed to walk without me. He was told to wait for me but he tried
to come back to his cabin without my assistance. After the incident happened, I stated assessing
the risk factor from the fall.
What was your reaction? :
When I have got to know about the occurrence, I started assessing the risk from that fall. While
doing the assessment I started assembling the appropriate information on the facts, which are
connected with the case of the patient. The information includes the name, age, problems of the
patient, previous reports and the previous diet charts of the patient. I was united with the patient
just half an hour before the incident happened. That is why it was needed for me to gather all the
information regarding the past events with the previous nurse and previous diet plan.
What did other people do? :
Other people who were present at that situation like the other patients who were in the garden for
evening walk, there were the housekeeping staffs and some nurses with the other patients. At the
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time, Mr. XYZ had a fall, other patients and the nurses with them were busy with them. There
was a housekeeping staff that saw the incident and took the first initiative to take the old man to
the doctor. After knowing the fact all the other patients were disturbed and worried about Mr.
XYZ.
What do you see as key aspects of this situation? :
The key aspects from this situation are as follows.
i) The incident that happened with the patient
ii) The age of the person
iii) If there was any severe injury
iv) The first aid had provided or not
v) The time, when I attended the patient after the fall
vi) If the fall created any risk or not to the patient
vii) If the patient had taken care properly or not (Stonehouse, 2019)
 So what?: Understanding the context
What were you feeling at the time? :
When I came to know about the incident, I was very worried about the patient. I was anxious to
know if there was any injury happened to the patient. After that, I started gathering information
about the patient. I came across the whole day’s diet plan, his medicine background, his previous
reports regarding his heath and mind. The person had lost his wife few years back. His relatives
do not come to meet him and this gives a bad impact on his psychological health. The patient
already has learning disorder. This is the reason for what I needed to check that what could be
the reason behind his fall (Stonehouse, 2019).
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What are you feeling now? Are there any differences and, if so, why? :
After checking the patient and with the assurance that no big injury is there I am more relaxed
now. The reason of my relaxed feeling is the absence of big injury. The left leg of the person
bleed but it was just a simple wound that has been taken care of. But all my anxiety haven’t gone
yet because of the background information about the patient. Now I need to assess the reason
behind the fall of the patient (Stonehouse, 2019). I need to understand that the fall was from any
health issue like dehydration or low immune system or it is totally because of the mental stress
due to loneliness. I also need to keep this is in mine that the patients with learning disorder has
the tendency of falling.
What were the effects of what you did (or did not do)? :
The effects from my deeds are as follows.
i) I gathered all the information about the patient.
ii) I came to know about the past records of the patient’s family.
iii) I have all the detailed information about the past medical history of the patient.
iv) From all the gathered information, I tried to locate the exact reason behind the fall.
What good emerged from the situation e.g. for self, others? :
From the above situation, some godds is emerged. These are as follows.
i) The patient does not have any serious danger from the wound that has happened by
the fall.
ii) All the information regarding the patient is recovered.
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iii) The reason behind the fall of the patient is started to be investigated (Nicol and
Dosser, 2016).
What troubles you, if anything? :
There is a number of things that troubled me. The main thing is the psychological situation of the
patient. The patient recently lost his wife. The time he was admitted to this hospital, no one from
his relatives came to visit him. This can make a huge impact on the mental health of the patient.
There is one more troubling factor about the patient and that is his chronic learning disorder.
This disorder can be the reason behind his frequent falls (Nicol and Dosser, 2016).
What were your experiences in comparison to your colleagues? :
My experiences were different from the experiences of my colleagues. I was worried and very
anxious about the health matter of the patient. I was eager to gather information about the
patient’s history. I wanted to know the detailed information about the patient.
What are the main reasons for feeling differently from your colleagues? :
The main reasons behind the different feeling from my colleagues are as follows.
i) I was allotted as a nurse to the patient.
ii) Is my responsibility to take care of the patient being a nurse.
iii) All of my colleagues were tensed and worried in the primary situation, but as I was
allotted for the patient, my concern is very high.
 Now what?: Modifying future outcomes
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What are the implications for you? :
The implications that can be done by me are as follows.
i) I need to go through the past medical history of the patient.
ii) The patient needs the exact and proper treatments for the proper diagnosed disease.
iii) The patient needs mental care and he happy for his learning disorder issue (Nicol and
Dosser, 2016).
What needs to happen to alter the situation? :
To alter the situation, mentioned things need to be followed.
i) Proper diagnosis should be there for the patient.
ii) The patient needs to be guided all the time by the nurses.
iii) Mental health of the patient needs to be taken care of if he feels lonely.
iv) The patient needs to maintain a proper diet plan for his daily life.
What are you going to do about the situation? : I need to take some steps for the patient in this
situation as a nurse. These steps are as follows.
i) I need to a part of the patient’s thoughts.
ii) I need to know about the patient in details.
iii) I should always try to make him happy.
iv) I need to be very careful about the fact that he is never alone. (Sewell, 2017)
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What happens of you decide not to alter anything? : If I decide not to alter anything, there
will be a risk factor for the patient. There will be no chances of the betterment of the patient
anymore.
What might you do differently if faced with a similar situation again? : If there is a similar
situation again, the things that I will differently, those are as follows.
i) I will be with the patient all the time.
ii) I will be very careful about the medical history of the patient.
iii) I will look after the proper diagnosis of the patient. (Sewell, 2017)
What information do you need to face a similar situation again? : I f there is a same situation
in the future again, as a nurse I need to be very helpful for the patient with a approach of anti-
discriminatory practice. as per the codes of nursing I should practice my profession in anti-
discriminatory way. I need to look after my patients without discriminating their age, gender,
cast, color, nationality etc. I need to be loyal and attentive towards my work.
What are your best ways of getting information about the situation should it arise again? :
The best ways of getting information are:
i) Checking the records of previous cases
ii) Maintaining own records of the patients
iii) Records from the hospital can give assistance in this matter (Stonehouse, 2019)
Conclusion
From the above study, I can be concluded that the patients need to be taken care of by the
treatment and the proper assistance from the nurses. It is my duty to take care of my patients and
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supervise them as a nurse. I should know the detailed information about the patient’s medical
history and about family life. Having all the information about a patient, makes the diagnosis
process easier. The treatment becomes easier if the reason behind the issue is clear. I need to be
alert and careful about my patients. The codes of nursing teaches us to practice a anti
discriminatory work culture. I should be same with all my patients and need to be their friend
than a nurse. I also needs to follow all the rules and regulations about maintaining the privacy of
the patients.
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