Professional Nursing Practice Approaches: A Reflective Report Analysis

This report is a reflective analysis of a nursing student's experience in a medication administration scenario, utilizing the Gibbs reflective cycle. The student reflects on a clinical placement in a lab setting, focusing on areas of improvement in communication, allergy checks, medication validation, and patient education regarding side effects and expiry. The report analyzes the importance of effective communication, allergy assessment, and adherence to the five rights of medication administration, aligning with NMBA standards. The student outlines an action plan for future scenarios, emphasizing improved patient interaction, medication checks, and education on drug contraindications and routes of administration. References to relevant literature like Chau et al., Edmonds et al., and Williams et al. support the reflection.

RUNNING HEAD: APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 1
Approaches to professional nursing practice
Name:
Institution:
Tutor:
Date:

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 2
Approaches to professional nursing practice
DESCRIPTION
Reflection is an important aspect in nursing profession as it enables the nurses to improve
on what they did wrong in a previous case. In this assignment, I will reflect on mastery in
medication scenario that was carried out in the lab .I will utilize the Gibbs mode of reflection
since it is the most convenient method of reflection (Williams, Woolliams, & Spiro, 2012). This
reflection is in line with the NMBA standard 2 whereby nurses are supposed to engage in
therapeutic and professional relationships with their clients (Edmonds, Cashin, & Heartfield,
2016). During my clinical placement in the mastery CPU class in lab 4, there were somethings
that I did not do well. There was a case in which I got unsatisfactory in administering of
medication. I was very poor in communicating with the patient. I also missed out on checking
out any possible allergy to the patient. Other things that I did not do well include failure to
validate medicine correctly and not discussing the side effects of the drugs with the patient.
Finally, I did not check the medicine properly to find out if it had expired or not. After obtaining
advice from my tutor, I performed well in the second medication and in this case, I adhered to
the five rights of medication which include the right dose, right patient, right route and the right
frequency. In the second attempt, my communication was also better since I spoke loudly and
everyone could hear me.
ANALYSIS
There are vital lessons that I learnt from the whole experience. I now understand the
importance of effective communication with the patient before administering any medicine. This
is in line with NMBA code of conducts standard 2 that states that nurses should engage in

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 3
therapeutic and professional relationships with the patients. It is also important to make inquiry
about allergy reactions to certain medicines. This can be used to prescribe an alternative drug to
the one that causes allergy to the patient (Edmonds, Cashin, & Heartfield, 2016). I also
understand that it is important to check medicine before administration to avoid administering
the wrong drugs. I also know that administering drugs using the correct route elicits quick
recovery as opposed to the wrong route. This is according to the NMBA code of conduct
standard 7 (Chau et al., 2010). This code advocates for safe, appropriate and responsive quality
nursing practice.
ACTION PLAN.
In case I come across such a case of administering medication to a patient, there are
things that I would do differently. I would ensure that I communicate with the patients. This
involves asking them of any known allergies. I will also educate the patients on why certain
drugs are being used. I will also ensure that I check the medication properly for the expiry date to
avoid intoxication of the patient. I will also ensure that I communicate or inform the patient on
some of the side effects of the drugs. Other areas I would change include educating the patient on
the contraindications of the drugs and administering the medication using the correct route.

APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE 4
References
Chau, J. P., Lam, L., Lui, M. H., Ip, W., Chien, W., Lee, I. F., & Thompson, D. R. (2010). A
survey of registered nurses’ perceptions of the code of professional conduct in Hong
Kong. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(23-24), 3527-3534. doi:10.1111/j.1365-
2702.2010.03349.x
Edmonds, L., Cashin, A., & Heartfield, M. (2016). Comparison of Australian specialty nurse
standards with registered nurse standards. International Nursing Review, 63(2), 162-
179. doi:10.1111/inr.12235
Heidke, P., Howie, V., & Ferdous, T. (2018). Use of healthcare consumer voices to increase
empathy in nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 29, 30-34.
doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2017.11.007
Williams, K., Woolliams, M., & Spiro, J. (2012). Using a framework for reflection: Gibbs’
reflective cycle. Reflective Writing, 90-102. doi:10.1007/978-0-230-37724-0_16