Reflective Essay on Community Nursing Practice Experience

This reflective essay provides an in-depth analysis of a student's community nursing experience, specifically focusing on geriatric care within Singapore. The essay details the student's involvement in a community healthcare system, where they assessed the health issues of older adults, provided care plans, and implemented interventions. The primary goal was to address health problems, provide education, monitor diseases, and manage medications. The essay highlights the advantages of community service, such as promoting exercise, providing education, and encouraging social activities. It also discusses the challenges faced, including dealing with patients' moods and behaviors, and resource limitations. The student reflects on the skills and knowledge gained, such as treating and diagnosing older people and offering mental and social support. The essay concludes with suggestions for improvement, including expanding services through mobile health and motivational therapy, and integrating family therapy and physiotherapy programs. The references cited support the discussion on the health issues and interventions related to older adults.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON COMMUNITY NURSING
Reflective Essay on Community Nursing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON COMMUNITY NURSING
Community health nursing combines healthcare and nursing practise together in a
community setting. They deliver health amenities, intervention, care and health education in a
particular community, where they are involved. They have to help and provide development
in the community and ensure safety. A community nurse understands the best care that
needed to address any patient depending upon the resources available (Nies & McEwen,
2014).
I was involved in a community health care system during the final year of my nursing
course. The community where I was involved during my practice, aimed at investigating the
problems and providing proper care and treatment plan among the older people residing in
Singapore. During the initial days of my practice, I was a bit worried about my choice of this
field but slowly after researching and investigating the issues and the problems related with
elder patient, it gave me a confident and many areas where I can help this community. Older
aged people face any problem regarding their health and cognitive thinking and behaviour.
They are generally very lonely and are grasped by many diseases like chronic infections,
heart diseases, type 2 diabetes (Huang et al., 2014). The primary goal was to assess the health
issue, providing correct and proper knowledge about the condition faced by them, monitoring
the disease, testing therapies and medications to them. I was immensely happy to enrol
myself in this service and with helping the geriatric patient.
The advantages of this service community were immense and awful. We helped the
people to perform regular exercise, educating them with various knowledge of people faced
by them, advising them to take daily medications and to involve them with different
activities. There was another problem that is often faced by the patients, which we could not
address like common flu due to low immunogenic power among the older people. The care
encouraged them to fight with diseases and to be socially active. The only problem that was

2REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON COMMUNITY NURSING
faced during the practice was dealing with their moods and behaviour, as older people are
very sensitive to deal with them.
In my opinion, the process was very systematic according to the planning of work.
However, there was some lack of resources. We met people in a particular community and
examined them based on physical appearances. We did a physical examination test and
advised them to consume proper food and diet. We also planned to involve them with various
social activities. I have learned many skills and knowledge during this course as a
practitioner, such as how to treat and diagnose older people and to provide proper mental and
social support.
Overall, it can be concluded that community health service is beneficial for all the
society, which helps them in recognition, diagnosing and coping up with the diseases.
However, we could have focused on many other communities of different areas as well.
Mobile helping or telenursing system would have addressed all the people in different areas
where older persons can learn about various critical components of the disease and exercise
(Jahromi et al., 2016). I could have done motivational therapy to reduce depression and
anxiety among older people, which was a common problem during the practice (Moral et al.,
2015).
I would like to involve immunisation and awareness program and safety hygiene
among the older population. This time I have planned to include family therapy along with
physiotherapy programmes for patients. I have also designed to link with other organisations
and daycare centres to develop the plan the more.

3REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON COMMUNITY NURSING
References
Huang, E. S., Laiteerapong, N., Liu, J. Y., John, P. M., Moffet, H. H., & Karter, A. J. (2014).
Rates of complications and mortality in older patients with diabetes mellitus: the
diabetes and aging study. JAMA internal medicine, 174(2), 251-258.
Jahromi, M. K., Javadpour, S., Taheri, L., & Poorgholami, F. (2016). Effect of nurse-led
telephone follow ups (tele-nursing) on depression, anxiety and stress in hemodialysis
patients. Global Journal of Health Science, 8(3), 168.
Moral, R. R., de Torres, L. A. P., Ortega, L. P., Larumbe, M. C., Villalobos, A. R., García, J.
A. F., ... & Study, C. G. A. A. (2015). Effectiveness of motivational interviewing to
improve therapeutic adherence in patients over 65 years old with chronic diseases: A
cluster randomised clinical trial in primary care. Patient education and
counseling, 98(8), 977-983.
Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2014). Community/Public Health Nursing-E-Book: Promoting
the Health of Populations. Elsevier Health Sciences.