Reflective Journal: Semester Experience in Health Assessment Module

This reflective journal entry provides a comprehensive overview of a nursing student's experience with health assessment during the semester. The student utilizes Gibbs' Reflective Cycle to analyze their experiences with assessing vital signs, particularly blood pressure (BP) and temperature, pulse, and respiration (TPR). The assessment process, including the use of the Australian Nursing Standards Assessment Tool (ANSAT), is described in detail. The student reflects on the challenges, such as initial nervousness and the importance of accuracy and critical thinking, and the positive aspects, including the development of practical skills and increased confidence. The journal also highlights the importance of patient interaction, cultural sensitivity, and ethical considerations in healthcare. The student concludes with an action plan for continuous learning and improvement in clinical practice, emphasizing the need for further research, seeking advice from senior colleagues, and maintaining a confident and conscious approach to patient care. The student's reflection emphasizes the importance of practical experience and the application of theoretical knowledge in real-world healthcare settings.

Introduction
I am going to critically reflect my experience I gained from this semester especially,
regarding health assessment. Health assessment is the initial stage before formulating any
nursing care plan and thus it plays one of the major roles in the treatment of any patient. It is
a fundamental element in nursing practice and here in this paper, I will describe my
experience on specific aspects of health assessment. Since, I will be using Gibbs’ Reflective
Cycle, so I will share my feelings along with a clear evaluation and analysis of the situation
(Li & Peng, 2018). At the end of the paper I will jot down the main learning from this
semester with an action plan for my career.
Description
The ANSAT tool is familiar to all nursing students which stand for Australian
Nursing Standards Assessment Tool and being a nursing student I also think it is a user-
friendly assessment tool used in assessing patients’ health. In order to assess the consistency
of the nurses, the tool plays a significant role (Jefferies et al., 2018). In order to address the
NMBA nursing conducts of comprehensively conduct assessment domain, health assessment
is highly essential (Katikireddi et al., 2018). During the whole semester I learnt specific
aspects of health assessment such as assessing TPR, BP and taking health interview. Among
all these aspects, assessing the BP and TPR seemed to be more interesting and difficult. I
assessed BP and TPR of many people as a part of my practical learning. However, I was
constantly working under the supervision of my mentor, I had to note the assessed data
thoroughly as the further treatment is dependent on the accuracy of assessment.
Feelings

Prior to the assessment I was nervous as it was my first ever application of medical
equipments upon the patients. But, while working, I realized integrating the techniques I
learned in the classroom regarding assessment is quite helpful. A lot of things were going
behind my mind and I was thinking how everything can be put together to have a better
health outcome. However, learning from this semester helped me to understand the
importance of critical thinking in nursing practice to provide holistic care to the patients.
Coming to the end, I can say, I am now enriched with knowledge and experience which
increased my confidence level as well.
Evaluation
On evaluation, this semester opened up opportunities to learn new things and gain
practical experience. Initially, due to nervousness, I was not able to measure the BP
accurately and was making mistakes. However, later on, my mentor explained me the need of
concentration in this task. I realized, patience and concentration is extremely effective in
getting an accurate outcome after assessing the patient (Maestre & Rudolph, 2015). The
experience I gained from this semester helped me to learn the process of working as a nursing
practitioner in the professional field. I also learned assessing techniques may vary according
to the condition of the patients and in order to get cooperation from the patients, it is
important to establish a friendly relationship between nurses and patients (Johnson & May,
2015).
Analysis
Upon analysing the whole semester I realized working under my mentor is quite
comfortable and enjoyable as I got constant support while learning. Assessing health is
challenging as its accuracy is highly important for further treatment. Learning from this
semester helped me to think critically and make valid clinical reasoning. However, at many

places I received negative feedback from my mentor but it will help me to be more conscious
and careful from the next time. I also realized that patients’ culture and belief should be
prioritized and ethical considerations should be taken into account while assessing patients’
health.
Conclusion
Finally, at the conclusion I can say that learning from this semester will help me to
strengthen my skills on specific aspects of health assessment. The textbook used in the
classroom was exceptionally helpful. The assessment round helped me to enhance my
knowledge but at the same time, it also drawn my attention on the gaps of my work which I
need to recover. I also believe, the experience will help me to provide a comprehensive care
to the patients and the assessment will be more accurate as the skills I developed increased
my confidence level as well (Ryan et al., 2018).
Action plan
I think learning should never be ended and I will engage myself to the constant
learning and research to address the critical feedbacks I received from my mentor while
assessing the patients. I think, in future, during my practice in clinical settings, I should take
advice from my seniors and be more confident and conscious to provide a holistic care to the
patients.

References
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