Nursing Assessment Skills

That day, I began to reflect on nursing knowledge, previous experiences, and I transformed my nursing knowledge into action. I realized that I was very confident and proactive in this situation. I was confident that by arranging a family meeting, I was able to help the patient's’ family to respect the patient’ wishes. My response in this situation was to respect my patient’s wishes and teach the patient’s family. My thought and feelings about this situation is that I felt that I made a difference in my patient’s life. It was a very sensitive and hard conversation, but I was needed so that we can do what’s best for the patient. The consequences of my action was that it allowed the family to come together, answer any questions, and do what the patient wanted. If I had not arranged a family meeting, and if the patient was in respiratory distress, she could have intubated and would not have the opportunity to make the decision for herself. My actions matched my beliefs since, I truly believe that everyone should be able to make decision for themselves
The assessment skills were used when a through assessment was completed. The communication skills were used to have a direct communication between the nurses, physician, patient and the family. The critical thinking skill was used to look at the overall situation and to integrate data into the making of decision ( Lenberg, 1999). The human caring and relationship skills were used during the discussion of sensitive topics such as code status and hospice care. The leadership skills were used to initiate the family meeting, and the teaching skills were used to ensure that the patient and all family members understood the situation and all their questions were answered. With the help of the different skills, nursing knowledge, and experience, we can really make difference in our patient’s life and provide care in a safe and efficient