Reflection paper nursing
Reflection of a Critical Incident
I chose to write about this incident because I feel it emphasizes the risks to which the patients can be exposed while receiving care in a health care facility. It shows how policies and procedures can be neglected by the healthcare professionals, placing the patients at increased risk of getting hospital acquired infection. According to Statistics Canada one in nine patients admitted to Canadian hospitals acquire an infection as a result of their hospital stay. It has been identified that the transmission of microorganisms from the hands of health care providers is the main source of cross infection in hospitals and can be prevented by hand hygiene practices that are in keeping with recommended standards.
The critical incident took place at 9:00 am in the orthopaedics unit, which is located on the 8th floor of the west wing of the Jewish general hospital, during the second week of my clinical setting. All names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality.
I could not help but notice that the attending MD had just entered Mrs. X room requiring contact isolation precautions without wearing personal protective equipment or performing hand hygiene. In addition, after having completed the morning round, the MD exited Mrs. X room on to his next destination again without performing the hand hygiene.
In this paragraph, I would elaborate on my feelings and thinking that took place in the event described above. I was astonished by the fact that the MD did not wash his hands or use alcohol prior to examining Mrs. X when all the infection control guidelines and protocols were in place. In spite of this fact I did not have confidence and felt intimidated due to the fact that the MD was much more experienced and more knowledgeable than I was as a second year McGill Nursing student. In addition, I had no intention in making him feel uncomfortable and unprofessional in front of the residents. Moreover, I did not want Mrs. X feel
I chose to write about this incident because I feel it emphasizes the risks to which the patients can be exposed while receiving care in a health care facility. It shows how policies and procedures can be neglected by the healthcare professionals, placing the patients at increased risk of getting hospital acquired infection. According to Statistics Canada one in nine patients admitted to Canadian hospitals acquire an infection as a result of their hospital stay. It has been identified that the transmission of microorganisms from the hands of health care providers is the main source of cross infection in hospitals and can be prevented by hand hygiene practices that are in keeping with recommended standards.
The critical incident took place at 9:00 am in the orthopaedics unit, which is located on the 8th floor of the west wing of the Jewish general hospital, during the second week of my clinical setting. All names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality.
I could not help but notice that the attending MD had just entered Mrs. X room requiring contact isolation precautions without wearing personal protective equipment or performing hand hygiene. In addition, after having completed the morning round, the MD exited Mrs. X room on to his next destination again without performing the hand hygiene.
In this paragraph, I would elaborate on my feelings and thinking that took place in the event described above. I was astonished by the fact that the MD did not wash his hands or use alcohol prior to examining Mrs. X when all the infection control guidelines and protocols were in place. In spite of this fact I did not have confidence and felt intimidated due to the fact that the MD was much more experienced and more knowledgeable than I was as a second year McGill Nursing student. In addition, I had no intention in making him feel uncomfortable and unprofessional in front of the residents. Moreover, I did not want Mrs. X feel
References: • Budimir-Hussey M ( 2013). Exploring physician hygiene practices and perceptions in 2 community-based Canadian hospitals. Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario; and †University of Windsor, Faculty of Nursing, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. • Pittet D, Boyce JM (2001). Hand hygiene and patient care: Pursuing the Semmelweis legacy. 1(9), 20. • Pépin J, Valiquette L, Cossette B. (2005) Mortality attributable to nosocomial Clostridium difficile–associated disease during an epidemic caused by a hypervirulent strain in Quebec. 173:1037–1042. • Leischner J, Johnson S, Sambol S, Parada J, Gerding D. (2005). Effect of alcohol hand gels and chlorhexidine hand wash in removing spores of Clostridium difficile (CD) from hands. In: Proceedings of the 45th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Washington, DC: American Society of Microbiology;. Abstract LB‐29. • Riggs MM, Sethi AK, Zabarsky TF, Eckstein EC, Jump RLP, Donskey CJ. (2007) Asymptomatic carriers are a potential source for transmission of epidemic and nonepidemic Clostridium difficile strains among long‐term care facility residents. Clin Infect Dis; 45:992–998. • Eltringham I. (1997) Mupirocin resistance and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). J Hosp Infect (35) 1-8.7.