Reflective essay on communication
I am a health care assistant (HCA) on an elderly care surgical ward and we nurse many different patients who have had elective surgery and corrective surgery after a trauma. I have a lot of contact with patients who suffer with dementia, ongoing confusion due to urinary tract infections and can often display challenging and aggressive behavior.
I have found on a daily basis that patients become can frustrated when they cannot communicate what they want, and I was sure that with my strong accent I would come across as harsh. This left me feeling worried and sometimes inadequate because it is in my job and personal nature to want to help those in my care. As part of my Personal Assessment Document (PAD) my mentor and I decided that I would I would push myself to speak with patients more and see how they reacted to me. I would read the patient’s purple “This is me†folder to try and engage them on a more personal level.
With this reflective account I will be discussing an experience that I had on my ward and how through reflection I have managed to gain more confidence in my ability to talk to my patients and convey my compassion in the way I communicate with the patients in my care.
I will use the reflective framework devised by Atkin and Murphy (1994) to construct this account. It is the right model of reflection for me to look back and learn from my experiences.
Personally, being a good student and health carer does not just come with reflection in the mind but also reflective practice which, according to the nursing standard “enables a student to develop their skills, increase their knowledge and deal with emotionally challenging situations†(RCN 2012). Reflection is something that should be engaged with on an everyday basis and from very early on in your health care career. It enables you to carry on caring about the patients you treat and how to improve yourself personally and professionally.
I enjoy both the personal rewards and the
I have found on a daily basis that patients become can frustrated when they cannot communicate what they want, and I was sure that with my strong accent I would come across as harsh. This left me feeling worried and sometimes inadequate because it is in my job and personal nature to want to help those in my care. As part of my Personal Assessment Document (PAD) my mentor and I decided that I would I would push myself to speak with patients more and see how they reacted to me. I would read the patient’s purple “This is me†folder to try and engage them on a more personal level.
With this reflective account I will be discussing an experience that I had on my ward and how through reflection I have managed to gain more confidence in my ability to talk to my patients and convey my compassion in the way I communicate with the patients in my care.
I will use the reflective framework devised by Atkin and Murphy (1994) to construct this account. It is the right model of reflection for me to look back and learn from my experiences.
Personally, being a good student and health carer does not just come with reflection in the mind but also reflective practice which, according to the nursing standard “enables a student to develop their skills, increase their knowledge and deal with emotionally challenging situations†(RCN 2012). Reflection is something that should be engaged with on an everyday basis and from very early on in your health care career. It enables you to carry on caring about the patients you treat and how to improve yourself personally and professionally.
I enjoy both the personal rewards and the
References: – 167 words Alzheimer’s Society and RCN, This is me: This leaflet will help you support me in an unfamiliar place (available for download at http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/download_info.php?fileID=849 )- site accessed at 22.35 on 3rd October 2012 Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) Reflective Practice. Nursing Standard 8(39) 49-56 Elkins, Zoe (2011) Communication bridges for patients with dementia, Primary Healthcare, Volume 21, Number 10. The Good Care Group, P. 18-19 Hobson, Pat (2012) Communication: making sense of what people with dementia say. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants Vol 6, No 7, P. 334 Nursing and Midwifery Council, (2004) The NMC Code of professional Conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics, P3, London, NMC McFerran, Tanya A. (1998), A Dictionary of Nursing, third edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Morris, Garry and Morris, Jack (2010), The Dementia Care Handbook, P16. McGraw Hill, Open University Press. Royal College of Nursing, Reflective Practice, http://nursingstandard.rcnpublishing.co.uk/students/reflective-practice - Accessed at 21.40 on 3rd October 2012, Published by the RCN Publishing Company Limited - Copy rite 2012