Reflection on Skills and Career Development Plan

Reflection on the nursing practise

This essay will discuss a clinical skill that every nurse has or is working towards to better the care of a patient. This can be done by using the reflective process. it is used by nurses all around the world as a way of self-improvement and evaluation of the care being given to their patient.  This essay will also talk about what reflection and refection practise is and how nurses can benefit from it. Secondly, I will be setting myself a smart goal to ensure success for my nursing. Lastly a career plan created that will ensure me succuss to reaching my goal and excel at university and after in a practical setting.

To start what is reflection… in its simplest form as a whole someone who is reflects tends to think deeply or think back carefully about an action or task they are about to do and evaluate the effectiveness and the quality of the care. (Duffy, A. (2009) Reflective practice is the ability to examine one’s actions with having the outcome to developing and to better their skill. Studies have shown that nurses who take the time to reflect on the days experience enables them to provide better care for the patient, refection for nurses allows them to better understand their actions, which in return it provides the nursing to develop their specialized skills (Hansebo & Kihlgren, 2001) (Smith, A., & Jack, K. (2005). Refection practise effects everyone from student nurses to nurses who are trained. Reflective practice is also important for nurses to practise and master to become successful, after using this nurses must be willing to accept and act on any feedback or criticism given to a nurse by others or themselves. (Rees, K.L. (2012).

Nurses are very talented people who are skilled and trained to tackle a variety of scenarios. This may be from medical emergencies where they are with a patient at a hospital setting doing rounds on the wards to looking after people who are now no longer able to in a home setting doing everyday necessities. Every nurse no matter where they are has a polished set of skills and attributes, they use every day. Skills such as compassion or caring, patients come to hospital when they are sick or injured, a nurse must be ready to be compassionate in the care being given them this includes empathy for the patient for when in good or dire situations. (Daly, J., Speedy, S., & Jackson, D. (Eds.). (2017) Nurses must be effective communicators as well as good listeners. Attention to detail is an must every nurse. the nurse’s actions whist working may lead to consequences if the care of the patient is not adequate.  Critical thinking for nurses is important as they are faced with a different situation with every patient, critical thinking is required to make those quick decisions that can aid the situation and better the quality of the stay for the patient. Finally, every nurse must be confident in their own skills and knowledge, they must be able to work independently without supervisor and provide an excellent level of care. From a student nurse to a full-time nurse these are the basic skills every nurse should aim to have.

In conclusion nurses are talented trained professionals who strive to provide care to people in need. Every nurse has a verity of skill they have acquired from experience from effective communication, critical thinking, confidence, good listening skills finally compassion. These skills are used for care all around the world by every nurse. the importance of the reflective process was also discussed. It shows how effective looking back a day’s work to clear mistakes and questions can lead the care of the patient improving.

Career Action Plan:

My personal goal is to complete my double degree in nursing and paramedicine and work as a paramedic after completing my studies.  I know I would be great at this job because I am a hard worker who has a caring and outgoing personality as a paramedic you are usually going scenes where people are in trouble and in need for support. If I am able to make a situation better with my easy-going personality is a massive asset. I also see myself as an effective communicator, someone who is able to get a message across without struggle, I have good navigation and driving skills which is perfect for the role of a paramedic as they are required to respond to medical emergencies by navigating traffic and roads in a timely fashion. Critical thinking is extremely important for the job of a paramedic as a split-second decision can save someone’s life.

Additional skills I will be required to learn to get my dream job of a paramedic is build the skills of resilience and get to a healthy fitness level. Resilience is extremely important as they as they are at a daily exposure to traumatic scenes.  I live in Tamborine Mountain sometimes that professional barrier can be lowered when attending a scene especially when working in a small town. Most likely I am aware of the patient or their families. Sometimes you have a personal attachment to them. The strategies I can use to develop resilience is accepting that change is a part of life and make good relationships this may be from family members to other paramedics. (Gayton & Lovell, 2012, pp. 58-64) Activities that will strengthen resilience stay prepared for the worst, build relationship and master my emotions.  I set myself a goal to make 3 close relationships with fellow paramedics within the first year of work.

References:

• Daly, J., Speedy, S., & Jackson, D. (Eds.). (2017). Contexts of nursing: An introduction (5th ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Elsevier Australia.
• Duffy, A. (2009). Guiding students through reflective practice- The preceptors experiences. A qualitative descriptive study. Nurse Education in Practice, 9, 166-175.
• Gayton, S. D., & Lovell, G. P. (2012). Resilience in ambulance service paramedics and its relationships with well-being and general health. Traumatology,18(1), 58-64. doi:10.1177/1534765610396727
• Hansebo, G., & Kihlgren, M. (2001). Carers’ reflections about their video-recorded interactions with patients suffering from severe dementia. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 10, 737-747
• Rees, K.L. (2012). The role of reflective practices in enabling final year nursing students to respond to the distressing emotional challenges of nursing work. Nurse Education in Practice, 1-5.
• Smith, A., & Jack, K. (2005). Reflective practice: a meaningful task for students. Nursing Standard, 19(26), 33-37.