Written Assignment
My parents used to be part of a charity organization in our community, majorly concerned with helping the elderly people, including giving donations and visiting them in palliative care facilities. Therefore, ever since I was young, I used to accompany them to visit the elderly people, and I would see the suffering that they were undergoing. I wished that I could help them be a bit comfortable, but I could not because I did not have the required expertise. One day as we were coming from our routine visits, I spoke with my dad and told him that I would like to be part of a team that provided health care services to elderly people to always be there for them. My dad smiled and told me that it required me to put more effort into my studies and acquire good grades to join such a team. Due to my passion for helping, I worked hard in school, and upon completion of high school, my father assisted me in joining the nursing school to achieve my dreams of becoming a nurse that would help the elderly manage their health conditions with little pain.
From the time I joined the nursing course, I always focused on attaining excellent clinical skills. From time to time, I discussed with my CPC about how much she thought I had changed since my very first placement when I started the course. Based on her response, I would also do my personal assessment and reflect on how much I had changed over the years and how the care I deliver to the elderly patients was changing since the beginning of my nursing training. Despite being in palliative care facilities several times, we were never allowed to be there when the nurses gave the patients services. Therefore, unlike some of my other student colleagues, I had no experience of working in a hospital or, indeed, in any caring setting. I had come straight from high school with the aspiration of being a nurse and had no real idea of the nurse’s role. I was definitely not aware of the full responsibilities that nurses have in caring for patients, especially the elderly. Henceforth, I would say that nursing practice was the most difficult concept of the course and was evident during placements.
Although I was not totally naive about what I was training to do, the extent of the work involved was still a surprise to me. Initially, in those first few weeks, I found it quite difficult to adjust to the ward’s routine and could not believe how busy everything was. It was a strange and weird experience being referred to as ‘nurse’ when I clearly did not understand what I was doing most of the time. However, I am glad that through continuous participation, I changed for the better. I knew the routine, how to prepare patients for various treatments among the countless other tasks and duties done on a day-to-day basis. My confidence in the nursing care I was assisting in delivering to these patients improved vastly with time. I now felt that I was actively participating in the care of the patients instead of attempting to get through the day and witnessing the care being delivered by the registered nurses.
One important thing that I have learned as I struggled through the course is that nursing practice can be challenging, but through increased self-awareness and knowledge base as well as better relationships with both the multidisciplinary team and patients themselves, it can be interesting. Through increased self-awareness, one can set their values regarding discipline, while an increased knowledge base allows them to more aware of the conditions patients present with and what their needs are. Meanwhile, better relationships create a better communication atmosphere where one understands the multidisciplinary and their patients better, making care delivery a bit easier. Generally, participation in the hospital’s various placements has allowed me to care for patients with a wide range of conditions. I am much more focused on their needs and actively struggle to meet those needs to see their successful recovery. I am also much more aware of the work that nurses in other disciplines and other care settings do since I have been allowed to work with them. I have matured greatly since I started training in the nursing course some years ago.
With lessons learned from my experience and the course, I will be successful at Chamberlain by supporting the inexperienced nursing students when we are on placement together. Being in touch with a person who has just experienced similar feelings that they may have will help immensely. My experience of already helping students from other disciplines has enhanced my nursing and has contributed to my improved confidence in the care I deliver. I would like to carry these lessons with me when I succeed in ensuring that any nursing student I encounter in upcoming years as a staff nurse will adapt faster than I did to the nursing setting and settle in better than I did. Hopefully, this will be of advantage to them as it now is to me. My concluding remark is that I hope that my professional and personal development in nursing will allow me to assist and inspire other nursing students’ learning and advancement in the future.
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