I must firstly apologise for the
lack of update and responsiveness on my reflective blog for the past few
months. I always remain open and honest...I enjoyed a lovely summer break and around that embedded myself within my practice placement, thus not
having a focus on time or rather quality time to spend on my reflective blog.
I
embarked on my practice placement into a medical diabetes ward, feeling
apprehensive but motivated on my initial shift. After day one, I knew I would
enjoy this placement and the main reason being; a supportive mentor. I had a
mentor who was not only friendly, approachable, constructive and supportive;
the mentor was an exceptional adult nurse. I was able to participate in many
learning opportunities from day one and almost instantly felt a sense of
belonging not only to the ward environment but most importantly to the team. This
enabled me as student nurse to feel confident and self-aware when caring for
patients and thinking much more multi-disciplinary in my approach when delivering
holistic care.
Within a
few weeks, I was growing...building up my skills and developing internally as
well as externally as an individual. My mentor one day suggested I manage my
own bay. Well, the shock and horror on my face...I gasped and instantly felt my
heart-rate increase to 120! With a little bit of warmth, comfort and
guidance from my mentor; letting me know she was there to support me
every step of the way...I spent that whole shift managing my own bay. At first
I was nervous but I soon realised I was getting on ok and knew I could ask as many
questions as I needed. This was a positive experience in knowing that I could
ask as many questions at any time, no question was tedious and all had worth. I
noticed I developed not only in my patient-student nurse interaction and
communication but I also felt more confident in my nursing skills. A good
balance in developing and enough experiences to feed my thirst to learn even
more.
As the
weeks passed by, I could feel I was beginning to change...perhaps a change in a
sense of growing, adapting, shifting and moving towards a greater sense of
being, perhaps a developing and continually improving student nurse. This is
something I felt proud of and each shift felt a sense of accomplishment in what
I have covered that day. I had opportunities to explore specialist area teams,
to support patients with feeding and personal care, communicate and continually
assess patients health and well-being and really get to grips with the notion
of documentation and care plans. The list is endless but I feel more empowered
now to care for wounds and how to apply treatments, I was able to attempt to
save a patient's life and performed cpr one shift. Most importantly, I was able to
spend quality time with my patients. Time is an element that can sometimes escape
a nurse or healthcare professional on any busy ward, however, I remained true to
myself in making my own time in managing my bay and ensuring my time was spent
assessing, caring and engaging with each of my own patients. I always attempted
to be compassionate in all the tasks I completed, from large leg dressings down
to making a good cup of tea for a patient! It is sometimes the small things
that mean the most to a patient on the ward.
After
arriving back to university after a positive placement experience, I feel
energised and engaged to connect my mind to embark on a critical appraisal of
research. I am currently exploring many aspects of research and continually
find I am amazed in how the process of learning evolves no matter what field we
are within. I spent time outside my hub placement both in the community and a
week in a neurological research centre, where I tasted a sense of research
nursing and how the research of today can make such a vast difference to the
practices and methodologies of the future.
I am
currently in the process of organising my elective international placement
through ChildFund Laos, an amazing charity that works within Laos to help
improve healthcare and education for the people of Laos. As I settle in for a
day of reading research and day-dreaming of the Nonghet region mountains, I will
share some images I have from my previous visit to Laos and as I reflect; they will provide me with even more motivation and inspiration to deliver care to people who have limited resources in life yet will always offer you everything they have and more...
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| The beautiful land of Laos |
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| I am inspired to reach out to the rural villages of Laos and support as a student nurse |
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| Embracing the culture and spirituality of Laos |
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| Working collectively in partnership with locals to improve health and well-being |
