Russo et al. (2015) mentioned the clinical judgment to one of the most important responsibilities of the nursing professionals that can affect patient care. Hence, it is crucial for nursing professionals to improve their care services and learn from the practice-oriented experience. This reflective essay will explore my experience of following best practice standards in aged care.
I had the opportunity to complete a clinical placement in the aged care sector, and there are a variety of aspects of care that I encountered while in practice. One notable experience that I have had involves infection control. Elaborating further, I had been accompanying a couple of buddy nurse, and both of them had been in charge of catheter maintenance of an elderly patient in shifts. I had been ecstatic to have the opportunity to be involved in direct patient care although I had only given the task of cleaning the devices and making notes. However, it had been an excellent opportunity for me which helped me to understand many different aspects associated with infection control and catheter management (Levett-Jones et al., 2015). Although, I experienced that while cleaning the device, I had been checking from a copy of infection control practice standards and following each guideline thoroughly which impressed my supervisor. She asked me after leaving the room of the patient regarding my practice and wanted me to tell her whether I had been engaged in clinical practice. When I said to her that this had been my first encounter with observing or participating in direct patient care. She praised me for being attentive and dedicated, and she also mentioned that this level of sincerity is rare in the transitioning nurses. Hence, my dedication, commitment and sincerity to the practice had been key factors that affected patient care delivery in the scenario (Lea et al., 2016).
Feelings, emotions and thoughts:
First and foremost, I would like to mention that it had been an excellent opportunity for me and I had been extremely eager to start clinical placement in the aged care. As I have been drawn by the job roles and responsibilities of a registered nurse working in the aged care sector, supporting and assisting the older adults, helping them overcome the challenges and enhance the quality of life, I had been euphoric regarding the opportunity. Initially, I had been both excited and nervous while working with the buddy nurses and the patient, but soon I developed a rapport with both the nurses and the patient, which made the learning journey enjoyable as well. Along with that, when I had been following the details of the NHSQS infection control safety standards so attentively while cleaning the equipment, my supervisors appraised my dedication which motivated me to continue safe practice further. Although, when starting the practice I had been nervous and unable to communicate with the supervisors or buddy nurses properly, the motivation from them helped me overcome these challenges immensely (Safetyandquality.gov.au, 2018).
Evaluation of values and beliefs:
Patient safety and compliance to practice standards are two of the most effective aspects of registered nursing practice standards, and registered nurses are expected to follow the standards for ensuring priority for patient advocacy. Even though patient safety and wellbeing is the most critical aspect of care delivery at all circumstances, many of the care professionals lack the principle and values to abide by the standards of practice. As per my best understanding, the impact of personal values and beliefs is exceptionally high on professional performance and even accountability. As discussed by Garneau (2016), the impact of personal beliefs and cultural or social identity can have a significant effect on behavioural characteristics. The effect of cultural identity, personal values and lifestyle principles helped me to become more committed and dedicated to the work, I had been assigned and completed each of the care activities following the practice standards thoroughly (Lea et al., 2016).
Hospital-acquired infection or HAI alone had been the contributor to a massive influx in mortality rates and enhanced hospitalisation days for the Australian health care sector. Statistical data states that there are accounts of 165000 incidences of hospital-acquired infections being reported in a year, most of which lead to even fatal consequences for the patients (Sahealth.sa.gov.au, 2018). One of the most reported contributing factors behind the alarming rates of HAIs is the lack of compliance among the health care staff to infection control protocols and lack of monitoring in the facilities. In this case, the buddy nurse who noticed me diligently following the infection control protocol had mentioned it to the nursing manager as well and I had been felicitated for my dedication and sincerity which had been an extremely proud moment for me. However, I have also followed the standards of practice of registered nurses practices as well. According to the standard 1.4 of NMBA registered standards, following the practice standards and safeguarding the best interests of patients is the primary priority for the nurses (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au, 2018). Even when being nervous and uncertain, I retained my knowledge of practice standards and ethics and succeeded to prioritise the best interests of the patient, which was also received positively by the buddy nurse involved in the scenario.
From the clinical placement experience, it is clear that most of my experience had been positive, although I still believe I had lacked a few soft skills including assertiveness and interpersonal communication. Hence, I would require to engage in continuous professional development programs to ensure developing these skills to perfection within the next 6 months Along with that, I also lacked knowledge regarding the details of NMBA registered nurse practice standards and other professional standards effectively, hence, I would even reach out to my supervisor to enhance my understanding of the rules and practice protocols within the next 6 months.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, The positive elements of this experience had been the fact that it helped me to understand the accountability of practising RNs on prioritising the best interests of patients. I also consider the skills I learned from the other shift buddy nurse as a very important positive aspect of the experience. I would be applying the knowledge and expertise I have gained in this activity in my practice so that I do not commit such errors again in future.
References:
Garneau, A. B. (2016). Critical reflection in cultural competence development: A framework for undergraduate nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(3), 125-132.
Lea, E., Mason, R., Eccleston, C., & Robinson, A. (2016). Aspects of nursing student placements associated with perceived likelihood of working in residential aged care. Journal of clinical nursing, 25(5-6), 715-724.
Levett-Jones, T., Pitt, V., Courtney-Pratt, H., Harbrow, G., &Rossiter, R. (2015). What are the primary concerns of nursing students as they prepare for and contemplate their first clinical placement experience?. Nurse Education in Practice, 15(4), 304-309.
Nhmrc.gov.au (2018). Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2010) | NHMRC. [Online]. Retrieved from https://nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-guidelines-prevention-and-control-infection-healthcare-2010. [Accessed on 27th Nov]
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au (2018). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia – Professional standards.[Online]. Retrieved from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-standards.aspxn. [Accessed on 27th Nov]
Russo, P. L., Cheng, A. C., Richards, M., Graves, N., & Hall, L. (2015). Healthcare-associated infections in Australia: time for national surveillance. Australian Health Review, 39(1), 37-43.
safetyandquality.gov.au (2018). Healthcare Associated Infection | Safety and Quality. [Online] Retrieved from https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/healthcare-associated-infection/. [accessed on 27thnov]
Sahealth.sa.gov.au (2018). Catheter-associated urinary tract infection prevention :: SA Health.[Online]. Retrieved from https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/clinical+resources/clinical+topics/healthcare+associated+infections/indwelling+medical+device+management/preventing+catheter-associated+urinary+tract+infection. [Accessed on 27th Nov]
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