NUR 3111P Physical Assessment and Reflection Template

Guide for Reflection

Guide for Reflection Using Tanners (2006) Clinical Judgment Model

Refer to the Toolkit for the questions to guide your reflection

Highlight the program thread that is most applicable to this reflection:

Communication and collaboration
Caring and the Catholic Health Ministry
Servant Leadership and Global Health
Safe, Quality, Evidence-based practice
Professionalism and commitment to Lifelong Learning

Introduction
This week was a lot different for me because I was peer leader and had to adjust to a new role and responsibilities. During
pre-assessment I had to decide how I would rank the patient based on their acuity and I decided the following order. First I
rank the 36 yr. old female dx with sepsis because she was recently brought from the ICU after being taken off the vent and
she been bradycardic and febrile. Second would be the 62 yr. old male who also has sepsis and experienced a code purple
the same day after being seen in the ER and being sent home because he was running a temp and want to monitor his
response to treatment seizure activity. Third would be the 87 yr. old male who was admitted because of a fall and waiting to
have a bowel movement before being discharged. I ranked him third because of Fifth would be the 84 yr. old female with
acute chronic renal failure admitted with UTI who being discharged. My main concern would be monitoring her safety
because she has dementia with periodic confusion. Sixth would be the 61 yr. old male who was admitted for monitoring
after a fistula placement because he has a PMH of cardiac arrest after a gall bladder surgery.

Background
I dont think I really built a relationship like I normally do with the patients because I was all over the place but I do feel as
if I established a stronger relationship/rapport with my classmates by making myself accessible to them. I have previous
leadership experience because I was a manager position at a restaurant. Even though those are two different worlds, my
goal then and now was being present and showing that I wasnt afraid or too proud to get my hands dirty. Im a strong
believer in leading by actions, because from previous experiences I heard a lot of talk from management but never really
seen any action taken so I know how frustrating that could be. I believe my role as a nursing student that day was to help
maintain the flow of the day by helping my fellow classmates manage patient care effectively.

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Noticing
What I noticed about this new experience was that I was trying not to be in anyone way because nursing does have some
sense of independence to it and I know everyone has their own routine. Keeping up with everyone was also interesting
because there was always something going on. Keeping everyone on task and making sure patients needs were being
addressed made for an interesting day. It was a little overwhelming at first but I eventually pulled it together somewhat. I
think my classmates appreciated my willingness to help and I hope they found me helpful as well as the day progressed.
I didnt think the order of my patients needed to be changed because everyone condition was still the same. A problem that I
encountered during this experience was maintaining a balance between not being in the way and being helpful. I feel like I
solved the problem by simply asking my classmates What do you need me to do? A recommendation that I have for
changes in my practice would be making sure Im maintaining communication with my peers because lack of
communication can potentially interfere with patient care and relationships among nurses.

Interpreting
Overall I think the experience was very educational and gave me some insight into how the leadership role plays a role in
nursing. I think a part of this experience was also figuring out what type of leader do one wants to be. I did enjoy being
able to interact with the different patients and trying to make sure I was completing my duties as well because I like to
challenge myself. My instructor also showed what it was like to be responsible for others because she was coming to me
and inquiring about how the day was progressing so I had to make sure I knew what was going on.
NUR 3111P Physical Assessment and Reflection Template
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Responding
My goal for that day was to maintain patient care and help my peers manage their day as well. I worked towards that goal
by being accessible to the patients and my peers. By answering call bells, taking vitals, and helping with transporting I felt I
was able to help keep the focus on the more important tasks. The biggest stress I experienced was getting use to what was
required of that role. There was moments when more than one person needed something at the same time so I had to
prioritize what to do first.

Reflection-in-Action
I performed those tasks according to the need of the situations but I also maintained communication with my peers as well
to let them know my progress in competing the tasks.

Reflection-on-Action and Clinical Learning

Three ways my nursing skills improve were:
I learned about prioritizing
I developed a stronger teamwork ethic
I learned to just ask What can I do to help?
I also became familiar with the disease disorder lupus which attacks the immune system
I cant think of three things I would do differently, but I know one would be to go in more openly and less task orientated
because you never know what that day will bring.
The biggest change in my values is that I proved to myself that I was able to be a descent peer leader.