Reflective Journal #1

Alex Cole

Pride

What is the point of this unnecessary anger?

fists tightened
jaw clenched
voice risen
tone frenzied
livid
fuming
enraged

What is the point of a futile argument?

this trivial conflict
barren and ineffective
escalading and fuming

Where is the human dignity?

why must one show authority
power
submissiveness to the initials
r.n.

What is pride
if at the stake of another
if it produces pain
if it leaves you helplessness

At the end of my day on Wednesday I felt conflicted at the system that didnt seem to be
helping those in need. The patient in need in one way asked for a phone call but in another way,
she was asking for human dignity and understanding of a basic instinctual need to protect herself
and her unborn child. I could not help but feel that the nurse wanted to hold her power and status
over the patient rather than showing empathy to her and the trying circumstance. In the end, those
with mental health disorders must not be stripped from who they are. They must be treated as
humans and with dignity along their entire journey to recovery. Those helping must be able to sort
through who the person truly is and understand that they have real problems of which we can
sometimes find real solutions through collaboration. A mental health diagnosis does not mean that
this patient is necessarily falsifying their need to receive a critical phone call or living a delusion
of pseudocyesis. I will practice nursing with an open mind, heart, and spirit and make my own
judgments about patients. I vow to treat people with empathy and kindness and to take the time to
understand where my patients concerns lie. I await the day that someone acts me for something
that might seem trivial to me or nurses on past shifts, and I will have the opportunity to meet their
need. I will practice nursing by caring for my patients holistically and as valued human beings.