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  • Essay / Intensive learning method using reflective journaling

    Reflective journaling is a way of recording ideas, one's own perceptions and experiences, as well as beliefs and understandings one has in the learning process over a period of time. The benefits of the reflective learning process generally accumulate over a period of time during which there will be sequences of incremental change, personal growth and perspective shifts during the learning process. Reflective journaling helps in vigorous learning and also improves critical thinking and creativity. This allows you to freely express your own perception and judge yourself. John Dewy said, “We don’t learn from experience…we learn by reflecting on our experiences.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThis assignment includes about three clinical questions that helped me improve my knowledge and skills in the clinical field. To elaborate on my clinical problems, I use the Gibbs reflective cycle. I chose it because it encouraged me to think systematically about the phases of my experience and the evaluation phase made me think about the positive side of my improvement. Professor Graham Gibbs published his reflective cycle in 1988, known as the Gibbs Reflective Cycle. Gibbs stated that “the process of a reflection cycle is a 5 phase cycle”. The first phase is the “description phase”, where we analyze the situation, when and where it happened, and what happened to me? What did I do and who else was there and what did others do? The second phase is that of “feelings”. In this phase we talk about what we thought and felt during the experience. At this point, avoid commenting on emotions. We need to remember the incident, how did I feel during this situation and what did I feel after the situation, and what is my perception of the situation now? Think about what other people are currently thinking about the same situation. The third is the “evaluation” phase, here we examine what were the positive and negative sides of the incident. What went well and what didn't go well? What have I and others done to contribute to the situation, either positively or negatively? In the “conclusion” phase, we need to think back to the incident with the same information in mind. How could this have been a positive experience for everyone involved? The last stage is the “action phase”. Here we make a plan so that we can overcome the problems next time. This tool is designed as a cycle, reproducing an ongoing process. The clinical goals are that it helps with critical thinking and also keeps track of the skills we learn and the knowledge we acquire. It also helps to find connections between topics and theories. It mainly helps to make sense of our own thoughts and feelings. There are both bitter and sweet experiences in nursing. I went through some bitter experiences and later realized the mistake I had made. In 2016, I worked as a registered nurse in the cardiovascular department, in a fast-paced environment. Every day cases will be published for CAG, PTCA or CABG. There are a lot of transfers in and out on the wards as we transfer the patient to the cath lab or operating room. On a busy day, an admission arrived in our department in the morning for CAG as part of a same day procedure. It is quite difficult tomanage because the procedure is overloaded with pre-procedural assessments. Somehow I managed to finish the reviews. There is a protocol in our hospital that we must contact the Cath-Lab staff and inform them of the planned procedure. I failed to inform the staff that the case was posted for the same day and even kept the patient ORAL NIL. Then, towards the end of the procedures at the cath lab, around 5 p.m., I received a phone call from the doctor involved explaining that I had not informed the cath lab about the procedure. Then I realized that I had not been informed about this. And this case was canceled because of my mistake and with the request and excuse the doctor posted the case for the next day. Here I realized my mistake and was discouraged. The doctors, cath lab staff, and nursing supervisor reprimanded me severely for this incident. I was not disappointed by the reprimands, but by the cancellation of the procedure simply because of my negligence. I took the incident positively. What I learned from this incident is to put the patient's needs first. I had lacked communication with doctors as well as other nursing staff. When the same incident occurs, I overcome it by prioritizing the needs and keeping this incident as an example. Here I learned by doing. Communication plays a major role in healthcare sectors, it improves patient care outcomes through better communication between nurses and doctors. Many challenges persist for effective communication between caregivers. Members of the healthcare community must examine these challenges and rule out solutions tailored to particular situations. Communication is an essential component in which all caregivers have the responsibility to improve it in professional practice. When I was a nursing student, during my internship, I was assigned to a medical-surgical department. There were a lot of patients and only a few employees for the morning shift. The morning medications were given and signed by the senior nursing staff and they asked me to give the interim nebulization. I administered nebulizations to required patients, which was also eyewitnessed by one of the senior staff. All of a sudden a drug nurse came to do the rounds and checked the medication chart and found that signatures were missing from the nebulization areas. The pharmacy nurse concluded that I had not administered nebulization and went to inquire with the patient. The patient said I administered the nebulization at the right time. Here what happened is the documentation error. Even though I gave the right medicine at the right time, I failed to put my signature in the medicine table. The drug nurse reprimanded me in front of the patient, reported it to our clinical instructor, and made me write the incident report. I was heartbroken and thought of dropping out of college because of this incident. I remembered the incident and assessed who made this mistake? Was it me or my superiors who asked me to do the nebulization? I came to the conclusion that it was my mistake. After administering the nebulization, I could have signed it or I could have informed the head nurse. I failed to do both. This painful incident taught me right away how to do proper documentation. Later, during my working period, I was very careful about my documentation and developed error-free situations. I was fresher when I joined Madras, 81-88.