Clinical Experience
My clinical placement at Westpark Rehab unit is a really good experience for me. I got a chance to meet all the clients in the unit on our first day. Some of them are Chinese, Italians, Canadians, and some other races. The experience I was encountering was something that posed a great challenge to me as a nurse as I tried to figure out how I could communicate with all the clients who did not hear my language. To make matter worse, I do not know their language, and I cannot even speak their dialect except English. I was worried, and I ask myself how I will be an effective nurse if I do not understand them and their needs. How could I establish rapport with them? What should, I do?! It is a huge problem in my part and a big effect on them.
As I shadowed a nurse, I observed how she deals with the residents. I am grateful to her because she teaches me and discusses things around the unit, the client’s needs, their background, and how to interact with them. As I went home, I prepare myself for our Second week of duty. I was excited because our clinical instructor would give us our assigned patient but I was worried deeply because as much as possible, I was looking for a resident who spoke English so that we could communicate better. My thinking by that time was not such good since I realized I was slowly becoming racist by choosing a patient based on his language, and soon I changed my mind. My thinking made me feel ashamed of myself, but I quickly decided to handle my patients based on their medical history, which finally assisted me in figuring out each of my patient’s needs.
As a nurse, I need to be flexible and respect the client’s choices and do not discriminate them based on who they are and their background. I should take it upon myself to support and advocate for my patient’s needs. With that in mind, I was able to realize that being a nurse one should never surrender to fulfill duties and obligations for the patient, and I was no exception for that matter, so I had to get ready. I immediately began to find a way to solve the issue to improve and upgrade my thinking. I realized that it was within my powers to read all the CNO principles and guidelines to remind myself what a nurse should be and how to improve my therapeutic relationships.
My actions of reminding myself of the basic CON principles was one of the best action one could have done in such a situation. I realized that I had already possessed the required skills to solve the issue at hand only that I had psychological issues, which were the hindrance and I could not concentrate on delivering what was expected from me. My alternative approach to solve the problem was a success, which eased everything, making it possible to complete my placement with no difficulties.
Going forward, I learned that I should create more time to spend with the patients of the various dialect to understand their emotions based on their needs. With such an act, I slowly landed to be aware of the patient’s feelings and their demands since I already created a strong bond with them. I was cautious and devised a mechanism to sympathize with patients to motivate them that they will get better soon, which motivated them and made them happy whenever I was around. My approach made the patients feel loved and appreciated and, in turn, that was necessary for their survival. My kind words to the patients and counseling skills are of great help, especially when interacting with patients in the ward since they may lack hope and feel lonely, thus serving as a motivational tool.