CNA340 Developing Professional Nursing Practice

Brief overview of situation/clinical encounter.

It is important that you are able to provide an overview that provides adequate information in which to contextualise the pre-requisite being discussed. (150 words)

During the six week placement at Professor Marie Bashir hospital in Camperdown, Sydney, I worked in the Missenden Acute Mental Health Unit. In this duration, I was able to build a rapport with the patients that were in need of the consumer-centred care. A number of times the patients took through their lowest moments in life and some of the most frightening life experiences such as having suicidal thoughts are self-harm. These conversations were so disturbing given that I had never encountered such people before and responding to them was such a big challenge. There was a case in point when one of the patients I was caring for opened up to me about his struggles with depression and how he suffered discrimination, stigma, and alienation in the society. This pushed him to the point of almost committing suicide. I talked to him for some time and assured him that he was in the right place and everything was going to be fine.

Identify relevant pre-requisite/s

It may be that your encounter identifies several pre-requisites that impacted/contributed to the situation/clinical encounter.  Please list theses below in dot points (not included in word count)

• Developed interpersonal skills
• Professionally competent
• Clarity of beliefs and values

Identify ONE pre-requisite (that you consider the priority in the encounter) and relate this to the literature on person-centred outcomes highlighting its importance as an attribute for health professionals and how this should be demonstrated with reference to the Registered Nurse Standards for Practice (2016). (300 words)

One pre-requisite that I prioritized in this encounter was (Developed interpersonal skills). I could describe interpersonal skills as the skills that we employ on a daily basis when we communicate with other individuals or s group of people (Bach and Grant, 2015). Nurses and other healthcare professionals need to possess developed interpersonal skills to ensure better patient outcomes during assessments and observations. It is worth noting that interpersonal communication is very essential for any interaction within the healthcare setting (Bramhall, 2014). Building a rapport with the consumer is one of the interpersonal skills that encourages communication and helps in establishing a trusting relationship with the patient. In the current healthcare setting, no one can perfectly provide care on their own and thus they would need these skills to help in improving patient outcome. These skills become even more important in mental health nursing. One of the skills that would help to improve one’s relationship with a client is demonstrating concern for others by showing sincere interest in their concerns and developing sensitivity to their feelings and need. Additionally, it is important to maintain open communication by establishing a high degree of credibility and trust. Furthermore, we could demonstrate insight into the behaviour of others by recognizing and understanding what they are doing (Crisp et al., 2016). It is also important to respect the diversity of others as a part of the interpersonal skills. I believe that I possessed this skill during my six-week placement. In fact, I would even argue that due to my good interpersonal skills, I was able to gain the trust of most clients and they were naturally willing to speak with me and tell me about their experiences. My performance was guided by the professional nurse standards for practice as enshrined in the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. I particularly exploited standard 2.2 ‘communicates effectively, and is respectful of a person’s dignity, culture, values, beliefs, and rights’ (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au, 2018).

Ineffective interpersonal skills may lead to ineffective communication that may negatively affect the patient. This ineffectiveness in most cases is costly as it prolongs an illness and leads to poor health outcomes. It may also cause unnecessary pains as the attending nurse may not correctly assess the patient’s condition and come up with an appropriate care plan (McCabe and Timmins, 2013). After my encounter at Professor Marie Bashir hospital, I was talking to the nursing staff and they told me that in some instances, all that a patient really needs is someone to listen to them and understand their daunting life experiences and assure them that all will be well. This problem was however corrected when a comprehensive communication strategy was established to implement a structured communication tool. 

During my time at Professor Marie Bashir hospital, I gained invaluable experience regarding consumer-centred care, especially for the mentally ill patients. I gained so much satisfaction from my interaction with the clients as it clearly showed in their faces that they enjoyed the encounter they had with me. I can, therefore, say that I managed to positively impact their lives. One place that I feel I could have performed better was in not letting emotions take control of me. Some of the stories that I had to listen to were so sad and once in a while, they made me emotional. In my future practice, however, I will strive to handle the situation much better by understanding that a particular patient is relying on me for help and seeing me having an emotional breakdown could possibly make them lose confidence in me and my ability to help them.

Additionally, I noticed that just giving these patients who have mental health issues a mere assurance that all will be fine is not enough. These are people who need someone to listen to them and not only tell them that all is well but also show the determination to help them and ensure that their road to recovery is a short one (Epstein and Street, 2011). Respect of the dignity of others as stated in the professional nurse standards for practice will also be a fundamental element in my future practice. Being able to communicate effectively and showing respect for the dignity and culture of the patient instil confidence in them and as a result, they get to trust you.

References

Bach, S. and Grant, A., 2015. Communication and interpersonal skills in nursing. Learning Matters.

Bramhall, E., 2014. Effective communication skills in nursing practice. Nursing Standard (2014+), 29(14), p.53.

Crisp, J., Douglas, C., Rebeiro, G. and Waters, D., 2016. Potter & Perry’s Fundamentals of Nursing-Australian Version-eBook. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Epstein, R.M. and Street, R.L., 2011. The values and value of patient-centered care.

McCabe, C. and Timmins, F., 2013. Communication skills for nursing practice. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. (2018). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia – Registered nurse standards for practice. [online] Available at: https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx [Accessed 9 Sep. 2018].