Assessment: Completion of Reflection on Clinical Practice
Aim of this assessment
Learning takes place through critical reflection by experience and exploration of theoretical knowledge. The assessment aims to enhance students' knowledge and understanding of the benefits of reflecting on clinical practices and experiences to assist with the learning process.
The insights gained through reflective practices promote student self-awareness and enable them to become critically thoughtful about their own readiness for the intensely personal nature of providing care
Details
Students will select ONE case scenario only to reflect on. The three case scenarios are found in the assessment tab on vUWS. The case scenarios include:
-MEDICAL EMERGENCY CALL (MET)
-STAFF CONFLICT
-MEDICATION ERROR
Students will participate in the simulated scenarios in your CPU session (weeks 3, 5 & 7) to gain practical experience on all three scenarios.
Use the GIBBS Reflective Cycle (Gibbs, 1988) to complete the components below. It is a good idea to set the reflection paper out with the bold headings as your paragraph heading.
1. Description: Describe the case scenario that you have selected to reflect on, concentrating on main details of who was involved, what incident occurred, and why the incident occurred.
2. Feelings: Describe what you were thinking and feeling initially when you were confronted with this incident. Explain why you might have felt this way.
3. Evaluate: Make a judgement based on the positive and negative aspects of the scenario.
4. Analysis: Draw on academic sources to show why the incident occurred.
5. Conclusion: Describe the lessons you have learnt from this experience.
6. Action Plan: Describe what you have learnt from this experience and how it will help you improve practices in future scenarios.
Note:
- You must include a minimum of four references to support your reflective practices.
- The reflection paper must be loaded through TURNITIN by the due date and time.
Resources
There are a number of textbooks and resources available through the Western Sydney University Library that may assist you. Please refer to the unit's vUWS site for specific unit resources.
Reflection Assessment Criteria Information
Students should reflect on one of the case scenarios that have been run in your CPU sessions in weeks 3, 5 and 7.
- Medical emergency
- Medication error
- Staff conflict
Students should select one of these scenarios to reflect on only. The student should put themselves in the place of the nurse who was involved in the incident and reflect on how that will make you feel. Students can watch the videos and reflect on these however ensuring that they are reflecting on them as the nurse not on the actor.
Criteria 1.
The case scenario is described correctly using all three main details of who was involved, what incident occurred, and why the incident occurred.
- Must include all three details such as who was involved, what incident, why did this occur to achieve a satisfactory
Criteria 2.
Describes thinking and feelings about the scenario using precise language, and detailed explanation for this reaction.
- Students must describe feelings and then explain why they felt that way.
Criteria 3.
Describes an overall judgement or impression of the experience. Explains this evaluation through discussing both positive and negative aspects of your experience with the case scenario.
- Students must include what they thought of the experience
- Include positive aspects of the experience
- Include negative aspects of the experience
Criteria 4.
Analyses why the experience occurred. Explains aspects of the incident drawing on academic sources.
- Students must explain why the incident occurred, what are some suggestions as to how the error/issue occurred
- This is a good place to draw on references to support why these issues happen in nursing.
Criteria 5.
Suggests possible actions that would be likely to improve the outcome from this case scenario experience
- Students should discuss how to dissolve the incident or how to improve the current situation
Criteria 6.
Clearly articulates what you do to prepare yourself for other scenarios in your future practice.
- Students should draw on experience gained from exposure to this incident and highlight protocols and procedures that should be followed.
Identifies new knowledge, skills or attitudes that will support the provided action plan.
- Students should include changes that could alleviate the incident from happening again
Criteria 7.
Uses a minimum of 4 academic references to support the reflection. These references are less than 5 years old.
Adequate referencing to support the description.
References follow current APA 6th referencing guidelines
- Students who do not use four academic references and the GIBBS cycle (a total of five references) will fail this criterion.
- Students who do not reference according to APA with more than two references incorrectly referenced will fail this criterion.
Criteria 8.
Legible presentation and structure of text with conventional spelling, grammar and punctuation. There can be some errors but the errors do not impede meaning and understanding.
- If the marker cannot read and understand your assessment a fail grade for this criteria will be awarded.
Medication Error
You are doing a medication round with a registered nurse you have been assigned to on the pediatric ward. Your patient is a type 1 diabetic and is due for insulin at 10am.
The registered nurse requests that you draw up the insulin (24 units) and that you administer the insulin while the registered nurse watches you. You both check the insulin and the dose of 24 units prior to administering.
You return and take a blood sugar level and notice that the blood sugar level has dropped dramatically from 14 mmol/1 to 3.5mmo1/1 You notify the registered nurse and you both recheck the medication chart and find that your patient has been administered 24 units of insulin instead of 2.4 units.
How did this make you feel?
What happened and why did this incident occur?
What steps could of prevented this?
What have you learnt from this scenario?
Medical Emerggpsy Scenario
You have noticed that your patient is experiencing difficulty breathing and is coughing uncontrollably after you have inserted the nasogastric tube as ordered by the medical officer.
You take a set of observations and they are:
Respiratory rate: 36
Blood pressure 156/80
Heart rate: 135
Oxygen Sa02: 85%
As a team you are to work through the primary survey and document your findings.
How did this scenario make you feel?
What is causing this patient to be in respiratory distress?
How would you manage this patient?
What steps could of prevented this from happening?
Staff Conflict Scenario
You are a student nurse working on the CPU ward.
Whilst completing a set of observations on your patient you notice that one of the registered nurses is angry with you. The registered nurse raises their voice stating, "What are you doing"? "You are doing it all wrong move out of the way", "I do not have time for this let me do it"
in front of the patient. You then proceed to leave the room and check on another patient. The same nurse follows you and starts yelling "What are you still doing here please leave, I cannot work with incompetent nurses, go and take Mr. Jones in bed 9 for a shower".
The registered nurse refuses to work with you all shift and does not want to teach you anything.
- Reflect on this scenario and describe how you would feel in this situation?
- As a team discuss the scenario and list ways you could have better handled the situation