Drama therapy is a type of therapy that uses action to promote creativity, imagination, learning, insight, and growth. This reflection is about an experience I had while on the neurosurgeon ward on a placement. I assisted a mental health nurse (RMN) in administering medication and feeding to a patient with learning disabilities and paranoid schizophrenia who was admitted to my ward during this experience. I was able to encourage her by calling her name, to which she replied, “Queen.” As a result, I changed her name to Queen, and she started eating. I must make her feel better by telling her, “Queen, you are a hero, Queen, you are a winner” to get her to swallow the food and medicine. Even though it was noisy, we were able to feed and administer her medication with ease because she was in a separate room. The entire procedure was fascinating, and both RMN and my mentor were taken aback by how I used drama to achieve our goal.

Dramatherapy, I have learned, aids in the exploration of unhealthy personal patterns of behaviour and interpersonal interaction, thereby encouraging self-awareness, exploration, and reflection on feelings and relationships. It provides a nonverbal method of working that utilises all the senses and connects the therapist and the client for effective rapport.

As a mental health nurse, I can use drama therapy techniques such as role-playing or projecting their feelings onto an object or storey to gain a deeper perspective and awareness of their situation, feelings, and relationships, allowing me to treat them as individuals and holistically, particularly difficult patients.

Practise effectively:

Nurses must practise in accordance with the best available evidence, which includes using evidence-based information about any health and care products or services that will help maintain the knowledge and skills needed for safe and effective practice.

Furthermore, take reasonable steps to meet people’s language and communication needs, helping those who need it to communicate their own or other people’s needs wherever possible. To better understand and respond to people’s personal and health needs, use a variety of verbal and nonverbal communication methods, as well as cultural sensitivities.

I was charged with assisting a Mental Health Nurse in feeding a patient with learning difficulties who was losing weight due to decreased oral intake. Practise effectively entails assessing needs and providing immediate assistance to the best of your ability. I advised her to eat her food and take her medications so that she could get stronger and be discharged. We maintained the knowledge and skills of safety and effective practice in order for her to avoid being choked due to her choreiform neck movement weakness. In addition, I used a combination of verbal and nonverbal communication tools, as well as taking into account her learning disabilities in order to fully understand and respond to her health needs. To ensure the patient’s safety, I maintained effective communication with the RMN and shared information to identify and reduce risk. I was able to work effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team with the goal of establishing professional relationships, and I made a consistent effort to adhere to the necessary standards of care and learning based on the best available evidence.

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