SWOT Analysis
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Author Archives: Sabina Lato
Wound Management Course
Reflection
Today is my third week at the placement and I only have two days left before Christmas break. Overall the journey has been very bumpy, with up and down rides. My first week at the placement was mainly getting familiar with the placement, relevant forms and documents but also being able to keep up with the designated senior nurses. That had been a challenge although I think I’m getting better at it.
As a person who for the first time have experienced the extreme speed under these amazing nurses work, it has made me realise and appreciate them even more. The long hours, the commitment, putting the patients in front of themselves. They are really amazing people and are undervalued. In my first week at shadowing, I also experienced something that had made me appreciate life a little more than I did. I experienced a death of a patient for the first time. I experienced seeing a dead person, which never happened to me before. We nurses had taken care of the body, gave the lady deserved respect and all needed to be done in order for the body to be sent further. This situation had made me realise that this will happen to me again, and I was proud of myself how I handled the situation. I am proud of myself that I realised what sort of nurse I want to be in the future. The nurse I want to be is the nurse that will make sure that patients will get the best care I can possibly give to them as you never know if my care, will not be the last thing that they experiencing. I want to be the nurse that will try to put a smile on their faces, even in hard times and show them that I care.
Overall I believe I have been giving my very best at getting the experience ‘hands on’. I hope that I am seen as capable, keen and I hope that I will manage to keep up with all, even though some days are harder than other.
The place I believe I would like to get some improvement is working together on my epad as I have not had a chance yet, to sit down with anyone to discuss and work through things. I am being very understanding that hospital is a fast pace although I am getting worried that these things are left until very last.
Reflection
At the placement on Laurel Ward as part of my learning was to understand how the patients are being diagnosed, taken care of and supported in getting better and being able to go back to life in the community.
Laurel Ward is the place for formal and informal patients when they require to be treated after they recognise that there are no longer able to look after themself on their own in society, patients can be moved from the other ward when they are stepping down from more secured ones or patients can come from the Accident and Emergency when they serve a risk to themselves or other people.
One of the objectives I have learned at the placement was how the patients are assessed on their diagnosis and how different multidisciplinary teams work in collaboration with each other to help them to manage their illness and help them go back to the society. Some of the professionals included the doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists and the nurses themselves. I was able to understand what they roles are and how they work together for a patient.
Another objective was for me to understand how different medication works. In Mental Health the main medication that we are looking at are mood stabilisers, anti-depressants, anti- psychotics and benzodiazepines (benzos) and how all these medication work for a patient. Throughout the time at the ward, I was able to see how patients who follow up with their treatment, get better and are able to get back to their life in the society and are able to function again.
Skills
I would like to mention how important is the act of clear communication. During the placement on Laurel Ward I got to meet different patients, all with different illnesses and needs. I realised how important is to respect them, and communicate with them in a way, so they can understand me. Everyone is different, has different needs and listening to them and their needs, talking with them has been crucial in making them feel involved and valued. Additionally communication between the staff members, passing over the information, has significant role in working together for a patient.
Attitudes and values
In reflecting on my experience when working on Laurel Ward I also have realised how important is to have positive, non-judgmental attitude. I have seen patients whom find it really difficult to do the basic things in life and I have realised that they all have different needs but also that we all as humans have different needs. They all have different journey and its important to do one step at a time and respect everyone’s individual progress. I have also realised that everyone goes through something and showing the respect, understanding them and showing non-judgmental attitude, can better connect us with our patients as they are more willing to trust us and also we can help them to get better. Being respectful and non-judgmental is crucial, as all patients that come to our services have unique needs and different personalities, they are all different culturally, and there is not the same diagnosis. We all need to be respectful to everyone individual needs and to their individual backgrounds.
Being resilient. Every day in the Mental Hospital is different. There is no the same day. Being exposed to different situations, aggressive or complicated behaviours I have expanded on my skills to be more resilient. I have learned that there are healthy ways to deal with stress and how important is to have these ways. I also have learned how much de-briefing is important when we work in environments where we are exposed to stressful situations. As nurses, our mental health is also very important and looking after ourselves is the key to providing healthy environment for the patients but also being able to treat them in holistic, therapeutic way.