Student reflection on an episode of care
Within your reflection, describe the episode of care and how you assessed, delivered and evaluated care.
I was in bay E working along side nurse R . After the breakfast was served, I realised a patient was on red tray , meaning she needed assistance with feeding. I remembered that the night staff has handed over that she couldn’t eat independently. I went over to her, introduced myself and explained that I was a student nurse. asked her if she was fine with me assisting her with her breakfast and she agreed to it.
I checked the temperature of the porridge to ensure it was safe to eat. I ensured that she was in an upright position to avoid any choking. I checked with her if she was able to do anything at all. She told me she was able to feed herself. I provided tissues around her neck to protect her clothes and put the food within her reach. When she took her first spoon, I realised , she was struggling to lift it and she could hardly get half the spoon in her mouth. I then checked on the board over her bedside. There , it was written that tea Spon should be used. I then run to the kitchen and grabbed one. I felt awful that I did not check that vital information before . However, I was at the same time relieved that I picked up the mistake quite quickly. I explained the patient that we needed to change the spoon to a smaller one for a better grip. She was happy as she could feel the difference.
She continued eating very slowly with a tiny spoon and taking ages to swallow. I was standing at her bedside trying her to encourage her and ensuring she was swallowing safely. After nearly an hour , she told me she could eat no more. She e already eaten more than alf of her serving. I asked her if she wanted to drink something, she replied that she would be happy to have an apple juice. I gave it to her and cut the straw as recommended by the speech and language therapist (SALT). I continued to monitor her swallowing. After she was done. I asked her if there is anything she wanted me to help her with and she said that she wanted the bed to be lowered so that she could rest and I did just that. Before I left, I put the bed rail up to avoid her sliding out the bed as she was at risk of fall.
What did you do well?
I introduced myself to patient C to bult a rapport wither her and as sign of respect . I gained consent according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code (2018). I did plan what I was going to do by asking questions to evaluate the level of assistance needed. I put the patient upright for safe swallowing thus upholding NMC code which stresses that Nurses have to keep patient safe . I kept checking on the patient when she was feeding to check for signs of discomfort . I feel like I put the best interest of the patient first as I empowered her by giving her the opportunity to take control of her care even if at time , it felt like it was taking too long and that it would have been easier to feed her. By doing so, I upheld NMC code which require nurses to priotise people
What would you have done differently?
With the benefit of the hindsight, I think I could have done better by checking her care plan before going to assist her with her feeding . This way, I would not have to go back in the kitchen to look for a more suitable spoon.
Next time , I will ensure I have enough information about a patient
In the future, I will check the notes input by dietician and SLT team in order to assist the patients more effeciently
Practice Supervisor/Assessor feedback
Based on the student’s reflection, your observation and discussion of the episode of care, please assess and comment on the following:
(Refer to Criteria for Assessment in Practice)
Standard of proficiency
Assessing needs and planning care
Takes an accurate history and undertakes a person-centred assessment in order to plan effective care.
Comments
Minette was able to check with the patient to assess what the patient was able to do by herself and observing how she was going about it.