Reflection Paper On Reflective Practice

Reflective Practice Paper

The knowledge within individuals continues to grow and develop throughout life. Reflection is the process of looking back on an incident while thinking and analyzing the result of different possibilities. An individual’s level of knowledge increases with the use of reflection because reflection enables individuals to identify their learning needs and to better their judgement based on previous experiences. This paper will describe a nursing student’s reflection on an event that occurred in the clinical setting. This paper will explain and explore how an experience changes one’s ways of knowing, including aesthetic knowing, personal knowing, empirical knowing, ethical knowing, reflexivity, as well as insights gained

60). December 1, 2017 will forever be a day that changed my life. It was my first official day at placement. I arrived on the floor dressed and prepared for a day of learning. Once all the patient care assistants (PCAs), registered practical nurses (RPNs), and registered nurses (RNs) gathered, the head RN began to deliver the daily report. I listened carefully for my patient’s name and discovered that they were making great progress. The head RN finished by mentioning that there was a palliative patient on the floor. New to the nursing field, I was unaccustomed to the word palliative, however I quickly learned when I passed by the patient’s room and noticed the patient’s friends and family filling the room with tears. I continued on with my day, making my patient top priority. I was later informed that the palliative patient had passed away. The feeling of grief grew upon me, regardless of even knowing the patient. Our instructor offered the students the chance to see the patient’s body. Having grown up on a farm, I figured the sight of a deceased person would not alarm me. As we entered the dark room, it felt as if we were hit by the cold. The deceased remained covered head to toe by a white blanket. The students gathered quietly around the deceased. There was a moment of silence, where respect was given to the dead. Shortly after

Upon acknowledging that the palliative patient had passed away, the feeling of agony and confusion appeared. The feeling of agony because of the death of a patient and confusion over what I had just seen. The sense of confusion left me acting quiet and reserved. I was self-aware of my feelings and behaviour towards the death of a patient. The feelings that occurred after seeing the dead body of the patient were a recurrence to the last memories of my grandfather. Being present beside the deceased patient felt like a painful flashback to when I sat beside my terminally ill grandfather and said my final goodbyes in Hospice. I acknowledge that my personal experience of the death of my grandfather produced the same feelings of agony and confusion that I felt after witnessing a lifeless patient. The feelings were influenced from a similar previous situation. The only difference between the two scenarios is that despite his cold skin and pale body, my grandfather was still alive, and the patient was already dead. My parents pulled me from the room before my grandfather passed away. The observation of the patient’s lifeless body finalized the memory of my dying grandfather and perceived the feeling of closure. My reaction to the death of the patient was a reflection on my grandfather’s death. As a result of identifying and recognizing the factors that influenced my