Self Reflection In Nursing

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Throughout the numerous weeks I have spent on the General Surgery floor, I have had many opportunities for reflection on the time I had spent with the patients I was caring for. One particular situation that stood out for me involved a patient whom had been admitted to the floor with a small bowel obstruction. For confidentiality purposes, this patient will be referred to as Catherine for the reflection. Catherine was admitted to the Emergency department of University Hospital about six hours prior to her admission to the General Surgery floor at 0300. Upon meeting her at about 0800, she appeared to be in a relatively good mood, but this abruptly changed in the early afternoon. At this time, Catherine paged me to her room and I noticed that she was in distress because she was grabbing at her chest and her breathing was quite laboured. She then told me that she was having an anxiety attack, related to her previous history of depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which develops when someone experiences a traumatic event (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). I then began interpreting the …show more content…
One crucial aspect that was reinforced was my knowledge of how to assist my patients in working through their anxiety attacks. Although I understand everyone’s health is unique and they will deal with their anxiety differently as a result (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009, p. 3), I believe I have begun to develop crucial skills that can be used with those patients having an anxiety attack. These skills include, but are not limited to involving a loved one during this difficult time, which may possibly be over the phone, providing comfort through a warm blanket, or requesting a resident come examine my patient and perhaps prescribe them an anti-anxiety medication (Anxiety and Depression Association of America,