Reflection

 

Afternoon all!

 

Well with 10 days left until Christmas, I thought it would be a good time of year to talk about reflection.

Reflection is something you will most likely already do, whether it be due to a positive or negative experience. Those moments when you replay a situation in your head that you either observed or were involved in, then wonder whether you could have done things differently or maybe just take something from the moment that could affect similar scenes in the future.

This time three years ago, I had made the decision to apply for nursing. I remember vividly standing in my Gran's garden telling her how unhappy I then was with my life as my then job was not going anywhere, and she told me to come home. This happened a few weeks after she had been in hospital and I had worried about the care she had received and I decided I could care for people like her better than she had been cared for then. She passed away not long after I stood with her, and less than a week after her funeral, I was offered an interview for the course. I put everything into applying for the University of Bedfordshire as I wanted to be around my people to support them. When the email popped through the following summer offering me an unconditional place, I was over the moon. I gave in my notice at work and looked towards the future.

This situation made me view care of the elderly differently. I see families come onto the ward and see peoples children, grandchildren, partners, friends and other relatives. Every now and then I see similarities with some patients or families to my own which does remind me of why I am there. I think I will always have a soft spot for those patients who you notice do not have any visitors and you wonder how they feel seeing other people around them being visited with gifts and cards in tow. Does nobody miss them? 

The reason for the above example is that you will realise once on the course that reflection is very important for your learning. You will be expected to write reflections of your experiences throughout the three year course of any event that makes you stop and think. Reflecting on such events in nursing and general life will then lead to better future experiences. Because of my close family and past experiences, I believe that I appreciate working with the older generation more than I would have done prior to my Gran's death, as I have witnessed care both good and bad and know what care I want to give as a nurse.

Another form of reflection could be maybe writing a diary of events throughout your day...maybe during placement. I did this throughout my second year and found it a valuable tool to refer back to in regards to reflection and learning experiences.

Well, I now have three shifts left before Christmas leave then am determined to get my next essay done and out of the way. The work I have done so far along with research is currently sat staring at me so I must get on!

Thanks for stopping by, will catch up again next week :)


Em x