Self-Reflection Toggle navigation

Introduction
For the Community Health clinical rotation at the Stein Senior Center, a set of objectives were required to be accomplished by the end of the semester. The nine objectives that will be explained in detail in the succeeding paragraphs is a reflection of my clinical progress and experience during this clinical rotation at the Stein Senior Center. I will explain how each objective was met and the actions I took to complete each objective successfully, for each week that I was present at the center.

Objective 1: Demonstrates individual professionalism through personal behaviors and appearance.
During my clinical rotations at the Stein Senior Center, I made sure I maintained patient confidentiality. I did not discuss patient information with others and evaded stating names, ages, and other patient information while blogging. Before and between activities, I spoke to members of the center to better understand their reasoning for joining the Stein Senior center and their knowledge of the center and its surroundings. Before coming to the center, I thought about my goals of the day and what I will prepare myself to learn and accomplish at the center. As part of the course, blogs and assignments were due on specific dates and times; I made it obligatory to fulfill these blogs and assignments before the due date.
By speaking with the clinical and lecture professor, I was able to seek guidance in the assignments that were required, to secure that the assignments were being done correctly. Before joining the activities of the center, I actively joined in our preconference; I asked questions and requested for clarification on what was required for us to do and volunteered myself to participate in certain activities. To avoid lateness to clinical, I made sure to be there punctually before clinical started. My attire was business casual and did not involve me wearing inappropriate clothing, such as jeans.

Objective 2: Employ analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills when providing care to individuals and families in the community setting.
While at the center, I was able to communicate with the director, assistant manager, and other staff members involved in activities, and the members to the center. By doing this, I was able to gather information about the center and what it entails. Communicating with clients helped me to understand how aging affects them as a whole. We spoke about changes that occurred in their life due to aging; activities that they were no longer able to do, diseases that they were diagnosed with, and how these factors affected them emotionally and physically. When at the center, I was able to note by the appearance of the members particular limitations they may have; some individuals used walkers, canes, wheelchairs, or electric wheelchairs to ambulate or they used other assistive devices such as glasses.
I was able to gather information from the members while doing the blood pressure screening; whether or not they had hypertension and if they were currently taking medication for it. By doing this, along with communication, a superficial assessment of the individuals was conducted. For the Service Learning Project and the oral presentations, an assessment of the community was required. During our clinical rotation, we were able to explore the community that the center was located; assessing the various shops, restaurants, transportations, and other business in the area. We were also able to assess the center’s population; considering what ethnic and racial groups and age groups that occupied this community. We were then able to prioritize and analyze our data; this helped us to choose topics of discussion for our presentations, which was knowledge deficit in certain issues among the elderly and for information for the Service Learning Project. Furthermore, this gave us the opportunity to implement these presentations to increase the knowledge of the elderly population; we were then able to evaluate how the presentations increased their knowledge. Also, medication was not administered to any of the members; however, those who were taking medications were educated on those medications and were encouraged to ask questions. To ensure safety, I made sure to be vigilant of any spills on the floors or objects and furniture that can affect ambulation and cause falls and injuries

Objective 3: Effectively communicate with diverse groups and disciplines using a variety of strategies regarding the health needs of individuals and families in the community setting
During this clinical experience, therapeutic communication skills were used with the seniors by making observations and speaking to individuals about these observations; exploring more in debt about topics during the conversations; using open ended questions to give individuals the opportunity to express their likes and dislikes of the center or other topics; and using the skill of reflection. Communication channels within the clinic were mostly verbal; otherwise, within my clinical group, verbal messages, telephones, email, and the internet was our forms of channels of communication. Communication between employees was clear and concise; if additional information or clarification was needed, I had the ability to speak to employs of the organization. Communication between the instructor and classmates were also clear and concerns or suggestions were expressed. While doing blood pressure readings, if anyone’s blood pressure was not within normal limits or if unsafe activities were occurring, the instructor was informed. During my clinical, I specifically did not have to inform the instructor of any unexpected event or high blood pressure reading. Communications between clients were kept at the level of their developmental needs; while at the center, I did not encounter anyone with special developmental needs. Since nursing assessments were not done, documented or reported, we documented blood pressure readings and reported any readings that were high.

Objective 4: Establish environment conductive to learning and use a plan for learners based on evidence-based practice
Three of my classmates and I developed a presentation for the seniors in regards to falls. We researched information on falls, such as causes, risk factors, ways to prevent falls to present to the seniors in the form of a pamphlet and handouts with information on diet and exercise and an oral presentation, accompanied by activities. We arranged the environment in a way to allow space to move around for the exercises; we also provided a small snack. In order for us to evaluate their knowledge from the beginning to the end of the presentation, a pretest was given before we started and posttest at the end.

Objective 5: Utilize informational technology when managing individual and families in the community.
While communicating with patients at the center, some were curious of symptoms of medications they were taking. I was allowed to use the computer available to us to provide the patient with accurate information. We were also able to use the computer at the center to put together our presentation. Clients’ records were not accessed; however, we maintained confidentiality during blood pressure readings, by not speaking about readings to other members of the center and by not writing the name of the member next to their blood pressure reading.

Objective 6: Demonstrate a commitment to professional development
While conducting research for our presentation on fall prevention, reliable and secured websites were used to provide accurate and current information. In order for myself to be up to date to the literature, I dedicated time to reading literature about events, medications, or illnesses that were encountered at the center, to further my knowledge as a nurse. In regards to self-evaluation, I self-reflect and analyze my work as a nurse, recognizing my strengths and room for improvement and how I would improve myself in the work I do. I am willing to adjust to situations that come into my path and to accept challenges and use this as a learning experience in my nursing career.

Objective 7: Incorporate professional nursing standards and accountability into practice
During my clinical rotation, I made sure to comply with the American Nurses Association Standards by maintaining the duty to do no harm, to be fair to others, complete duties in terms of the well-being of the members of the center, and to be trustworthy. I complied with the center’s standard of practice by taking part in activities, conducting blood pressure readings, and held myself accountable for my actions at the center. I made myself aware of the center’s mission and complied with the goals of their mission.

Objective 8: Collaborate with clients, significant support persons and members of the health care team
When gathering information for the presentation and our service learning project, I collaborated with the employees of the center to better understand the center from the point of view of the employees; also, I sought help from employees in regards to printing our flyers, pamphlets, and educational materials for our presentations. To fulfill client-care base needs and interventions, we conducted research and presented information of fall prevention, due to this being prevalent among the elderly and the most common cause of injury. Since our setting was a senior center, recognizing resources, guiding clients in treatment choices and lifestyle, and assisting clients to make networks to other community agencies did not occur as readily; however, clients were educated on concerns they had, which was especially addressed during our presentation. In the case that patients were willing to read information on reliable websites, they were guided into looking through the internet, with the computers provided in the center.

Objective 9: Recognize the impact of economic, political, social and demographic forces that affect the delivery of health care services.
During our presentation of fall preventions, I noted that patients voiced that when being discharged from a hospital setting, they will be given an assistive device, and would not know how to use it. This identifies a gap in the health care system because there should be medical professionals in the hospital setting to educate these individuals on how to use assistive devices, to prevent falls or injuries. Noting that falls and injuries is prevalent among the elderly, research was done to conduct a presentation on this matter. By presenting this information to the seniors, I was able to educate them on the importance of fall prevention, diet, and exercise; by doing this, seniors can better understand the risk of falling and take into consideration lifestyle changes that can further prevent falls and injuries. By promoting this information, I have adapted the role as a change agent; this illustrates to me how important it is to continue educating patients throughout my nursing career, to promote the quality of well-being of the elderly and other age groups.

Summary
My experience at the Stein Senior Center was one that was interesting and rewarding. This experience gave me the ability to broaden my knowledge as a nurse in a community heath setting. My time at the center taught me how important it is to educate clients; if we did not have presentations on issues that are of importance with the elderly population, such as falls and decrease in vision and hearing capabilities, many would have continued to live a lifestyle that may put them at risk, such as a high risk for injuries. Due to our presentations, we were able to increase the knowledge of the elderly on important factors that can affect their lives in an instant. It was truly a great feeling to be able to make a small difference among the seniors that attended the Stein Senior Center; this also gave me the courage to incorporate this into my practice as a nurse, furthering my career and changing the lives of individuals of all age groups.