My experiences and objectives as a community nurse at the community health nursing clinical rotation.
My objectives and how I achieved them during my community health nursing clinical activities are captured in this write-up. The experiences I gained during my participation in the clinical rotation at Lutheran Family Health Centers are particularly satisfying, especially those gained while I was working with various patients of different backgrounds.
It is paramount that proper behavioral conduct and professionalism should be exhibited by a community health nurse. One should also guarantee confidentiality of client information in order to promote mutual trust and respect between one and the client. Appearance of the health nurse is also important and I ensured that I was always appropriately and formally dressed in accordance with Lutheran Family Health Centers dress code. Punctuality and completion of assignments within schedule was also important for me and I always made sure that I achieved both at all times. I also did not hesitate to seek guidance from experienced professional colleague and especially my instructors whenever I was unsure about an event or situation.
In dealing with individual clients or a group I made sure that I was methodical and analytical, being always of a questioning mind. I also applied some of the principles of safety to myself, avoiding being alone on lonely roads and carrying as little personal belongings as possible on my person. Whenever the need arose I took notes and made reference to a patient’s history. I also carried out an assessment of patients’ appreciation of the subject matter when ever teaching was involved. Treatments and their efficacy were also assessed by monitoring, reviewing and follow up actions to ascertain progress of improvement in client’s conditions.
It was sometimes necessary to talk to some clients for long periods. Whenever that happened I found it rewarding to sometimes listen attentively to them and allow them express their concerns before venturing to offer advice or attempt a solution to the problem. I addressed communication barriers by resorting to the organization’s language bank service to solve translation problems. In some cases I had to seek outside assistance and when that happened I did not hesitate to do so.
Sometimes I found it necessary to teach at some length. I had about four presentations (Breast cancer and mammogram; Diabetes; Depression and Osteoporosis). Under this circumstance, I first made sure that an environment conducive to learning was created: quiet environment, minimum or absence of any distractions, orderliness in the classroom or learning environment. At the end of the exercise, assessment of the outcome of learning was necessary. Appropriate use of information technology was sometimes useful in the teaching/learning environment. Some concepts are better understood using animation and cartoons. Here computer programs and packages are very helpful.
It is also important to constantly update oneself with the most recent developments in the field by consulting appropriate current literature in the field. Demonstrating such currency helps to enhance respect for and confidence in the nurse by the client. One should also critically appraise one’s work and carry out self-assessment to detect weaknesses in one’s output with a view to improving by eliminating these weaknesses in the future.
Documentation, complying with standards and taking responsibility for one’s actions are important to any community nurse. Every case should be properly documented, appropriate standards and practices should be applied and complied with e.g. Lutheran Family Health Centers policies and standards. Collaboration with colleagues and sharing information on new cases and findings is an important aspect of community nursing. Discussing with the nurse directly responsible for a client is important and where this is not feasible, notes should be taken and carefully preserved for transmission to such a nurse. This is necessary so that he/she has a full picture of the client’s up-to-date history of treatment and I always made sure I did this all the time.
There is no doubt that sometimes socio-political and economic factors have a bearing on health care delivery. Economic status of a family may allow for only a limited number of visits by health workers to a group that requires more visits. During this exercise, I always ensured that I provided information on means of improving this situation by providing information on affordable insurance policies such groups may take advantage of.
This experience in community nurse has been an eye-opener to me. I find it as challenging as it is rewarding. Effective community health management can tremendously reduce both the duration and frequency of hospitalizations. It also brings health care delivery right to the doorstep of the clients who are most in need of it. It has indeed been a very fruitful experience.
