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Reflective Journal 1

This reflective journal entry discusses a clinical experience where the student nurse cared for a patient with bipolar disorder who had been described by the assigned nurse as "difficult". The student entered the patient's room without preconceived notions and treated her with respect, as she would any other patient. The patient responded positively and their interaction went well. The student learned that preconceived notions can negatively impact care, and that mental health stigma still exists among healthcare providers. Treating patients equally and without bias is important for providing high quality care.

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43 views4 pages

Reflective Journal 1

This reflective journal entry discusses a clinical experience where the student nurse cared for a patient with bipolar disorder who had been described by the assigned nurse as "difficult". The student entered the patient's room without preconceived notions and treated her with respect, as she would any other patient. The patient responded positively and their interaction went well. The student learned that preconceived notions can negatively impact care, and that mental health stigma still exists among healthcare providers. Treating patients equally and without bias is important for providing high quality care.

Uploaded by

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reflective Journal #1

Sydney Collin

NURS 3020

A5-2

February 9 , 2020
th

 
A significant clinical practice experience I would like to reflect on was in my second

week of placement on the orthopedic surgery unit. I had received my assignment for that

morning and sought out my assigned RN. Before entering my patient’s room, my nurse warned

me that she was very difficult to work with due to her bipolar disorder and that I would likely

require assistance to perform her care. From the nurse’s perspective, this warning was likely

meant for my benefit or as a kindness, however she unknowingly gave my preconceived notions

about the patient and their behavior.

I was grateful for the warning however I was saddened that this would likely be the first

impression of this patient among a lot of the nurses. However, I learnt in my second year

placement on the postpartum unit to never pass judgment before meeting a patient. This was

when I received a baby with neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. At first I thought how could

a mother allow that to happen to her unborn child, but after meeting the mother I learnt that she

was in a very bad motorcycle accident and required opioids for chronic pain. I felt so guilty for

making assumptions that I vowed to never pass judgment before meeting a patient again.

Therefore, even after my nurse’s warning, I walked into my patient’s room with the same

demeanor as I would with any other patient. I am very proud of myself for this. I believe I

accurately displayed ethical knowing, following what ought to be done and considering my

moral choices. Not that it is immoral to have preconceived notions of a patient, I believe it is

only human, however it can be harmful to the creation of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship

and their patient-centered care. When I walked in the room, I used personal knowing to act as I

would like to be treated in the hospital setting. I used esthetic knowing while beginning to work

with the patient, using her demeanor to influence my interactions with her. She appeared like a

content older woman who was very friendly towards me. I never had a problem with her care and
performed it all myself. We got along well, and I attribute that to the fact that I did not come into

her room with preconceived notions and treated her as I would any patient I was assigned to

despite her mental health diagnoses.

This experience reminds me of our 3001 teachings about the illness experience and

stigma. There is unfortunately still much stigma surrounding mental health issues. In a literary

review by Ross and Goldner (2009), three positions that healthcare workers may assume in

relation to stigma; ‘stigmatizers’, ‘stigmatized’, and ‘de-stigmatizers’. I believe in this instance I

would fall under the ‘de-stigmatizers’ category as I did not let the patient’s mental health

diagnosis affect my care or treatment towards her.

This experience reinforced my belief that every patient should be treated equally and

reminded me of the importance and impact it has on the patient’s care. Perhaps she was deemed

‘difficult’ by other nurses because of the things they might have heard about her which

influenced their attitude towards her. This experience also reminded me of what kind of nurse I

strive to be and of how preconceived notions of nurses can affect their care. It is difficult to

approach this issue on a large scale but it is important for us as nurses to remember our goal,

which is to give the greatest level of care possible. A study by Pinto-Foltz and Logsdon (2009)

makes recommendations for stigma reduction on both micro and macro levels.

Recommendations included staff education and mass media campaigns. Nurses hold a lot of

power in reducing stigma by way of advocacy for fair representation and treatment of patients

with mental disorders.


References

Pinto-Foltz, M. D., & Logsdon, M. C. (2009). Reducing stigma related to mental disorders:

initiatives, interventions, and recommendations for nursing. Archives of Psychiatric

Nursing, 23(1), 32-40.

Ross, C. A., & Goldner, E. M. (2009). Stigma, negative attitudes and discrimination towards

mental illness within the nursing profession: a review of the literature. Journal of

psychiatric and mental health nursing, 16(6), 558-567.

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