NURS20163 Australian Identity And Nursing Care - Reflection Of Theatre Nursing

Introduction 

Reflection is an important way of fostering learning, as it allows to look back on learning experiences to devise plan for forthcoming learning of specific study area. Being a nursing student, it is highly important to gain insight of different nursing roles by exploring differences in work settings and other relevant aspects of specific roles. The underlying reflection is based on group activity which has allowed all group members to choose one nursing role for comparing and contrasting those roles on multiple areas. The reflection is carried out by making use of Gibbs Reflective Cycle which is comprised of six steps, including; description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan.  This reflection cycle is comprehensive and it has allowed to describe the learning event along with carrying out detailed analysis and evaluation of the learning experience. 

Description

The core focus of learning was on carrying out assess of different nursing roles in contemporary health care model within Australia. We were encouraged to get engaged in group activity with an aim of choosing desired nursing roles and then comparing and contrasting different aspects of each nursing role. I worked in group of four individuals, of which my chosen role was mental health care nursing, while other group members selected theatre nursing, aged care nursing and rural and remote nursing role.  We have chosen three areas for comparing and contrasting these chosen nursing roles, which included; work settings associated with all nursing roles, demographics of patients in different nursing roles and extra training requirements for enhancing effectiveness in chosen nursing roles. 

Feelings

All of us were interested in diverse nursing roles, which has offered me sense of accomplishment, as I was able to extend my knowledge across four nursing roles. During the group activity, I have found that there were substantial differences in work settings, patients’ demographics and extra training requirements in each role. Prior to this activity, each nursing role was same for me, however my thoughts changed after this activity and I was able to recognise scope and requirements of each role. For instance, I have recognised that in mental health nursing role, I will be required to focus on my own mental wellness, as work setting can be highly stressing and in order to empathise patients with mental issues, one needs to be strong and mentally calm. Additionally, while discussing different nursing roles with group members, I have felt that how a nurse can be a support system for patients in different conditions, such as patients in surgical conditions, aged patients and mentally ill. Finally, my thoughts went into progression about different nursing requirements in urban and rural areas and how those differences can be catered by an individual.