Comportment

A: Accountability: Since my inception at Hartnell Nursing School, I have learned an ordeal of values and knowledge. One of the basics of nursing principles that I’ve learned is accountability. I have demonstrated accountability when making clinical judgements and taking responsibility for my actions. An example of this is when I notice that one of my clients was on NPO due to having a chest x-ray, bronchoscope, and a thoracentesis later in the day. Her medications included Oyster Shell 500- Vit D3 200, which is instructed to take with food. The client also had MiraLax scheduled, however, that medication is to be mixed with 8 oz of water. I made a judgement to not administer the medications and I notified the nurse. The nurse validated my judgment in omitting medications and told me that no medications will be administered until after the procedures, except for pain medication. I also realize that I am accountable in my own learning in the clinical setting as well as in class. I am able to realize my flaws and the areas where I need to improve. I will utilize the ATI lesson on testing skills to enhance my learning process. 

B: Professional Identity: As a nursing student, I am still learning to conduct myself in a professional manner. This is by wearing appropriate attire and by carrying myself with dignity, being compassionate and sensitive to other people’s situations, advocating for clients, teaching accurate material to the client, etc. I have learned as a nurse that being a nurse is an identity, meaning that I will have to strive to conduct myself in a manner appropriate to that of a nurse’s even outside of work. Having professional integrity is important to me, meaning that as a student nurse, I will act with the basic nursing principles in mind both at work and outside of work. As student and future nurses, we are continuously learning and developing skills. I personally believe that self-reflection is crucial in improving myself as a person. While I am confident in my ability to show compassion and care for others, I am also aware of many of my flaws, which include my lack of confidence, lack of experience and knowledge, and lack of time management. Some of my barriers to success include financial instability, lack of time due to working 25-40 hours a week, and my own mindset. I believe that my mindset is the biggest barrier to my own success, and to conduct myself as the ideal future nurse I want to be, I will have to face that barrier and fight against my own rooted tendencies. 

C. Advocacy: An example of advocating for my client was when I was caring for the one year and 2 month old toddler and the family had trouble finding a caretaker for the kids that the parents left at home. The father of the client had a need to return to work because he had already called a day off the day before. The current caretaker of the kids at home was the father’s mother, who also had to return to work because she also took a day off of work to take care of the children. The client’s parents wanted more transparency and clarification on the estimated time arrivals of the doctor and the EEG. Immediately after talking with the client’s parents, I told the nurse to see if she would be able to be able to find a time frame of arrival for both the EEG and the doctor. One thing that I realized during the first half of the semester was that while I will always advocate for my patients, I may not be doing it in a way that is most efficient in receiving help for the patients. I believe that I can work on my approach by seeing myself from the patient’s angle. If I were the patient, how would I want the nurse to advocate for me? I have also demonstrated patient advocacy by doing patient hand-offs/ SBAR to my peers and the nurses.

D. Legal-ethical: As a student and future nurse, I believe it is important to act according to the hospital’s or facility’s policies and to apply professional standards of care. For example, as nurses we must perform proper hygiene, promote a safe environment, provide teachings to the client and client’s family, provide patient-centered care, and much more. Expressing humility and truthfulness are essential characteristics of a good nurse. One quote that I have on my wall at home is “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but instead thinking of yourself less.” Humility is what makes a person authentic and caring.We must be able to admit our mistakes at times and act with integrity by upholding the facility’s protocol and standards of care.I am maintaining the legal-ethical standards by performing the 5 Rights when administering medications and performing the “First 5” when entering a room.

E. Leadership-management: An example of when I used leadership skills is when I asked one of my peers to listen to my client’s lung sounds (of course, with the approval of my client). This was my first time hearing crackles in the lung sounds, so I wanted to confirm with a second nurse. By explaining to my peer the general situation, and by delegating a task to her, I was able to demonstrate leadership-management skills. I believe that this skill is something I will need to build. I usually identify more as a follower; however, I am willing to put myself in uncomfortable situations to do what is best for the clients.