reflection

A major social determinant of health that I think has positively impacted my life would be my childhood development and upbringing. Because parents/guardians are responsible for caring, comforting and protecting us whilst also showing us ideas of this world we’re going to live in, the quality of the relationship that they build with us has a major influence on our development and not many parents are capable to provide the best for their kids due to some factors of the social determinant in health. Fortunately, I can say I’ve been brought up in a safe middle-class family and raised with loving parents who trust me, gave me the education I needed and nurture me well enough for me to develop in a positive way whilst still maintaining the values they have taught me. They made sure I listened well to others so I could gain the knowledge I didn’t have, and they also made sure I respected everyone around me.As a registered nurse, we have the professional standards and values we are expected to have when working and so when a patient enters a hospital, irrespective of how minor or major their pain is, it is important that we as nurses maintain professional and respect their decisions on their treatments. In relation to the situation given in the task sheet, I respect and understand that the RN had the right to have whatever opinion she had but at the same time she needed to respect the patient’s decisions on getting treated. If the patient was to hear that remark, it could have been a possibility of her feelings getting hurt, and as a patient she has the right to be feel valued, accepted and be treated fairly.As a new RN, I would politely tell her that she should be more respectful to our patients whether it is in front or behind their backs and remind her that it is our job to take care of them regardless of how bad their situation is. Having a negative attitude towards a patient can affect the care they receive so it is important to overcome those thoughts and work towards helping them heal.In relation to the Principle 3.2 Code of the Conduct for Nurses (NMBA 2018, p. 8), the conduct that relate to this situation in particular include ‘Principle 3.2a Nurses must understand that only the person and/or their family can determine whether or not care is culturally safe and respectful.’ The RN’s behaviour came under what was expected in Code of conduct for nurses, as she gave her opinion on what was culturally safe and respectful for her patient. Working in a job where it requires us to work with people in an effective way, it is crucial and has become a major aspect for us nurses to develop reflective practices. It can be used in a way to observe myself developing as an individual in and out of the nursing field. Overall, these reflections have allowed me to identify my misunderstandings and comprehend the information I wasn’t fully aware of in order to help me enhance the knowledge I have learnt in the past weeks, like realising to step out of my interpretations of the situation and understand the other’s perspectives. Even though it took me a while to understand the concepts and practices of cultural safety, I am now aware of being culturally safe and respectful while working. This assessment has helped me reflect and expand my nursing capabilities in an effective way.