Roles and Responsibilities of the Student Nurse Mentor - Assignment Example

REFLCITVE JOURNAL Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Journal 1: A Child Presented to Hospital with Multiple Seizures A seizure refers to a paroxysmal discharge of neurons in the brain that result in functional or behavioural change in the affected person (Clore 2010). Seizure presentations can be in the form of twitching that lasts a few seconds or brief rigidity periods that accompany rhythmic convulsions. The altered functioning of the brain is either tonic or tonic-clonic. Seizures are presented by stiffening and jerking in the tonic and tonic-clonic cases respectively (Clore 2010). It is evident that the presentation of seizures is a common occurrence among children. In fact, a child experiences a seizure incidence at least once before attaining the age of 15 years. The 3 years old boy in the case had presented seizures for the third time. The child experienced 9 seizures that morning before arriving at the hospital. The use of EEG video monitoring aimed at monitoring seizure events in the child. Transferring the child to the Children’s Hospital was proper since the presentation of nine seizures indicated a case of acute prolonged seizures. Within the timeline of the seizures presented by the child, it would be appropriate for the multidisciplinary team to manage the seizures. As the head nurse, I would recommend a review of the current dosage while using intubation to assist the on-going respiration process of the child (Costello & Cole 2007). As a matter of fact, prolonged seizures and certain anti-epileptic doses such as benzodiazepines impact negatively on the respiration process thereby necessitating intubation. The assessment of the child’s current medications is an important step in managing seizures. It is known as an assessment of the patient’s medical load. In the assessment, the team should consider benzodiazepines issued by carers to comprise part of the overall dosage. Prior to giving out the necessary medication, it is necessary to assess and support circulation, breathing and the airway. The care team should ensure that the airway is clear by opening it and maintaining it using a chin lift or head tilt while positioning the child in a supine posture. The seizure can also compromise the airway. In such a case, it would be necessary to use anti-epileptic drugs to control the airway. The team should also employ the ‘look, listen and feel’ method to assess the breathing adequacy. The main areas of assessment include the effort of breathing, the efficacy of breathing and the effects of breathing. Assessing the circulation system aims at assessing the adequacy of the heart rate, pulse volume, capillary refill, blood pressure, and the impacts of the inadequacy of the circulatory system on the child’s organs (Costello & Cole 2007). The next step entails giving proper medication to the child. Apart from the already issued benzodiazepines, the care team should determine whether the child received diazepam or midazolam less than one hour before the presentation of seizures. The drugs form part of the initial dose given to the child. The failure of the child to respond to the drugs necessitates the use of a second line of anti-epileptics phenobarbitone, phenytoin or levetiracetam 20 minutes following the presentation of the seizures (Costello & Cole 2007). Journal 2: Facilitating Nursing Students The placement of nursing students in a healthcare facility plays a pivotal role towards enhancing their understanding of the nursing practice. To ascertain the best student outcomes, it is imperative to make use of their supernumerary skills by providing an environment that will enable students to gain nursing experience. The basis of good mentorship is the provision of student coaching and support as well as a well-planned opportunity for learning. As a facilitator, I would ensure that students do not go through a ‘hit and miss’ experience that emanates when they undergo the mentorship exercise from a bad mentor (RCN 2002). As a result, the first objective would entail communicating to nursing students about the essence of understanding their expectations in the healthcare and learning system. It is the responsibility of students in conjunction with mentors to make expectations realistic. Moreover, I would inform students to be flexible in the learning process since learning programmes may change. As a nurse and mentor to students, it is vital to offer a favourable environment for learning by contributing quality learning outcomes as well as ensuring that the learning environment is supportive. In the quest to ascertain that students have the best mentor-student relationship, it is also important to be supportive and approachable. This provides an opportunity for students to approach you as and when they deem necessary. Having been a student mentor during the training is important. The mentor should also understand the best environment that enables students to gain the nursing experience (Casey & Clarke 2011). Understanding the assessment tools for the learning practice as well as the programme of study of the study will also play a significant role towards being a good mentor to students in the nursing practice. An in-depth understanding of the nursing programme equips the mentor with the exact learning outcomes thereby enabling the mentor to avail the experiences to students. As a professional nurse, one has substantial experience with patients: both positive and negative. In order to acquaint students to the experiences in the sector, it would be proper to share such experiences with students. By so doing, nursing students get a glimpse of what to anticipate in the field that complements the theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom setting. It is evident that each placement area has specific learning opportunities. For instance, students positioned in the emergency department gain first-hand experience on nursing practices in the emergency department. As a mentor, it is proper to identify specific learning opportunities for students to enhance their learning experience. As a facilitator, one should also identify enough time to interview students following their placement with the aim of identifying specific learning opportunities. This also entails identifying core competencies associated with each student (RCN 2002). The intiative ensures that students gain enough experience in their specific area of nursing. As a facilitator, it is also my responsibility to create time to learn how students are gaining new experiences in the nursing practice. This is essential as a tool of assessing the level of understanding of nursing skills exhibited by students. Journal 3: Handling an extremely busy shift Dealing with a busy shift necessitates the implementation of time management strategies in the nursing field. Borrowing from the time management tips outlined by Walker, Kepner and Wysocki (2012), handling a busy shift at the workplace requires the implementation of five main tips. The tips include arranging tasks in their order of priority, carrying out tasks in the right way the first time, avoiding time wasting, delegating tasks and avoiding the procrastination of tasks (Walker, Kepner & Wysocki 2012). Under stressful working environments as a nurse, I resort to such tips in order to deal with the situation. In essence, I focus on the common areas associated with time management. Prioritising work is important since it allows an individual to separate roles that are most important from those that are least important. Moreover, handling nurse roles requires a nurse to plan and adjust tasks in a manner that utilises the least time possible to accomplish the desired tasks. Besides saving time, adjusting tasks eliminates procrastination of tasks (Said 2013). In the nursing practice, procrastination occurs in the event that some nurses are unavailable to execute their roles in the healthcare setting. In essence, dealing with a busy shift requires the proper implementation of the Pickles Jar Theory. One of the lessons that I learnt from the theory is the avoidance of distractions since they contribute significantly to time mismanagement. I understand that job difficulties and stress characterise the nursing profession. Managing time during busy shifts enables nurses to take care of the needs of both their needs and those of their patients adequately. In some cases, it is possible for nurses to determine whether they will have a busy day. In scenarios cases, I arrive at the hospital early enough to plan my tasks for the entire shift. I believe that arriving early and having sufficient time to plan for my work is a guarantee that I will never be late in accomplishing my tasks. The next step is to list all the activities that have to be performed during that day. Recording activities enables me to transfer activities from my mind to the paper. The significance of transferring tasks from the mind to the paper is the fact that it frees the mind thus enabling it to accommodate something else. After writing the tasks on paper, the next activity entails prioritising the tasks from the most important and least important. In the event that all tasks are important, I prioritise them according to the slotted times of accomplishing the tasks. In such a case, I place most urgent tasks ahead of the less urgent ones thereby reducing stress as I accomplish the tasks. Upon completing a task, I cross the completed ones to indicate that I have accomplished them. The nursing sector witnesses regular unfolding of events such as the admission of patients in the emergency department. In such situations, I intend to re-organise my tasks to consider the new responsibilities in their category of urgency (Said 2013). Journal 4: Providing palliative care to a patient In basic terms, a palliative patient is a patient that is suffering from a serious illness (NHPCO 2005). Such illnesses include cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), and kidney disease among others. As a nurse, I understand that the objective of palliative care is to relieve the patient from the pain and stress associated with the illness. The ultimate objective is to improve the quality of life for both the patient and family. Being a nurse, I form part of the team of healthcare professionals that handle the patient. Other professionals in the team include doctors, social workers, and other specialists. The fact that the palliative patient suffers from a terminal or life-limiting illness implies the necessity for the identification and treatment of symptoms caused by the disease. As a nurse, I understand that the basis of palliative care is the individual needs of the patient. Therefore, the care involves different services offered to the patient and the family. As a nurse, it is my responsibility alongside other professionals in the team to relieve the patient from disease-associated symptoms such as coughing and vomiting (NHPCO 2005). It is also necessary to inform family members about the specific equipment that will be essential in the home-based care of the patient. It is also evident that there is need to discuss several sensitive issues concerning the patient with family members. As a result, it is the responsibility of nurses and the social care worker to discuss such issues with family members. Nurses also have access to other sources of financial support and home help. In order to offer the best assistance possible to the patient, nurses should discuss the available opportunities for home-based care and financing with the patient and other members of the family. The professional nurse can also offer services such as supporting the patient and family members to meet cultural obligations. Moreover, the nurse can also provide support in spiritual, social and emotional matters that affect the patient. The social worker and nurse can also provide grief support and counselling as well as referring the patient to respite services. The family-centred nature of palliative care implies that the objective of the palliative care team is to provide emotional and practical support to carers and family of the patient. As the patient receives palliative care, it is also necessary to offer curative care to the patient. The nurse should also understand the proper interventions of dealing with symptoms such as fatigue, sleeping difficulties, loss of appetite, nausea, constipation, shortness of breath, and depression. In essence, the responsibility of the nurse in conjunction with the other professionals in the palliative care team is to engage in deep communications with the patient and family. The communications cover areas such as how the patient can control the care process, exploring the patient’s goals and the explanation of available treatment options (CAPC 2016). Reference List Casey, D C & Clark, L 2011, ‘Roles and responsibilities of the student nurse mentor: an update,’ British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), Vol. 20, no. 15, pp. 933-937. Centre to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) 2016, ‘What is Palliative Care.’ Available from: https://getpalliativecare.org/whatis/ Clore, E T 2010, ‘Seizure precautions for pediatric bedside nurses,’ Pediatric nursing, Vol. 36, no. 4, pp.191. Costello, D J & Cole, A J 2007, ‘Treatment of acute seizures and status epilepticus,’ Journal of intensive care medicine, Vol. 22, no. 6, pp.319-347. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organisation (NHPCO) 2005, ‘What is Palliative Care?’ Caring Connections. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) 2002, ‘Helping students get the best from their practice placements,’ A Royal College of Nursing Toolkit. Said, B N 2013, ‘Time Management in Nursing Work,’ International Journal of Caring Sciences, Vol. 7, no. 3, pp.746. Walker, S, Wysocki, A & Kepner, K 2012, ‘Managing Time in the Workplace,’ University of Florida, pp.1-3. Read More