Clinical: Journal Reflection

Reflective Journal Instructions

You will create 5 entries for your Reflective Journal about a patient encounter. In the 5th entry, you will review the previous 4 entries and evaluate your progress in reflective practice over the course of the term.  Each journal should be a minimum of 250 words.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

The purpose of this reflective journal is self-reflection regarding the role in the process of self-reflection as a PMHNP provider. Through reflective practice, the student will evaluate their own emotional health and recognize one’s own feelings as well as one’s ability to monitor and manage those feelings. The point of the exercise is to learn yourself, your triggers, the types of cases you end up getting overly involved with, and those you’d rather refer to someone else. The idea is to be able to personally reflect on your behaviors/thoughts/decisions and how those impact you in the role of PMHNP.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

• Describe a new experience, significant event/patient interaction, never seen before diagnosis, etc… you have experienced in clinical this week. You can choose the same case you used for your SOAP Note this week if that case had an effect on you.  Discuss the impact this had on you in terms of increasing your understanding of the PMHNP role, psychopathology, and/or the provider-patient relationship. Explore your personal strengths and limitations and their effect on the provider/patient relationship. Include reflection on your therapeutic use of self. Your discussion should reflect your specific learning/insight. Identify something specific that you learned from reflecting on this event/interaction and how will you apply that learning in your future practice? (Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

Rubric

NU673 Unit 11 Assignment – Clinical: Journal Reflection

NU673 Unit 11 Assignment – Clinical: Journal Reflection

CriteriaRatingsPts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeContent Reflection

14 pts

Level 5

Reflection demonstrates a high degree of critical thinking in applying, analyzing, and evaluating key course concepts and theories from readings, lectures, media, discussions activities, and/or assignments. Insightful and relevant connections made through contextual explanations, inferences, and examples.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

10 pts

Level 3

Reflection demonstrates some degree of critical thinking in applying, analyzing, and/or evaluating key course concepts and theories from readings, lectures, media, discussions activities, and/or assignments. Connections made through explanations, inferences, and/or examples.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

6 pts

Level 1

Reflection demonstrates limited critical thinking in applying, analyzing, and/or evaluating key course concepts and theories from readings, lectures, media, discussions, activities, and/or assignments Minimal connections made through explanations, inferences, and/or examples.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

0 pts

Level 0

Reflection lacks critical thinking. Superficial connections are made with key course concepts and course materials, activities, and/or assignments.

14 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomePersonal Growth

13 pts

Level 5

Conveys strong evidence of reflection on own work with a personal response to the self-assessment questions posed. Demonstrates significant personal growth and awareness of deeper meaning through inferences made, examples, well developed insights, and substantial depth in perceptions and challenges. Synthesizes current experience into future implications.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

9 pts

Level 3

Conveys evidence of reflection on own work with a personal response to the self-assessment questions posed. Demonstrates satisfactory personal growth and awareness through some inferences made, examples, insights, and challenges. Some thought of the future implications of current experience.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

5 pts

Level 1

Conveys limited evidence of reflection on own work in response to the self-assessment questions posed. Demonstrates less than adequate personal growth and awareness through few or simplistic inferences made, examples, insights, and/or challenges that are not well developed. Minimal thought of the future implications of current experience.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

0 pts

Level 0

Conveys inadequate evidence of reflection on own work in response to the self-assessment questions posed. Personal growth and awareness are not evident and/or demonstrates a neutral experience with negligible personal impact. Lacks enough inferences, examples, personal insights and challenges, and/or future implications are overlooked.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

13 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeQuality

13 pts

Level 5

Excellent presentation. Reflection is well written and does not contain any errors in grammar or punctuation. Professionalism present.

9 pts

Level 3

Above average presentation. Reflection contains minor errors in grammar and punctuation that do not interfere with the readability of the reflection. Professionalism present.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

5 pts

Level 1

Reflection is poorly written or contains multiple errors in grammar and punctuation that interfere with the readability of the reflection. Professionalism needs improvement.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

0 pts

Level 0

The reflection is poorly written, missing significant information, or contains multiple errors in grammar and punctuation severely affecting the readability or there is no reflection present.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

13 pts

Total Points: 40

Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students

Describe a New Experience

In my recent practicum, I encountered a 32-year-old male with paranoid schizophrenia who his parents accompanied. They reported that his condition improved significantly following his last treatment three months ago. However, the patient has recently relapsed in marijuana use, which has worsened his situation. He presented high levels of delusions, hallucinations, and increased paranoia. He also had incoherent speech and abnormal motor behavior. This was my first case with a paranoid-schizophrenic patient under the influence of drugs.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

Nonetheless, he kept saying “he is here” and moving away from his parents to a more secluded space. He did not want anyone to get close to him, making it challenging to diagnose effectively (Dorofeikova et al., 2018). However, his parents mentioned that he had recently witnessed a fight where the participants threatened to kill each other. Since then, he has been locking himself in his room, saying that someone will come and kill him. He has also stopped taking his medication and instead tried to cope with marijuana to calm his mind, which has only worsened the situation.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

Discuss its impact on increasing your understanding, Personal Strengths, and Limitations.

The situation challenged me because the patient was unwilling to participate in treatment, even after his parents left the room. I remained patient to allow him to feel safe in his space. I also built rapport to establish trust so the patient would speak up to establish the cause of his marijuana relapse (Foster et al., 2019). Nonetheless, I encouraged him to remain calm and mentioned that I did not see the person he was talking about. This approach presented reality which helped to deal with his hallucinations. However, he still could not speak, which required me to involve a psychiatrist for a more integrated approach (Freeman et al., 2019). I realized I had to improve my communication with patients and develop a more proactive approach to dealing with uncooperative patients. It also increased my understanding of the PMHNP role and the provider-patient relationship. Specifically, I have learned the need to be patient, supportive, respectful, and proactive in delivering patient care.(Comprehensive Clinical Reflective Journal for Nursing Students)

References

Dorofeikova, M., Neznanov, N., & Petrova, N. (2018). Cognitive deficit in patients with paranoid schizophrenia: Its clinical and laboratory correlates. Psychiatry Research, 262, 542-548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.09.041

Foster, K., Roche, M., Giandinoto, J., & Furness, T. (2019). Workplace stressors, psychological well‐being, resilience, and caring behaviors of mental health nurses: A descriptive correlational study. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 29(1), 56-68. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12610

Freeman, D., Taylor, K. M., Molodynski, A., & Waite, F. (2019). Treatable clinical intervention targets patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 211, 44-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2019.07.016

FAQs

How do you write a reflective journal for nursing?

Crafting a reflective journal for nursing entails recording personal insights and sentiments during clinical duties or learning encounters. Initiate by depicting scenarios or patient engagements, outlining your emotions and responsibilities. Scrutinize the encounter, spotlighting accomplishments, hurdles confronted, and newfound understandings. Culminate by delineating how this experience shapes your forthcoming practices, signifying development and showcasing discerning evaluation of nursing competencies and patient management.

What is a clinical reflective journal in nursing?

A type of personal record used in the nursing field is the clinical reflective journal. Within these journals, nurses can confidentially document their personal thoughts, insights, and real-life encounters from their clinical experiences. This private tool promotes self-evaluation, analytical contemplation, and career advancement. By maintaining these reflective journals, nurses can thoughtfully analyze patient care, professional choices, obstacles confronted, and valuable takeaways, all while nurturing their skills and enriching their appreciation of their profession.

How do you write a reflection as a student nurse?

Crafting a student nurse reflection entails discussing a clinical encounter from an introspective standpoint. Initiate by outlining the scenario and your involvement, delving into feelings, cognition, and conduct. Evaluate your reaction, emphasizing successes and areas for enhancement. Conclude by deliberating on acquired insights, lessons grasped, and the impact on future nursing practice, showcasing advancement and adept consideration in patient care.

What is an example of a reflective statement in nursing?

Crafting a reflective statement in the field of nursing involves a deliberate assessment of a particular patient encounter or clinical incident. For instance, post tending to a patient with an enduring ailment, a nurse could compose a reflective statement like, “Upon revisiting my interaction with the patient, I came to realize that my compassionate approach had a positive impact on their emotional well-being. Nonetheless, I also acknowledged the necessity of refining my discourse regarding treatment alternatives, ensuring they feel both empowered and well-informed in managing their condition.” This statement underscores the nurse’s introspection, underscores strengths alongside areas warranting development, and underscores their dedication to elevating patient care.