Reflections on Vital Signs - Free Essay Sample

Introduction

The objective of week six assignment involved taking vital signs. I was tasked to take all the vital signs, including temperature, manual blood pressure, and respiration, pulse, and pulse oximetry on a patient. Once I got every step right, I started the procedure on the patient for twenty minutes. During the process, I managed to record all the vital signs on the clinical appraisal form under my assessor's close supervision. The paper details my reflection on vital signs assessment feedback based on my strengths, weaknesses, and action plans.

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Strengths and Leaning Opportunities

I developed a strong, clear, and supportive communication technique to undertake the procedure. I took advantage of this skill to reassure the patient about his safety and addressed the underlying anxiety. Cardona et al. (2016, pg. 15) point out that the nurse-patient relationship plays a critical role in patient safety during vital signs. I portrayed the skills so well that after every test, I informed him about the readings to keep him aware of his medical status.

Additionally, I took advantage of my critical thinking skills to apply skillful reasons during the procedure. I applied sound reasoning during the procedure, especially when taking blood pressure. I observed that my patient had rashes on his arms and used the other arm without rashes. Sapra, Malik, and Bhandari (2019) mention that assessing patient arms and positioning of cuff placement is critical in checking blood pressure. Critically, I evaluated the situation and applied the correct reasoning to obtain an accurate result with zero injuries to my patient.

Weakness

I felt extremely apprehensive before starting the procedure because of time. I had a challenge in planning and setting my working area. Due to the time limit, I forgot to sanitize a stethoscope after taking blood pressure. While checking the pulse, I also forgot to ask the peer preference arm and sanitizing my hands after checking the pulse. These mistakes occurred because I failed to assemble sterilizing reagents at the workstation.

Conclusion

In the future, I would consider setting up a workstation in mind to maintain proper sterilization procedures. While I am informed that taking vital signs help in decision making, I will thrive to provide contaminated free results. I will prepare adequately by mastering the procedure a day to the laboratory practice to avoid the mistakes. I am confident that with this precaution in mind, I will carry my duties efficiently.

References

Cardona-Morrell, M., Prgomet, M., Lake, R., Nicholson, M., Harrison, R., Long, J., Westbrook, J., Braithwaite, J. and Hillman, K., 2016. Vital signs monitoring and nurse–patient interaction: A qualitative observational study of hospital practice. International journal of nursing studies, 56, pp.9-16.

Sapra, A., Malik, A. and Bhandari, P., 2019. Vital Sign Assessment. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.