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NUR131 TASK 3: PHOTO REFLECTION

Student’s Name

Course

Tutor

Institution

City and State

Date
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Nursing Task 131: Photo Reflection

The nursing profession has undergone rapid changes in how the caregivers handle, relate,

and care for their patients. The precedent nursing practices mainly focused on the clinical point

of care delivery and neglected most of the patients’ requirements. The nurses employing

conventional practices were mainly obliged to the delivery of accurate and quality clinical

services while overlooking the individualistic overall needs of the healthcare consumers. The

disconnection between the delivery of competent clinical interventions and patient-centered

approach derails the care outcomes and renders the overall nursing practices to be incompetent. I

will use an image relating to the delivery of care and discuss how contemporary nursing has

improved from its former codes of practice concerning the handling of patients as whole beings.

Reflection of the Image

Image 1

Image 1 portrays a nurse holding conversing with a middle-aged female patient in a

hospital ward and can be interpreted in multiple ways regarding the delivery of quality care and

positive patient outcomes. A major observation in the image is that the respective nurse is highly

professional in handling of patients since she advances her nursing practice to personal needs of

people under her care. According to Hunter and Cook (2018), treating the patients as whole
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beings is fundamental in ascertaining the desired patient outcomes because the concept focuses

on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being of the individuals. The nurse

spending significant time with the patient indicates her care for emotional, mental, and physical

needs of the woman. It could be that the patient has been feeling lonely for a while and she is

worried about her deteriorating health, both physical and mental. Keeping relatively close to the

patient will give her a sense of love, care, and affection, the three factors that can improve the

overall patient outcomes. The patient will also feel secured during her stay at the hospital since

she can reach the nurse at any given point when she requires help with physical tasks such as

getting out of her bed. I have learned from the image that contemporary nurses embrace the idea

of treating people as whole beings and not only focusing on their clinical needs, and this is a

major breakthrough to attaining the desired patient outcomes and safety.

Image 1 illustrates the delivery of quality and safe care through the use of excellent

communication skills. According to Ahmed and Bates (2017), having competent communication

skills is fundamental for any healthcare givers who aspires to progress their career to advanced

levels through ascertaining desired patient outcomes and satisfaction. Excellent communication

is the backbone of patient-centered care and evidence-based practices for all the healthcare

professionals including nurses and physicians. In my personal view, the pictured nurse has

mastered the art of maintaining competent and insightful communications based on the fact that

she is maintaining eye contact with the female patient during their discussion. The strategy will

enable the nurse to evaluate the patient and detect any feelings of discomfort during her stay at

the hospital or gauge the reliability of the obtained information. For instance, most patients avoid

direct eye contact with the relevant healthcare providers when giving false information about

sensitive issues partaking to their health. In such incidences, competent nurse communicators
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will detect the possible falsehood in their patients’ feedback and strategically educate them about

the importance of always giving correct medical data to their respective caregivers (Nguyen et

al., 2021). Contemporary nursing capitalizes on competent communications between the

caregivers and their patients for efficacy in the delivery of quality and safe care.

Image 2 also illustrates how contemporary nursing is factored on cultural competence.

The picture portrays a concerned healthcare provider who may be involving the patient in

decision-making processes regarding her health. It is because the nurse is pictured in a situation

where she may be making some crucial inquiries about the patient’s health history; the nurse

seems to be making hand symbols while communicating and the patient is listening attentively.

Cultural competence is a fundamental pillar of contemporary nursing in the U.S. and the world

entirely. Cultural competence is stemmed on effective communications between patients and

caregivers whereby the latter make inquiries or initiate conversations that will allow the patients

to share their views about certain healthcare practices (Chae & Park, 2018). Involving patients

and their families in discussions regarding certain healthcare practices gives the consumers a

feeling that they are important to the relevant caregivers and this promotes positive patient-

outcome (Chae & Park, 2018). In this sense, the relevant caregivers will make informed

decisions regarding the patients’ health because they will base their conclusions to the

information acquired from the respective healthcare consumers. Contemporary nursing

prioritizes cultural competency which is mainly attributed to excellent communication and

inclusion of patients in decision-making processes regarding their health.

It is notable that the nurse pictured in the image is maintaining significant social distance

during the conversation. The nurse may be following the strict COVID-19 regulations on

maintaining social distance to curb nosocomial infections among admitted patients and
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healthcare personnel. I understand from the picture how important it is for me to protect myself

from any health dangers that threaten the already low population of healthcare providers in the

U.S. and the world entirely. It is important to provide patients with all-rounded care that is

stemmed on their clinical, emotional, spiritual, and mental needs while also preventing any

unnecessary physical contact with the individuals (Darvishi et al., 2019). Better alternatives to

treat patients as spiritual beings include having lengthy and personal conversations with them

regarding how they feel, their opinions about the services rendered, and any challenges that they

may be facing in their recovery processes. Contemporary nursing is founded on the need to

protect healthcare workers from the increasing rates of nosocomial infections by practicing safe

safety measures during the discharge of medical interventions.

Contemporary nursing and healthcare practices largely rely on the use of advanced

medical technologies. I have noted that the nurse is conversant with advanced healthcare

technology since she is carrying a gadget on the chest. The patient’s background is also filled

with hi-tech equipment thus showcasing the advanced nature of contemporary healthcare.

According to Kane and Gillis (2018), the use of advanced technologies in healthcare practices

promotes accuracy, quality, and reliability thus improving the overall outcomes of care. I have

noted the importance of familiarizing myself with diverse healthcare technology as a way of

improving my nursing competence and ascertain the desired patient outcomes and safety

throughout my career.

Conclusion

I have learned that being a competent nurse requires the mastery of diverse

communication skills and being conversant with advanced healthcare technology. Contemporary
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healthcare practices are largely founded on effective communications and the use of hi-tech

equipment concerning the delivery quality and safe care. I will embrace the importance of having

insightful communications with my patients in ascertaining the desired care outcomes and

quality of life. I will employ the acquired knowledge to advance my nursing career and promote

public health initiative to deliver cultural competent care. I will be an ambassador of patient-

centered and evidence-based healthcare practices in my efforts to improve the overall healthcare

system in the U.S. and beyond.

References

Ahmed, R. and Bates, B.R., 2017. Patients’ fear of physicians and perceptions of physicians’

cultural competence in healthcare. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 10(1),

pp.55-60. [Online] (updated 14 Feb. 2017) Available at:

<https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2017.1287389> [Accessed 16 Apr. 2021].

Chae, D. and Park, Y., 2018. Organizational cultural competence needed to care for foreign

patients: a focus on nursing management. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(1),

pp.197-206. [Online] (updated 10 Sep. 2018) Available at:

<https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12665> [Accessed 16 Apr. 2021].

Darvishi, A., Otaghi, M. and Mami, S., 2019. The effectiveness of spiritual therapy on

spiritual well-being, self-esteem and self-efficacy in patients on

hemodialysis. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(1), pp.277-288. [Online] (updated

23 Jan. 2019) Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-00750-1> [Accessed

16 Apr. 2021].

Hunter, K. and Cook, C., 2018. Role‐modeling and the hidden curriculum: new graduate

nurses’ professional socialization. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(15-16), pp.3157-

3170. [Online] (updated 12 May. 2018) Available at:

<https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14510> [Accessed 16 Apr. 2021].

Kane, C.K. and Gillis, K., 2018. The use of telemedicine by physicians: still the exception

rather than the rule. Health Affairs, 37(12), pp.1923-1930. [Online] (updated Dec.

2018) Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.05077> [Accessed 16 Apr.

2021].
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Nguyen, BPharm, J., Hunter, BMed, MScPH, PhD, J., Smith, BA (Hons), PhD, L. and

Harnett, BHSc, MHSc, PhD, Grad Cert Educational Studies, J.E., 2021. Can we all

speak the same ‘language’ for our patients’ sake? Feedback on inter-professional

communication and related resources. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 10.

[Online] (updated 12 Feb. 2021) Available at:

<https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2164956121992338> [Accessed 16 Apr. 2021].