Following Johns Model of Structured Reflection
My hub placement for "Ongoing Healthcare Needs" was with an elderly female rehabilitation ward. For this reflective piece I am going to write about a situation I encountered on that ward. I will be following "John's model of structured reflection" as a basis to structure this document.
Description of the Experience
Mary (changed name) was admitted with right cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and was now just waiting for residential placement. One of the side effects left over from her stroke was that she had a drop-foot for which she had a splint and a walking stick; she had declined to use a frame. Mary was one of the patients on my team so I was getting to know her quite well during my first two weeks on the ward. I was working with another patient when I saw Mary twist on her ankle and try to steady herself on her stick. This had the effect of spinning her round and she fell to the floor onto her left hip. I ran to help, she was in a lot of pain and slight shock, I called down the ward for help several members of staff came to help saying "do this" and "do that" all at the same time, I was quite over whelmed. Mary was rolled back and forth onto a sling, hoisted up and placed on her bed, all the while I was looking after her head, I did not know what else to do so I talked to her to calm her down, which was difficult due to all the commotion. On initial examination the senior nurse on duty said it looked like she had broken her femur, which was later confirmed. Her residential placement was cancelled and she was transferred to stepping hill.
What was I trying to achieve?
We were trying to achieve several things. At the outset we were trying to perform an initial assessment of Mary in order to establish if she had sustained any injuries due to the fall and if moving her would aggravate any injuries sustained. The second objective was to make Mary more comfortable and calm her down, as she