Reflective Practice: Understanding Grief
Reflective Practice: Understanding Grief Stressful and unfamiliar situations can leave you not knowing how to communicate with another individual. The personal may feel uncomfortable or interpret the wrong message. Therefore, it is important to reflect on your own actions, so that you can be successful in a similar event. Reflective practice has become the heart of nursing by primarily expressing feelings and experiences (Price, 2017). Reflection is a helpful tool that is used to look back on an incident while thinking and analyzing different end possibilities. According to Koole et al. (2011) reflection is entirely expressed through language. Writing is a useful way of recording events and results to be later evaluated, in order to develop
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and widen skills (Thokozani Mahlanze & Nokuthula Sibiya, 2017). The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the ability to provide care in a therapeutic relationship with a grieving client, through the use of Johns’ (2006) Model of Structured Reflection. The paper will explore the situation, the therapeutic relationship, and the gained experience. The paper will also describe my representation of the image of nursing, my therapeutic relational abilities, and the meaning for the client. Reflection is a crucial requirement that nursing students must develop in order to have the skills required to become a professional nurse.
The Situation I was a first-year nursing student completing my placement in a long-term care facility. I had been selected to provide care for Mr. Villeneuve, a 90-year-old man suffering from metastatic cancer. On my fifth week of placement, the nurse in charge advised me that Mr. Villeneuve had passed away the night before from his disease. Mrs. Villeneuve was alone and feeling heartbroken over the devastating loss of her husband. The head nurse instructed me to accompany Mrs. Villeneuve before the funeral home staff arrives to transport his body. I felt as if I was the right person to do so, as I had built a good relationship with her throughout my placement. I was hoping to be helpful by comforting the grieving woman. I was also concerned for Mrs. Villeneuve’s wellbeing, as she lives alone. I was self-aware of my feelings and behaviour towards the death of the resident. I was saddened by the loss however, deep down, I was relieved to hear that Mr. Villeneuve was no longer in agony, and I knew Mrs. Villeneuve was as well. My personal experience of witnessing my grandfather suffer from terminal cancer, influenced my reaction of relief. I understood the pain that she was feeling however, I could not suspect what she was going through. as everyone encounters grief differently. I believe that I was effective in providing amenity for woman by solely listening to her speak. Mrs. Villeneuve was able to let out her feelings of frustration and anguish over the death of her companion, as well as tell stories of their life together. At the same time, I was able to get a visible definition of grief, in order to develop my understanding as a nursing student.
The Therapeutic Relationship A therapeutic relationship is the foundation of good communication.
Nurses must show concern for the client and acknowledge both verbal and nonverbal communication (Roberts, Fenton & Barnard, 2015). Trust is an essential element that the nurse must develop, in order for the client to express their feelings. A successful therapeutic relationship relies on the nurse’s professional communication and caring skills (Roberts et al., 2015). I believe that I was very effective in developing a therapeutic relationship with Mrs. Villeneuve, in correspondence to the assessment criteria (see Appendix A for assessment of relational abilities). Mrs. Villeneuve expressed trust in regard to the care that I provided Mr. Villeneuve. I lightly knocked on the door to a quiet and isolated room where Mrs. Villeneuve was and asked, “is it ok if I enter?”. She agreed upon my presence and I sat down in a chair close to her. I began to express my sympathies in respect and compassion for the loss of her husband. I followed Egan’s (1975) model of SOLER (“Sit squarely”; “Open posture”; “Lean towards the other”; “Eye contact; “Relax”). The model of SOLER instructs individuals of the essential non-verbal behaviours that creates an effective listener (Stickley, 2011). It is important to pay attention to both the client’s verbal and nonverbal behaviours in order to interpret how the client is feeling (Gorawara-Bhat, Hafskjold, Gulbrandsen & Eide, 2017). I used nonverbal communication, such as SOLER and head nodding, to indicate that Mrs. Villeneuve that my full attention. I displayed care by sitting with Mrs. Villeneuve, staying by her side for as long as she needed me, listening to her speak, and asking, “is there anything I can do to help you? Anyone I can call?”. I was there both physically and emotionally for her, trying to understand and ease her pain by talking about the good memories. I asked, “how long were you married for?” and Mrs. Villeneuve engaged in conversation by disclosing the
details of their 50 years of marriage. Mrs. Villeneuve had felt the need to pray, I politely asked, “would you like me to pray with you?”. Quietly, we held hands and prayed together for about a minute. I offered to help pack up Mr. Villeneuve’s belongings from his room, Mrs. Villeneuve agreed that it would be best if we did it together. Following the arrangement to clear up Mr. Villeneuve’s room, Mrs. Villeneuve’s tears were wiped away as she seemed pleased to have someone with her. We calmly arose from our seats and proceeded to the door.
and widen skills (Thokozani Mahlanze & Nokuthula Sibiya, 2017). The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the ability to provide care in a therapeutic relationship with a grieving client, through the use of Johns’ (2006) Model of Structured Reflection. The paper will explore the situation, the therapeutic relationship, and the gained experience. The paper will also describe my representation of the image of nursing, my therapeutic relational abilities, and the meaning for the client. Reflection is a crucial requirement that nursing students must develop in order to have the skills required to become a professional nurse.
The Situation I was a first-year nursing student completing my placement in a long-term care facility. I had been selected to provide care for Mr. Villeneuve, a 90-year-old man suffering from metastatic cancer. On my fifth week of placement, the nurse in charge advised me that Mr. Villeneuve had passed away the night before from his disease. Mrs. Villeneuve was alone and feeling heartbroken over the devastating loss of her husband. The head nurse instructed me to accompany Mrs. Villeneuve before the funeral home staff arrives to transport his body. I felt as if I was the right person to do so, as I had built a good relationship with her throughout my placement. I was hoping to be helpful by comforting the grieving woman. I was also concerned for Mrs. Villeneuve’s wellbeing, as she lives alone. I was self-aware of my feelings and behaviour towards the death of the resident. I was saddened by the loss however, deep down, I was relieved to hear that Mr. Villeneuve was no longer in agony, and I knew Mrs. Villeneuve was as well. My personal experience of witnessing my grandfather suffer from terminal cancer, influenced my reaction of relief. I understood the pain that she was feeling however, I could not suspect what she was going through. as everyone encounters grief differently. I believe that I was effective in providing amenity for woman by solely listening to her speak. Mrs. Villeneuve was able to let out her feelings of frustration and anguish over the death of her companion, as well as tell stories of their life together. At the same time, I was able to get a visible definition of grief, in order to develop my understanding as a nursing student.
The Therapeutic Relationship A therapeutic relationship is the foundation of good communication.
Nurses must show concern for the client and acknowledge both verbal and nonverbal communication (Roberts, Fenton & Barnard, 2015). Trust is an essential element that the nurse must develop, in order for the client to express their feelings. A successful therapeutic relationship relies on the nurse’s professional communication and caring skills (Roberts et al., 2015). I believe that I was very effective in developing a therapeutic relationship with Mrs. Villeneuve, in correspondence to the assessment criteria (see Appendix A for assessment of relational abilities). Mrs. Villeneuve expressed trust in regard to the care that I provided Mr. Villeneuve. I lightly knocked on the door to a quiet and isolated room where Mrs. Villeneuve was and asked, “is it ok if I enter?”. She agreed upon my presence and I sat down in a chair close to her. I began to express my sympathies in respect and compassion for the loss of her husband. I followed Egan’s (1975) model of SOLER (“Sit squarely”; “Open posture”; “Lean towards the other”; “Eye contact; “Relax”). The model of SOLER instructs individuals of the essential non-verbal behaviours that creates an effective listener (Stickley, 2011). It is important to pay attention to both the client’s verbal and nonverbal behaviours in order to interpret how the client is feeling (Gorawara-Bhat, Hafskjold, Gulbrandsen & Eide, 2017). I used nonverbal communication, such as SOLER and head nodding, to indicate that Mrs. Villeneuve that my full attention. I displayed care by sitting with Mrs. Villeneuve, staying by her side for as long as she needed me, listening to her speak, and asking, “is there anything I can do to help you? Anyone I can call?”. I was there both physically and emotionally for her, trying to understand and ease her pain by talking about the good memories. I asked, “how long were you married for?” and Mrs. Villeneuve engaged in conversation by disclosing the
details of their 50 years of marriage. Mrs. Villeneuve had felt the need to pray, I politely asked, “would you like me to pray with you?”. Quietly, we held hands and prayed together for about a minute. I offered to help pack up Mr. Villeneuve’s belongings from his room, Mrs. Villeneuve agreed that it would be best if we did it together. Following the arrangement to clear up Mr. Villeneuve’s room, Mrs. Villeneuve’s tears were wiped away as she seemed pleased to have someone with her. We calmly arose from our seats and proceeded to the door.