Reflective Journal #2

Trent University

Sydney Colin

NURS 3020

A5-2

March 22nd, 2020

 
 The event I chose to reflect on happened in week 6 or 7. There was a commotion in one

of the patient rooms and my clinical instructor, a few fellow students and I followed in case they

needed assistance. When we entered the room, there was a woman in a wheelchair trying to stand

up and a nurse and a family member struggling to keep her in the chair. Another student and I

rushed to relieve the family member and assist the nurse. The patient was sliding off the chair

because she had been trying to get up. At that point, the nurse, other student and I were holding

up the patient’s weight ourselves. The nurse was asking the patient to stop so we could help her

however she was not taking direction well and kept saying that she was “fine”. In frustration, the

nurse yelled loudly “Nobody is listening to me!”.  The room immediately fell silent and I

remember my fellow nursing student and I locking eyes in utter shock. After a few

uncomfortable seconds, the three of us transferred the patient from her chair into the bed. The

nurse did not acknowledge the incident afterward and simply left the room. After making sure

the patient was comfortable, we too left the room. I will always remember that moment. I had

sympathy for the nurse, I believe her reaction to the situation displayed built-up frustration and a

sense of being overwhelmed. She also was not feeling heard and therefore unable to effectively

provide care. We later learned that the patient had been in critical condition and died before

being revived. Her brain and motor function had not yet completely recovered therefore she did

not know or understand that she would not be able to get up by herself.  As much as I could

empathize with her feelings, I had found her sudden outburst to be unprofessional. I did not think

it was ethical in any situation to yell at or in front of a patient. However, looking back on the

situation it was an intense moment where the patient’s safety was at risk. The patient was a larger

woman, so getting her off the floor would have been an ordeal and she would have had a greater

risk of injury. Upon reflection, her reaction was appropriate to the situation as I had not
considered the consequences at the time. If I had an encounter like this again in my nursing

practice I would ensure to debrief with any students and speak to the nurse to check in on her

mental health. I would also make sure the patient was okay after such an encounter with their

nurse.

This event was significant because the nurse’s outburst demonstrates the prevalence of

burnout among health care professionals. A study by Gillespie & Melby (2003) attributes nursing

burnout in acute care to daily intense interactions, physical demands and emotional demands of

sympathy and compassion. These characteristics of acute care nursing contribute to chronic

stress, which can be emotionally draining leading to burnout (Gillespie & Melby, 2003). Fearon

& Nicol (2011) suggest that the best way to prevent nursing burnout is by integrating both

positive emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies. These suggestions work at the

individual level, working on improving the nurses coping and self-care instead of targeting any

organizational contributions to burnout.  

 
 References

Fearon, C., & Nicol, M. (2011). Strategies to assist prevention of burnout in nursing staff.

Nursing Standard, 26(14).

Gillespie, M., & Melby, V. (2003). Burnout among nursing staff in accident and emergency and

acute medicine: a comparative study. Journal of clinical nursing, 12(6), 842-851.