Nursing skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Nursing skills - Essay Example To protect the patient’s identity in accordance with the NMC Code of Conduct, this patient shall be referred to as Wilson. He was admitted into the hospital after a three inch gash on his arm became infected. Based on my role as a nurse in instances of wounds and infection, my mentor instructed me to clean the patient’s wound. I did so under my mentor’s direct supervision and guidance. Before I dressed his wound, I first asked for his permission. While cleaning the patient’s wound, I asked the patient how he was feeling, and if he felt any pain from his wounds. I also explained the process of dressing his wound, and why I was doing it. Before I dressed his wound, I first washed my hands aseptically with soap and running water, drying my hands well on a sterile towel. I also prepared all the materials I would use to clean the wound. I also closed the door to his room to afford privacy and helped him to sit-up to a comfortable position on the bed. I placed paper towels underneath his wounded hand and placed all the materials I would need on a tray placed on a table adjacent to the bed. I opened the dressing packs and dropped them on to the sterile tray. The dressing pack included the mepore, the gauze, and the cotton balls. The alcohol was placed on the table, along with the saline solution, the iodine and the alcohol. I opened and put on sterile gloves and started cleaning the wound. ... I opened the dressing packs and dropped them on to the sterile tray. The dressing pack included the mepore, the gauze, and the cotton balls. The alcohol was placed on the table, along with the saline solution, the iodine and the alcohol. I opened and put on sterile gloves and started cleaning the wound. I initially used normal saline solution and followed it up with iodine to clean the wound; and later, I dressed the wound with mepore and gauze. I then secured the gauze with a plaster. Feelings I felt very calm and confident while cleaning and dressing Wilson’s wound because I had previous experience carrying out the procedure and I knew what to expect, how to carry out the process aseptically, and I had my mentor guiding and supervising my actions. Since I acted calm and competent, Wilson was very cooperative throughout the procedure. He did not display any anxiety or agitation. My mentor also prevented me from making any mistakes in the process, encouraging me and reminding me of the aseptic measures I had to apply in order to prevent infection. As a result of the support and of my competence in the activity, the patient also felt safe in both our hands. Evaluation Before I carried out the procedure, I asked for the patient’s consent first; this is part of the ethical code of conduct and is essential to the respect owed to the patient (Hannon and Clift, 2010). Patients have the right to autonomy, in other words, they have the right to decide the direction of their care; therefore, their consent is essential before any intervention is carried out (Hannon and Clift, 2010). This consent is a contract between the health provider and the patient for the provision of care and the NMC clearly states that it is important to secure such consent before any care is