Professional Nursing Thinking in Nursing Education

Question: Discuss about the Professional Nursing for Thinking in Nursing Education. Answer: The profession of nursing in todays rapidly changing environment of healthcare is progressively becoming aware regarding the need to evaluate and enhance its practice and consider the social, structural and political issues that affects it. Since the change is taking place constantly, it is important for the nurses to possess the ability of analyzing and responding to the new and diverse challenges proactively. Critical reflection ensures quality patient care. This essay will discuss the importance and benefits of critical reflection for the nurses and patients, how the nurses obtain their research sources and role of critical reflection that assist in nursing practices. In nursing practices, reflection is an important activity in which the nurses recapture their experiences, thinks about them, ponder and evaluate them (Moon, 2013). They learn through critical reflection by placing themselves into the experiences and explore personal as well as theoretical knowledge for understanding the experiences and view them in different ways. Critical reflection enables them to avoid their past mistakes and maximize the opportunities for gaining knowledge. Critical reflection is necessary for nurses as well as patients because critical reflective nurses think critically regarding their practice (Bulman, Lathlean Gobbi, 2012). It assists the nurses to meet the challenges that are associated with providing care to the patients in a rapidly changing environment. It also helps them to become critically reflective practitioners. The description of their practices provides them a basis by means of which they can questions regarding their nursing practices. The proce ss of reflection can be enhanced if the nurses take a critical approach of their own reflection. Critical reflection is assisted by critical thinking. A critical approach concerns questioning their own practice, it gets enhanced if the nurses take a critical approach to their reflection as it involves a broader perspective (Price Harrington, 2015). The nurses face challenges in finding and using reliable and credible information for supporting clinical decision-making and meeting the expectations for evidence-based practices of nursing. For the nursing professionals, most of the needed information can be obtained by using 5 kinds of sources: journals, textbooks, online bibliographic databases, internet, and the products that consolidate research (Whitehead et al., 2013). A majority of the nurses retrieve and assess health-related study by means of the professional databases foe supporting evidence-based practices of nursing. They collect the data which is valuable and reliable (Yoder-Wise, 2014). They base their decisions of care on the best evidence-based practices from the peer-reviewed research literature. They use the internet, databases and search engines for finding clinical information (Chan, 2013). They also learn different new topics by referring the tutorial sites that are published by various reputable organizations and universities. It is important for them to evaluate the quality of information, which is found by them in a particular internet site. Mostly they consult their seniors or colleague regarding any information found by them and they apply the principles of evidence-based practice and critical appraisal. By employing these methods, they find the research sources (Siles-Gonzlez Solano-Ruiz, 2016). Critical reflection plays a significant role in assisting nurses to base their practice on evidence. Through critical reflection the nurses recollect their experiences. They examine their basic assumptions and thoroughly question the validity of assertions, opinions and even the fact of a specific case (Moon, 2013). It is essential for them in their nursing career. It leads to the generation of scientifically based ideas. It is a vital professional skill for the nurses. It assists them for rethinking the outmoded approaches to prevention of illness, health promotion, complications and healthcare. The ability of thinking critically utilizes reflection, analysis, induction, challenging assumptions, deduction and assessment of information and data to guide the decision-making process. Reflective practice is constantly required by the nurses for updating their professional skills. It offers them with considerable opportunities for reflecting on their ongoing development. They are able to identify their strengths and prospects for future growth and development. The profession of nursing depends on mutual support and the nurses should always have an aim of becoming self-directed, self-aware and should also remain in association with their environment. Critical reflection enables them to avoid their past mistakes and make best use of the opportunities for gaining knowledge (Munhall, 2012). In the end, it can be concluded that in the profession of nursing critical reflection plays a significant role in shaping the nurses personally as well as professionally. It assists them to meet the challenges that are associated with providing care to the patients in a rapidly changing environment. It is an important professional skill for the nurses. They learn through critical reflection by putting themselves into the experiences and exploring personal and theoretical knowledge for understanding the experiences and view them in different ways. The process of reflection can be improved if the nurses take a critical approach of their own reflection. I would like to narrate an event related to my nursing profession. I was given the responsibility to take care of an elderly patient in the geriatric ward. In the first week I properly took care of the patient but as time passed by I become frustrated and I was least concerned in taking care of the patient. Due to this his health conditions deteriorated and I was scolded by the nurse manager. After few days, I realized that it was my mistake that I did not took care of the patient in the same way as I was doing the first week. I felt bad and apologized to the patient and the nurse manager for this kind of attitude. This incident made me realize that being a nurse my first priority is to take care of the patients in every possible way. I repented for neglecting the patient because of my frustration towards him. After this incident I always try to keep my patients in best of their health and I always try to be friendly with them. In addition, I am taking help from my seniors and collea gues to take care of the patients in an efficient manner. Reflection Bulman, C., Lathlean, J., Gobbi, M. (2012). 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