Lynn had been working with a care assistant in her first placement of her nurse preparation programme. Her placement was in a nursing home and she did not like it very much because she found the work very repetitive. On this particular day she had had an argument with the care assistant about the method used for lifting a patient. The care assistant had wanted to lift the lady with an underarm lift. Lynn had pointed out that this was not the way she had been taught on her course and that they should use the lifting aids available. The care assistant had become very angry with her and told her that she was not in charge here. Later, Lynn saw the care assistant talking to some others and imagined they were talking about her. She was worried that her assessment, which was due that day, might be compromised. To calm her nerves, Lynn tried to think things through.
The care assistant had been in a hurry. Lynn’s priority was to do what she thought was best for the patient. Lynn had never seen a pressure sore but she thought that, had they dragged the patient up the bed, her skin would have been pulled. She imagined what the consequences might have been. The lady was quite frail and thin and her skin might have broken, or at the very least become irritated by being dragged over the sheet. Lynn felt more confident that she had done the right thing by protecting the patient from this consequence. She thought about her imminent assessment and what to say to the qualified nurse. She was sure that she would say something about it and that she would be in trouble.
What do you think Lynn should do?
From: Learning Matters: Reflective Practice in Nursing, Lioba Howatson-Jones