Journal entry

Journal Entry
I was nervous today because it was my second clinical day and I had to give medication to my patient. Administering medication is one of the objectives of the course and am happy that the day was successful despite the few challenges. The high point of my day was giving a subcutaneous injection to a patient for the first time while the lowest point of the day was handling a demanding patient.
However, I was able to demonstrate a lot of patience with the patient. My level of patience allowed me to empathize with medical conditions and make considerable progress towards achieving the course objective of providing professional nursing care to patients with different temperaments. However, my patience nearly clouded my judgement and I spent an excessive amount of time with the patient rather than helping other patients.
The day offered a great opportunity to learn how to provide quality care for patients. Firstly, I gained a lot of confidence in giving bed baths. Secondly, the experiences of the day helped me to develop my critical thinking skills. Thirdly, I practiced how to give medication to patients. Furthermore, I remembered the rule which states that student nurses should not take medicines from a pyxis machine without the presence of a qualified healthcare provider. This demonstrates a mastery of the course objective to develop responsible nursing professionals.
The patients had to be given a bath and medications at the appropriate time. In addition, patients needed someone they could talk to about their fears and families. Nurses should endeavor to provide high quality care for their patients. This can be achieved through a willingness among all nurses to comfort and listen to the patients.
As a person, I have always demonstrated a lot of patience and understanding. One of the reasons for joining the nursing profession was as a result of the empathy that I feel towards people who are suffering. This enabled me to understand that the demanding nature of the patient was as a result of the fears that he had. For example, it was evident that he feared being separated from his family. I was able to empathize with him because I have seen people close to me behave in a stubborn manner an attempt to mask their fears.
An encounter with a teenage girl who was about to deliver a baby helped to change my worldview about the use of contraceptives and abortion among teenagers. I have always believed that teenagers should not have access to contraceptives because it encourages them to engage in sex when they are not prepared to handle the consequences. Moreover, I used to have conservative views about abortion. However, the patient revealed that had it not been for the support of her family, then she would have been forced to terminate the pregnancy because she realized that a baby would significantly affect her ability to realize her dreams. In addition, she regretted not having been educated about the use of contraceptives.
My plan is to learn how to care for isolated patients. In order to achieve this objective, I will report early to work tomorrow so that I can have an opportunity to speak to the matron and request to be assigned to the isolation unit. This will give me an opportunity to learn how to care for patients with contagious diseases.
Today has been an opportunity to prepare myself for the nursing profession. I not only used my strengths and knowledge, but also learned new things which will contribute towards the realization of the objectives of the course. Hopefully, the future will provide an opportunity to grow as a nurse.