NURS 2021H Clinical Course Evaluation

Final Evaluation

Student: ________Alannah Hewitt_______________

Clinical Instructor: _____Shelly Ham________________
Placement: ________PRHC Mat/Peds MC2______________
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Please circle the appropriate outcome

NURS 2021H Clinical Course Final Evaluation

Course Objective
Recognize and begin to navigate
the complexities of family
nursing.

Progress
Evidence/Indicators
1) Throughout this semester of clinical placement I have
been able to begin navigating family nursing and the
complexities it includes. Immediate family and extended
family have been present with my patients at the
hospital throughout. Family members visit the mothers
and babies at the hospital not only because theyre
excited about a new life, but also because theyre
invested and concerned with the health of the mother
and the baby. There have been a few times where I have
walked into my patients room to do an assessment and
the room is filled with family visiting. At these moments, I
will also introduce myself to the family members and
often times they chat with me for a little bit and ask
questions. Depending on the situation I either tell them
Ill be back in 10 minutes to do the assessment or ask if
they wouldnt mind stepping out of the room for a few
minutes so I could do the assessments. I realize that
incorporating families is important.
2) On my second last shift on the unit, I had the
opportunity to talk to a mother of a pediatric patient.
Though I was not assigned to this patient, listening to her
tell me about her childs illness and its effects on her and
her family was a valuable experience. It was a real-life
example that displayed to me just how connected
families are to the patients health. When we are caring
for a patient we are also caring for their family. Family
nursing is complex in this way, and this mothers story
really highlighted nurses role in including families into
their patients care.
3) In regards to family nursing, I have also recognized
that for some people, family is not a place of support but
rather something that has negative connotations. For

Satisfac
tory

Unsatisfa
ctory

some people they have their partner and children and

prefer not to include their extended family. Not every
family is the same or has the same values and desires,
and as a nurse I will have to realize this and acting
accordingly.
1) I have integrated knowledge into placement from
Integrate knowledge from
previous courses to support
NURS1000 regarding psychosocial health and taking a
diverse populations.
holistic approach to nursing. When caring for mothers I
ensure to look at and assess their psychosocial health as
well as their physical health postpartum. For example, I
look at how they are doing on an emotional level, their
bonding with their infant and what social supports they
have for once they leave the hospital. It is important to
looks at the mothers health holistically to ensure that
nothing is missed in their care and things like risks for
post-partum depression can be prevented/caught early
on.
2) I have also used information we learned from
NURS1000 and NURS1002 last year in regards to building
a relational and therapeutic relationship with my
patients. I recognize that when providing care, it isnt
necessarily doing things for my patient but rather
providing care in collaboration with them. This involves
talking with the patient and their families is
present/applicable and also looking at the context of the
situation to figure out my role in this particular situation
as not every patient will need the same thing from me.
3) I have continued to apply knowledge from NURS1020
in regards to psychomotor skills of obtaining vitals and
doing assessments. Last year in clinical in LTC we were
introduced to these skills but this year I was really able to
become fully competent in those hands-on skills. We
have also built on our psychomotor skills by also applying
these skills to pediatric patients and infants.
Critically appraise relational
1) I have been working towards creating meaningful
inquiry processes and begin to
relationships with all the patients I have been assigned
develop meaningful relationships and include relational inquiry in this process. On my
with health care providers and
second last shift, I was able to pull all the components

family members.

Collaboratively formulate a plan

of care based on knowledge of
family nursing, related theories
and scholarly literature.

together and truly create a meaningful relationship with

the mother that I was assigned. It was almost a tangible
feeling of trust and collaboration between my patient and
I. My patient was able to confide in me her worries and
fears and I was able to sit down with her and talk her
through her apprehensions regarding motherhood. This
patients partner joined the conversation and the three of
us were able to have a valuable conversation.
2) I have continued to notice the challenges in creating
meaningful relationships and appraising relational inquiry
processes in a setting where you have your patients for a
day at maximum. This is a much shorter time at creating
meaningful relationships compared to our previous
placement in Long-Term Care. Having a shorter time to
create a meaningful relationship with your patient means
that you have to make a conscious and intentional effort
to get to know your patient and their situation. Creating a
place of trust between you and your patient is important
and conducive of a meaningful relationship. During this
placement I have continually worked towards
establishing a relationship that is meaningful between
my patient and I beginning during our first
meeting/interaction and then developing it throughout
the day.
1) During the first morning assessment of the mother and
baby that I have been assigned, I always ask the mother
(and the partner if present) what their goals are for their
day and what they would to see happen throughout the
day. This allows them to express their needs and desires,
but also shows them that I am interested and invested in
their care and that I truly care about their health and
well-being. It also opens up relational inquiry and
therapeutic relationship as it shows that I want to work in
collaboration with them. I then make my care of plan to
taking into consideration things that the patients would
like. For example, if they would like the baby bath to be
done in the afternoon after guests have left this is an
easy thing to accommodate.

Develop, implement and

evaluate the effectiveness of
health-promoting, evidencebased practice, reflecting
principles of family nursing as
relational practice.

Demonstrate increasing
competence and confidence in

2) During this placement I have continued to be a part of

the bedside-reporting that occurs, and when for whatever
reason bedside reporting isnt happening that day, I
ensure that I talk to my co-assigned nurse to make sure
that we are on the same page and there is no vital
information that I have missed. I then go into my
patients room to introduce myself and listen to what
information they want to tell me as doing these steps
allows me to create a care plan that includes necessary
parts (like postpartum assessments 3x/day) but also
takes the patients needs into consideration.
1) During placement I have performed many infant demo
baths for parents. It is evidence-based practice to wait 12
hours after birth to perform a bath and it is also part of
hospital policy for nurses to either perform a demo bath
or be present for the parents to do the initial bath if they
refuse a nurse demo. The idea behind a demo infant bath
is to support patient education and support infant safety.
Patient safety is a component of health promotion. By
demonstrating infant baths, I have increased parent
education and knowledge and promoted the health and
safety of the infant. It also often is relational experience
as babys first bath is often a very meaningful time for
parents.
2) Hypoglycemia is a relatively common illness of
newborns. One of the infants that was assigned to me as
my patient was on hypoglycemic protocol during the
period of time that I cared for him (due to low birth
weight). Infants on the protocol can be given a blood test
every 3-6 hours (before every feed) until the levels stay
stable for 12-36 hours depending on hospital policy and
individual risk factors. Hypoglycemic protocol is part of
evidence-based practice and also a component of health
promotion as it is a measure done to ensure that an
infants blood levels do not drop too low, and if they do,
taking the proper steps to treat it.
1) My competence and confidence in psychomotor skills
has increased. One skill that we learned this year was

the application of psychomotor

skills in practice settings.

Demonstrate accountability and

professionalism that is consistent
with a nurse entering a selfregulating profession.

administering injections. I was able to execute this skill in

practice during my shift on the Pediatric Outpatient
Clinic. I was able to administer multiple influenza IM
injections correctly in a real-life setting and not just in a
lab setting at school. This experience was a very valuable
one that improved my confidence in administering
injections.
2) When providing care for children, my competence and
confidence has also increased. Taking vitals on children is
slightly different on adults as often times they are more
fearful or less cooperative. There have been multiple
times now during this placement that I have been able to
take vitals on children. This often involves using
distraction techniques to keep the child still so that you
can get accurate readings. I feel more confident and am
competent at getting accurate vitals (BP, R, Temp., HR)
as well as obtaining height and weight on children now.
3) My skills regarding taking vitals and doing the
postpartum assessment on mothers have also improved
and I am now more confident in myself and competent.
At the beginning of this semester when I was taking
vitals, it took significantly longer to obtain vitals and I
would occasionally have fellow peers or my co-assigned
nurse to double-check my readings to ensure I was
getting the right readings. Now that we are at the end of
clinical, I am entirely confident in my abilities to do a
completely correct and effective postpartum assessment
and obtain vitals. Of course, if I get an abnormal reading
that concerns me I will ask my co-assigned nurse to be
sure.
1) During my shift on the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic I was
assigned to do some assessments and take vitals on my
own and then report my findings to the physician working
that day. I was professional in my interactions with the
physician as well as during my interactions with the
nurses at the clinic. Part of being a nurse is being
professional with your co-workers in terms of how you
interact and communicate (i.e., through the language

Select appropriate community

support services for families
needing referral to enhance
coping with diverse transitional
experiences.

you use)
2) Acting within your scope of abilities is a component of
being a professional and accountable nurse. There have
been a few times where a nurse has asked me to do
something for them that has been out of my scope of
practice which I have turned down. For example, a nurse
asked me to insert a catheter for her while I was on the
Labour & Delivery ward to which I responded I hadnt yet
learned that skill so I couldnt. By acting within my scope
of practice and only performing skills that I know, I am
remaining accountable for my actions and acting
professionally.
3) I have continued to show up to clinical on time and in
the proper uniform. I have arrived on the unit by 0645 for
every shift at placement in the Trent nursing uniform as
well as having all the materials I would need for the day
(assessment sheet, stethoscope, pens, watch). Though
this may seems like a small and trivial component, it
does show my commitment to bringing a professional
mindset to clinical.
1) Though it wasnt me that personally referred patients
to the Partners in Pregnancy Clinic, I was able to work
with physicians who work for PIPC when they came in for
a two-hour long clinic the day I was in the Pediatric
Outpatient Clinic. PIPC is a great resource for care and
support for families. It was a valuable opportunity to work
with both the physicians who are part of PIPC as well as
the families involved with this resource. It was clearly a
great source of information and support for parents, as
well as for assessing infants health.
2) One of the patients I was assigned to on my fifth shift
at placement had questions and concerns regarding the
topic of circumcision. She and her partner werent
entirely sure if they should circumcise their son or what
procedural methods/options there were. I found
resources and pamphlets within the hospital to find out
more information for the family. I then sat with them and
briefly explained the methods they could choose from

and which doctors provided each service.

3) Throughout clinical, I have talked to multiple mothers
about resources and information available for
breastfeeding support. The hospital has a variety of
pamphlets and information sheets regarding
breastfeeding and how to achieve a successful latch
which I have shown patients. I have sat with mothers and
talked through the information with them to help better
understanding. I have also talked to them about
community resources that exist in town like the
Peterborough Family Resource Centre.

To be completed by student:
Student Areas of Strength
1. Maintaining professionalism and accountability for all of my actions.
2. Applying and performing the psychomotor skills we have learned this year (postpartum
assessments, taking vitals, infant assessments, administering injections)
3. Engaging in patient education and promoting health in my patients has been a strength of
mine this placement.
Student Areas for Future Development
1. Continuing to increase my confidence in interactions with patients and their families, as well as
other Health Care Providers.
2. Working on establishing a relational and collaborative relationship with patients and their
families.
3. Continuing to expand my knowledge base around diseases and illnesses and medication in
understanding their signs, symptoms, treatment and complications.
Clinical Instructor Comments (All areas marked as unsatisfactory must have a
comment)

Attendance
Hrs.
Week
1
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4

Hrs.
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

Total number of clinical hours completed_____________

Clinical Component
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Please circle the appropriate outcome
Clinical Learning Center Completed _____________
Enhanced Learning Days Completed _____________

Signature of Instructor____________________________________
Date_______________________________
Signature of Student______________________________________
Date________________________________