Universidad de Sta.
Isabel
College of Health Sciences
Nursing Program
Community Health Nursing
REFLECTION PAPER
Prepared by: Mary Ann S. Ogoy
Describe your experience in
your CHN duty During my duty in the barangay of Calauag, I discovered that it was
occasionally required to speak with some clients for extended lengths of
time since they opened up a lot about their difficulties, daily struggles,
and experiences with various circumstances that had an impact on their
health and well-being. When that occurred, I found it rewarding to
occasionally listen carefully to them and let them express their worries
without venturing to give advice or try to solve the problem. I also shared
some advice on what to do based on what I've learned in my health
assessment and fundamentals of nursing subjects. I also gave them some
advice based on what I'd learned from my own experience at home as
well as the decision I'd made in that exact circumstance that they were
going through at the time.
Describe your feelings about The "choosing" of a community and assessing the problems that the
before, during and after your selected community family encounters were both required course
experience assignments for this community exposure. At first, I thought this would
be a difficult task, but after spending time in the selected community, I
immediately saw that our clients shared a number of challenges that
were more precisely related to their health and well-being and it is very
interesting.
The learning experiences I had while taking part in the community
rotation in Barangay Calauag were exceptionally fulfilling, especially
the learning experiences I had while conducting assessments with a
variety of patients from various backgrounds. Through my experience,
I've learned that I, as a community health nurse, must demonstrate
appropriate behavioral manners and professionalism at all times.
In order to foster a relationship of mutual respect and trust with the
client, it is also important to maintain the secrecy of client information.
The health nurse's appearance is crucial, so I made sure I always wore
an appropriate outfit that adhered to the dress code and was well-
groomed. For me, being on time and completing my tasks in a timely
manner were equally important, so I always made sure to do both. When
I was unsure about an event or circumstance, I also didn't hesitate to ask
for advice from my colleagues, particularly my groupmates in RLE
Group 3, and especially my clinical instructors, in order to avoid making
any mistakes that might cause significant harm or, in the worst case
scenario, might have had an impact on my very first client as a
community health nurse.
AY 2021-2022
Universidad de Sta. Isabel
College of Health Sciences
Nursing Program
Community Health Nursing
In interacting with specific clients, I made sure to be thorough and
analytical, ever curious and questioning to clarify the information given
to discover the problem that needs immediate attention, but not too
formal to the point where my client would not feel at ease with me. I
also adapted several safety measures to myself, such as always wearing
a facemask, avoiding being by myself in the middle of the street, and
carrying the smallest amount of personal belongings feasible. I wrote
notes and referred to a patient's history whenever necessary. In case I
needed to do an activity like take a patient's vital signs, I also took
equipment in my paraphernalia like a sphygmomanometer, a
Stethoscope, a thermometer, and others.
Describe good and bad The good thing was that Mrs Valencia, who was my first and only
things about your experience client during my duty in the community, agreed to be interviewed. She
warmly and freely greeted my colleague and me. She responded to our
queries about their profile and health status, which could be delicate
subjects to discuss, honestly and without any hesitation, and she trusted
us with that information without any doubt. The unfortunate issue was
that there were no additional families or households to interview because
other nursing students had already done so for them and they had
declined because they were busy and only the caretaker, not the owner
of the house, was present. Even though we roam around the whole
community, there is no one left to be interviewed during our duty, so the
tendency is for both of us to have only one client.
Why did things go well? We conducted a health teaching plan for the chosen family that
we chose to create a family health nursing plan. We also prepared some
Why things did didn’t go materials needed in our implementation, which include the infographics
well? that consist of the reminders on how to manage a home environment
conducive to health. But unfortunately, the original chosen family that
will be implementing the teaching plan based on the FNCP we made was
not around because it was working hours and they needed to work for
them to provide for the needs of the family. The chosen family was not
also informed that during that day we would be implementing the
teaching plan. That's why we go to plan B, where we choose a family
that has the same problem as the first chosen family. But the head of the
family is not around because he needs to work to provide for the needs
of the family. The wife is present and we believe she can be the
AY 2021-2022
Universidad de Sta. Isabel
College of Health Sciences
Nursing Program
Community Health Nursing
representative of their family. For the sake of the health of their family
and their community, we just decided that we would just teach the wife
of the head of the family, and amazingly, she was very cooperative all
throughout our discussion, and she stated that she learned a lot from us
and she will be applying the learning that she got from us starting from
that day onwards to maintain proper environmental sanitation at home
for the sake of the health of their family and their community. That was
the most fulfilling statement we heard from our client, and it is very
satisfying on our part as their community nurse on duty.
What did I learn from the In my overall experience as a community health nurse, I've learned
situation/experience that it is not easy to perform this, especially on our part because we are
the ones who were looking for a client, and there was also a refusal that
happened, and we need to find another client who will want to cooperate
with us. It is not easy. In particular, the community is not the ideal one.
The community is overcrowded, and the environment is not good. I also
learned in the community that in terms of interacting with specific
clients, I need to make sure to be thorough and analytical, ever curious
and questioning to clarify the information given to discover the problem
that needs immediate attention, but not too formal to the point where my
client would not feel at ease with me. I also need to adapt several safety
measures to myself, such as always wearing a facemask since we are in
a pandemic, bringing a personal hygiene kit, avoiding being by myself
in the middle of the street, and carrying the smallest amount of personal
belongings feasible. I also needed to write notes and refer to a patient's
history whenever necessary for us to be accurate and precise in our
information to avoid wrong medication if ever. I also need to familiarize
myself more with taking the vital signs of the patient. If I needed to do
an activity like take a patient's vital signs, I also took equipment in my
paraphernalia like a sphygmomanometer, a Stethoscope, thermometer,
and others.
If I had to do the same thing If I were to perform the same thing again, I would
again, what would I do unquestionably get ready—both physically and emotionally. Physically,
differently? I need to drink enough water to avoid dehydration, and mentally, I need
to be able to speak in Bicol fluently, my native tongue, because I had
some difficulty fully expressing myself to my interviewer. Sometimes I
AY 2021-2022
Universidad de Sta. Isabel
College of Health Sciences
Nursing Program
Community Health Nursing
How can I make sure that I use English and Tagalog frequently. Fortunately, I handled this situation
can act differently next time? well by asking exploratory questions rather than relying solely on the
provided questionnaire. Next time, I'll make sure that I can communicate
clearly in any language by learning how to convey the message in each
language that is utilized in a community.
AY 2021-2022
