The Impact of Relational Inquiry
During my BSM program as a nursing student taking a leadership course, I got a chance to be part of a relational inquiry experience in the operation room. During this day, a client was upset and refused to sign consent forms because a small religious object could not be attached to his body during the surgery. As nursing care teaches, one should emphasize with the patient and try to understand their context. In this bid, the nurse in charge gathered other professionals in the room to see how well they could accommodate the patient’s religious beliefs. In reviewing policies, the nurses had to keep in mind the patient’s emotions, professionalism, and the risks and consequences in the actions they would take. One solution brought up is that the object is wrapped in non-conductive material and applied to the client under a sterile dressing.
The approach taken in this scenario made sure that the patient’s cultures are taken into consideration by reviewing the policies to see whether they can accommodate the patient’s wishes, that is, having his religious object accompany him to the surgery room. With the Surgeon’s approval, then the patient’s culture would have been reserved. In the solutions given, the well being of the patient was well thought of through the aired. That is, the action taken made sure that there are no risks to both the patient and the health system. Another step that promoted clinical reasoning through relational inquiry is how solutions were given from different parties, in the instance where another person in the room who was not in the group provides a suggestion. This action shows how collaboration across differences was achieved in this scenario.
Looking at the cues collected, the team’s analysis, and the solutions brought forward, I think the actions taken were appropriate. This is because all the actions taken took into account patient care. That is, the nurse in charge acted ethically, showed empathy, and sought professional advice (McMillan-Coddington, 2013). All three aspects are seen when the nurse took into consideration the patient’s concerns and consulted with other team members. Additionally, the team reviewing policies to come up with a solution means that they were value professionalism. All these actions fostered growth in my learning curve, and as a student, I learned what good leaders possess.
However, as much as the nurse’s actions were appropriate, I think taking a different approach to the matter could have taken less time. That is because the object was small— the nurse could have immediately sought how he would attach the item to the patient’s body safely without taking many channels, wasting a lot of time.
References
McMillan-Coddington, D. (2013). Reflection through journal writing to educate registered nursing students on patient care. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 8, 63–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2012.09.004