Critical Reflection - Patient having a stroke and the value of Judgement
Core Value as identified using the VIA Strengths Assessment
One of my core values that was challenged while on clinical placement was judgement. This value can be defined as the ability to critically think through situations and examine them from all sides, while not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one's mind in light of evidence and weighing all evidence fairly.
Awareness and Description of the situation
We were called to a woman having a stroke. On arrival patient had a GCS of 11, with a significant right-sided weakness. On route to hospital her symptoms fully resolved, GCS 15. While waiting in hospital, the patient complained of a sudden onset headache which was accompanied by stroke symptoms as previously experienced. By the time she was brought to the resus bay the patient had a GCS of 3. Before finishing the hand over, the doctor stated to us that he believed the patient was "faking" the episodes.
In response to the doctor's comment I was shocked, questioning internally how it could be, that without any hesitation, he could assume the patient was "faking" the symptoms, given that he did not have full knowledge of the situation. Analyse Feelings and Knowledge (250) This initial response lead to a state of confusion, which in turn led me to take a negative view of the doctor and his judgments of our patient. Upon reflection an important realisation was that my confusion was directed at the comment and judgment not actually the doctor himself. Health professionals are exposed to an enormous number of cases and patients everyday, and this builds experience and knowledge which influences their decision making. As a student paramedic, this is knowledge and experience that I do not have yet. I assume that when a person calls an ambulance they are in some genuine distress or need assistance in some way and we are there to help them and provide care from a non-biased view. It is possible that my confusion was derived from the lach of experience in the industry and I did not understand what I heard the doctor say and I am assuming something that needs to be verified. However, the doctor's response could have been influenced by several reasons including, his work load, his emotions, having pre-existing knowledge about the patient or based on how the patients symptoms were expressing themselves. Evaluate the relevance of knowledge (200) Generally you feel confused when you receive information that you cannot match with what …show more content…
Mahatma Ghandi believed that confusion was not identifying which emotion we were feeling in the moment [2]. However, It is important to establish that the confusion I was experiencing was primarily derived from not understanding the reasons why the negative judgement was made [3]. Shock and confusion are feelings that often are shown together. The mental processing of confusion involves figuring out which piece of information is correct and how it fits your existing knowledge, while shock entails coping with meaning and consequences of the news [1]. In this case, the Doctor in charge made a judgment about our patient that conflicted with the opinions of myself and mentors. When evaluating someone else's actions, it is critical that you understand their perspective, history and experiences that went into the current situation
Core Value as identified using the VIA Strengths Assessment
One of my core values that was challenged while on clinical placement was judgement. This value can be defined as the ability to critically think through situations and examine them from all sides, while not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one's mind in light of evidence and weighing all evidence fairly.
Awareness and Description of the situation
We were called to a woman having a stroke. On arrival patient had a GCS of 11, with a significant right-sided weakness. On route to hospital her symptoms fully resolved, GCS 15. While waiting in hospital, the patient complained of a sudden onset headache which was accompanied by stroke symptoms as previously experienced. By the time she was brought to the resus bay the patient had a GCS of 3. Before finishing the hand over, the doctor stated to us that he believed the patient was "faking" the episodes.
In response to the doctor's comment I was shocked, questioning internally how it could be, that without any hesitation, he could assume the patient was "faking" the symptoms, given that he did not have full knowledge of the situation. Analyse Feelings and Knowledge (250) This initial response lead to a state of confusion, which in turn led me to take a negative view of the doctor and his judgments of our patient. Upon reflection an important realisation was that my confusion was directed at the comment and judgment not actually the doctor himself. Health professionals are exposed to an enormous number of cases and patients everyday, and this builds experience and knowledge which influences their decision making. As a student paramedic, this is knowledge and experience that I do not have yet. I assume that when a person calls an ambulance they are in some genuine distress or need assistance in some way and we are there to help them and provide care from a non-biased view. It is possible that my confusion was derived from the lach of experience in the industry and I did not understand what I heard the doctor say and I am assuming something that needs to be verified. However, the doctor's response could have been influenced by several reasons including, his work load, his emotions, having pre-existing knowledge about the patient or based on how the patients symptoms were expressing themselves. Evaluate the relevance of knowledge (200) Generally you feel confused when you receive information that you cannot match with what …show more content…
Mahatma Ghandi believed that confusion was not identifying which emotion we were feeling in the moment [2]. However, It is important to establish that the confusion I was experiencing was primarily derived from not understanding the reasons why the negative judgement was made [3]. Shock and confusion are feelings that often are shown together. The mental processing of confusion involves figuring out which piece of information is correct and how it fits your existing knowledge, while shock entails coping with meaning and consequences of the news [1]. In this case, the Doctor in charge made a judgment about our patient that conflicted with the opinions of myself and mentors. When evaluating someone else's actions, it is critical that you understand their perspective, history and experiences that went into the current situation