Author: acrawford4 (Page 1 of 7)

• REQUIRED: Watch the entire YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-j8x1gUbUw.
• Based on your initial reaction after watching this video, describe in detail each reflective prompt. Each answer should demonstrate a depth of exploration. Answer each numbered prompt in separate paragraphs.

1. If you were assigned this birthing couple, or this birthing person, what would your reaction/feelings be? Why?
2. What are some methods of promoting inclusivity in the healthcare setting? How can we, as nurses, help our patient feel more comfortable during a vulnerable time?
3. Think back to the Pediatrics e-Portfolio assignment. How might using female-specific language in nursing report impact the delivery of care? How might it impact the patient’s comfort in using healthcare services, both short-term and long-term

If I were assigned this birthing couple, I would be excited to work with them and my first priority would be to make sure both of them were comfortable with the care, they were receiving. I would also want to make sure everyone else on the unit knew the situation and was going to be respectful when providing care, such as correctly addressing Ari, and being mindful of Caitlyn’s feelings as she said she was having some difficulty getting pregnant.  I would want to meet with the clients before labor, if possible, to talk about anything that they would want me to know or to do while caring for them. 

One method of promoting inclusivity in the healthcare setting would be to put the client’s pronouns in their chart or have some method of making them available to make sure that the staff is addressing them in the correct way. Another way to promote inclusivity in the healthcare setting is to be aware of your own unconscious bias and work to address that, so you can provide good care for the patient. To help the patient feel more comfortable during a vulnerable time such as a birth I would let them know that I would do whatever I could to make this a positive experience for them. I would ask them about any preferences they had of how they wanted to be addressed, who they wanted in the room etc., or if they wanted me to let the staff know about anything else. I would also ask them about if there was anything I could do that would make the experience easier or better for them.

Female specific language in nursing report might impact the delivery of care in a negative way. For example, Ari talked about how he felt apprehensive since people might assume that Caitlyn was pregnant instead of him especially when going to the doctor. If female specific language is used in report in situations similar to Ari’s the staff may be surprised when seeing the client for the first time or assume that the other partner is pregnant and in turn it may be a negative experience for the client. If clients are getting misgendered or discriminated against when receiving care or have a provider who is not using more inclusive language, they would probably be hesitant to go back to that provider if any follow up care was needed. In a long-term sense this may have a negative effect on the patient’s overall health. If they feel they are not being heard by their provider or have had a very negative experience with a provider discriminating against them they may be hesitant to use healthcare services at all.

1. List at least 3 statements/comments made by the person giving report that made you uncomfortable.
   1. The nurse did not try to pronounce the patients name correctly and laughed about it.
   2. “Who knows where he’s from“
   3. He’s one of those if you know that I mean”
   4. “You know the type of people that hang out at the park… the one the police are always at.”
2. Why are each of these statements important for you to address?  What implications could these statements have on delivery care if you were the nurse giving report? 

The first statement is important to address as not trying to pronounce the clients name correctly and joking about it implies that the nurse holds some sort of bias to the client and doesn’t respect them. The second statement “Who knows where he’s from” shows that the nurse has a racial bias toward the client and their background. The nurse then talks about why the client is in the hospital and says skateboard injury in quotation marks, insinuating that she doesn’t believe him. When she says “he’s one of those if you know what I mean” it makes me think that she is labeling him as “drug seeking”. Her last statement talking about the park and its police presence insinuates that the nurse’s bias is leading her to believe this client is involved in crime. All of these statements could have an extremely negative effect on the patients care. Since the nurse seems to think that the client’s pain is not serious, she might not give him pain medication when he needs it. Since she has a bias against this client, she also may not perform the proper assessments and reassessments necessary to the client’s care. The nurse giving report may also have been outwardly racist and biased toward the patient.

3. If you were the nurse receiving this report, describe your reaction and feelings. Would you be able to address these comments as the nurse did in the scenario?

If I was receiving report from this nurse, I would be very upset and uncomfortable. I would be worried about the client, and how they were feeling when this nurse was in their room. I liked how the nurse taking report addressed it and said “ I don’t understand what you mean” in attempt to get the nurse giving report to explain why she said what she did. I think I would do something similar and ask the nurse why she wasn’t taking his injury seriously, and why she was making those statements, if she did not know this patient. I would also talk to the charge nurse or the nurse manager about this situation and try to find out how the client felt about the care he was receiving without making him uncomfortable.

4. Describe in detail an uncomfortable situation displaying bias that you may have experienced or witnessed.  This can include during report, comments between healthcare providers/family members, TV/or in a movie or any experience in your life. 

One uncomfortable situation I experienced involving bias happened at the hospital during clinical. I was caring for a client who had a history of substance abuse and was hospitalized for an unrelated injury that was causing them a lot of pain. One of the staff made a comment to me about how this client “could do most things herself” and was “being annoying” when she was obviously in a lot of pain and had a very hard time moving around. The client had asked me to help her brush her hair and put it up as she had been lying in bed for a few days and it was very tangled, and couldn’t do it herself. The staff member also seemed annoyed that I helped her with this and said that the client had been very difficult the day prior. I had told the staff member that I wanted to help her since she seemed to be in a lot of pain and they didn’t mention it again, but the situation made me uncomfortable.