One of the key aspects of nursing is the focus on the society as the subject of the nursing career. The nurse has a role in ensuring that every member of the society can be assured of a healthy future and that their health problems today can be handled to achieve a positive outcome. It is the role of the nurse to seek any issue that relates to society health and seeking an amicable solution. When reflecting on a societal matter, it is always important that the nurse considers the role that group work plays in unearthing the potential health hazards in society and seeking a solution to them (O'Hara et al., 29).
We were asked to do a research based study on a subject that we were free to choose. The group had a total of five members at the beginning. The group was composed of two girls who had been out of nursing ranging from 3-10 years, so it would be an interesting assignment.
We all gave each other a breakdown of our current and past nursing experience, trying to find a common ground that we could all benefit from during our learning experience. The group dynamics were good as we had covered most of the specialities involved and we felt that as a group working together and assisting each other that the talk would be informative and interesting.
We met up and decided on our subject (Liverpool Care Pathway) after some deliberation. Initially, we had picked another subject but decided early on that this option would be too varied and too intense for our subject, as we were only to talk for 5mins each. Thus, we felt that the Liverpool Care Pathway would be easier to break down into components that each of us could talk about.
We decided to break down the subject as an Introduction, and listing the pro’s and con’s, giving a detailed nurse’s view of the plan in operation and then a conclusion. I was tasked with the Introduction section. I was a bit apprehensive regarding this task, as I had never heard of the Liverpool Care Pathway never mind having worked with this Pathway.
Talking to the class did not bother me as I had previously been a theatre sister and my work in that department involved going to classes and teaching student nurses, so public speaking was not going to faze me. After initially using the internet, to access material regarding the Liverpool Care Pathway the way became marginally clearer. The other girls all felt the same away.
We kept in touch when we were not at university by email and phone (mobile phone- texting was a godsend). A week before the presentation we were told that one of the girls was dropping out- so panic stations. She was doing the pro’s section of the talk, and this meant that there would be a short fall in the presentation. Fortunately the girl who was doing the cons decided to encompass this into her talk. I know that they were in contact on the phone with each other -and this appeared to go smoothly (Ulrich et al., 22). The transition in the presentation was very smooth and no one noticed that there should have been five girls instead of the four girls who were present at the time of the presentation.
On the day of the presentation arrived and we all managed to present our findings, on time and very informatively. It was a very controversial subject and a lot of the cons were people’s interpretation of the events, following a loved one being put on the program. I learned a lot from researching this care pathway and also from hearing what the other girls had unearthed, during their look into the background of the pathway.
It was very interesting to hear from one girl who had personally worked with the programme whilst nursing in New Zealand. She came over very positively and was a great advocate for the program.
I think if you worked in a good environment with a positive spin on the programme then you would be a great advocate for this. The main problem tended to be (as we had seen it) the relatives who were not notified or were not consulted and didn’t wish their relatives/loved ones placed on the programme. I think they thought that it was one step away from death row
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and finding out about The Liverpool Care Pathway. There was a lot of material out there- It was quite intense having a task assigned that you did not know anything about. I struggled with the individual learning aspect initially as I was not sure if the other girls would approve of what I had taken out of the literature for my piece of the talk- but after talking to them I realised that I was worrying about nothing (Ulrich et al., 37).
Because I had personally been out of nursing for nine years I was not in post when this pathway was first introduced. I found it quite unsettling that I had missed out on something that was having a major impact in nursing and felt a bit out of my depth because I had not heard about this Pathway. Fortunately there was plenty material good and bad regarding the use, the implementation, the policies and procedures required for the safe and effective implementation of The Liverpool Care Pathway.
The conclusion that was reached was that the government were going to be doing away with this current programme but would introduce a newer programme that would require more work regarding the update of policies and procedures to implement this.
Overall The Liverpool Care Pathway had positive feedback if used properly with the correct input from the consultant and relatives of the patients concerned.
But unfortunately because of bad publicity regarding a few patients this has had a snowball effect on the Pathway and people are not willing to accept the Pathway the way it stands today.
This exercise opened me up to the reality that in the NHS today and yesterday there are developments which I have an obligation to try and keep myself up to date more frequently than I am doing currently.
My field was theatre nursing, but I enjoyed branching out into other fields of nursing. I realized that the diversification to other fields offers a good indication of the events taking place in other areas of concern (Wenocur, 13). It also makes you aware of how small your own field of nursing is. I will try and keep abreast of the current changes that are happening in the NHS today.
Works Cited
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Hanton, Sheldon, Brendan Cropley, and Sarah Lee. "Reflective practice, experience, and the interpretation of anxiety symptoms." Journal of Sports Sciences (2009): n. pag. Print.
Hawkins, Peter, and Robin Shohet. Supervision in the Helping Professions: An Individual, Group and Organizational Approach. Buckingham [England: Open University, 2000. Print.
Miller, Juve A. K. Reflective Practice and Readiness for Self-Directed Learning in Anesthesiology Residents Training in the United States. Portland, Or.: Portland State University, 2012. Print.
O'Hara, Agi, and Rosalie Pockett. Skills for Human Service Practice: Working with Individuals, Groups and Communities. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Ulrich, Deborah L, and Kellie J. Glendon. Interactive Group Learning: Strategies for Nurse Educators. New York: Springer, 1999. Print.
Wenocur, Stanley. Social Work with Groups: Expanding Horizons. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2014. Print.
