Patient Interaction In A Role

Introduction

The reflective practice is important to promote deep learning and it helps to identify one’s personal strength and weakness that helps in controlling similar situations in a better way in future. In this assignment, the interaction between a doctor and patient is to be analysed that is played by me and my partner in a 5min role play through Gibb’s Reflective cycle. Later strength and weakness of the situation are to be analysed and ethical values faced in the situation are to be discussed.

Scenario explanation

My partner and I agreed that I am going to play the role of a doctor and my partner the role of a patient suffering from depression for the past six months. My duty was to interview my partner acting as a depressed patient named D to identify the cause behind his depression so that medication and effective therapeutic intervention can be suggested to control his situation. In the course of the session, I acted as a compassionate listener and made a polite request to D to give me detailed information about his professional and personal life. In the session, D initially avoided to effectively communicate with me and share information but with me being polite and compassionate throughout made him feel supported leading him later to shared all details I required for providing him quality care.

Reflection and Analysis

The reflection of one-to-one skill in the interactive session between me as a doctor and my partner is to be informed by using Gibb’s reflective cycle. The Gibb’s reflective cycle is important in healthcare because it offers a clear and precise description, analysis as well as evaluation of the experience, in turn, helping the practitioners to examine their practices regarding what can be improved (Tanaka et al. 2018). The stages of Gibb’s reflective cycle include:

Description: In the description stage, the situation faced in being discussed (Okamoto et al. 2017). In the role, I maintained a calm attitude along with interacted in a compassionate manner to listen to each detail mentioned by D and record in tape recorder. I never frowned or expressed irritated behaviour when D was taking time to express information or avoided to share any details being asked. In situation, when D avoided to further interact I more compassionately asked him to answer the question. On such behaviour, it was seen that D expressed most of the information required by me but avoided sharing few personal and professional information required to be known to effectively arrange care support to resolve his depressed state.

Feelings: In this stage, the feelings being faced by the individuals are being discussed (Reljić et al. 2018). During the interacting session, I felt that my compassionate and attentive behaviour with being clam to the late responses by D made him feel understood and protected. However, I feel that if D is informed about the reason behind the requirement of the personal and professional question left by him unanswered could have made him to later answer them. Moreover, I feel that D may have faced that his privacy may not be protected as his information are recorded in a tape recorder that may be used by me to inform others about his details. This led him left some questions left unanswered. This is because D thought that sharing such information would lead him to get abused or harmed in the society or from me.

Evaluation: In the evaluation stage, the situations that worked out and that did not work out are to be identified (Sharp, 2018). On analysing the situation, I found that I failed to properly assure privacy while using the tape recorder to D who is the patient suffering from depression being played by partner. Moreover, I failed to provide effective reason to D why personal and professional questions that are left by him answered being asked. However, I feel that my overall polite nature with being a compassionate listener while communicating helped D to provide most of the details required to arrange care services or medication for him to resolve his depressed state.

Conclusion: I think that the session could have been positive if I could have provided better privacy to the D without using the tape recorder. This is because it could have made him feel protected to share all details that he avoided informing during the session. Moreover, providing him the reason behind asking personal and professional questions that are left unanswered would make him understood the importance and could have cooperated to inform the answers later.

Action: According to experience, my action in future in similar situation would be to ensure better privacy to patients and offer then reason behind asking questions that are left unanswered so that by understanding the importance they may change their decision.

Analysis of Ethical values

In the scenario, the ethical issue of privacy regarding the patient’s details is being faced. This was effectively controlled by using the guidelines mentioned in the Data Protection Act 1998. According to the Act, no information regarding any individual is to be shared without their prior permission (www.legislation.gov.uk, 1998). Thus, accordingly I protected the information of the information regarding D but he was unable to trust me regarding his privacy thinking that I may leak his personal information without his consent. However, to ensure privacy from my part anonymity of the patient is maintained. Personal values are the qualities developed by an individual influenced by their culture or society. The professional values are those that are followed in a particular profession to practice it (Kaya et al. 2017). My personal value informs that I should not interact with unknown person regarding their personal and professional matters. However, in my profession being a doctor for mental patients I require to ask personal and professional questions regarding them to arrange effective care services. Therefore, following my profession of being a doctor, I avoided to follow my personal value and interacted with D regarding his personal and professional matters so that I am able to act effectively to help him control and resolve depression.

Strength and Weakness

In the meeting, my strength was that I interacted in a polite manner and never expressed anger when the patient avoided sharing information. As mentioned by Falconer et al. (2016), people suffering from depression are to be interacted compassionately and listened attentively to make them feel valued. Thus, my attentive and compassionate listening was strength. As argued by López et al. (2018), lack of trust regarding privacy leads mentally ill patients to share information in details as they feel they may be harmed or abused. Thus, I understand that my lack of skill to make D trust me was a potential weakness in the situation.

Conclusion

In the scenario regarding interacting with a patient suffering from depression, it can be concluded that I being a doctor has the strength of compassion, attentive listening and polite behaviour. However, I lack the efficiency to make patients trust me that their privacy is not protected.

Dig deeper into Patient Care And Community Engagement with our selection of articles.

• Falconer, C.J., Rovira, A., King, J.A., Gilbert, P., Antley, A., Fearon, P., Ralph, N., Slater, M. and Brewin, C.R., 2016. Embodying self-compassion within virtual reality and its effects on patients with depression. BJPsych open, 2(1), pp.74-80.
• Kaya, H., Işik, B., Şenyuva, E. and Kaya, N., 2017. Personal and professional values held by baccalaureate nursing students. Nursing Ethics, 24(6), pp.716-731.
• López, A., Sanderman, R. and Schroevers, M.J., 2018. A close examination of the relationship between self-compassion and depressive symptoms. Mindfulness, pp.1-9.
• Okamoto, R., Koide, K., Maura, Y. and Tanaka, M., 2017. Realities of Reflective Practice Skill among Public Health Nurses in Japan and Related Learning and Lifestyle Factors. Open Journal of Nursing, 7(05), p.513.
• Reljić, N.M., Pajnkihar, M. and Fekonja, Z., 2018. Self-reflection during first clinical practice: The experiences of nursing students. Nurse education today, 72, pp.61-66.
• Sharp, L.A., 2018. Reflective practice: Understanding ourselves and our work. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 25(10), pp.48-48.
• Tanaka, M., Okamoto, R. and Koide, K., 2018. Relationship between Reflective Practice Skills and Volume of Writing in a Reflective Journal. Health, 10(03), p.283.
• www.legislation.gov.uk 1998, Data Protection Act 1998, Available at: contents [Accessed on: 29 December 2018]