Clinical Reflection Essay

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Reflection During this week at clinical placement at St. Michael’s hospital my partner and I were required to talk to a patient in Respirology Department in order for us to get an idea of patients’ experiences at the hospital and of how to approach them. After putting on masks and gowns, we went into the patient’s room, which was followed by a brief introduction. Then, my partner and I took turns asking questions about the patients stay at the hospital, history of his medical condition, and his life outside the hospital. However, I quickly ran out of questions to ask and I had to stop and think of something new to inquire every time the patient was done answering the previous question. My partner seemed to have the same problem. As a result, after only about five minutes, neither my partner nor me had anything else to ask and we left the patient’s room. At the beginning, I was very excited to finally get a chance to communicate with a patient. I was a little nervous at first because it was my first interaction with a real patient, but I was confident in my ability to initiate and maintain conversation; I knew exactly what I needed to do and to ask. However, after each answer I was receiving from the patient, when I stopped to thing of something else to ask, I felt more and more anxious. At some point there was a pause so long that it really became awkward for me, and, perhaps, for my partner and the patient. All I could think about was what to ask next. And when I left the patient’s room, I was not satisfied with how my interaction went, to say the least. To be more truthful, I felt like an idiot who could not make up a few words for a question. I also felt really embarrassed because I left so soon and because of my constant thinking of what to say, and I felt like I left the patient with the impression of me as some sort of weirdo. Even now, couple of day later, I
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