In this scenario the nurse has assumed that Alan’s partner Mark, is his carer rather than his husband. The Registered Nurse probably assumed this because she may not have realised or have not dealt with same sex relationships before. My personal beliefs, values and assumptions are that I personally believe that people should be allowed to love whoever and whatever gender they are attracted to. My personal beliefs, values and assumptions are that I believe that people with a disability cannot help it, they may have been disabled since birth or not they should be treated properly. My personal assumptions, values, biases and beliefs are from my family, my friends or my previous school.
The “‘What, So What and Now What’ model of critical reflection is based upon three simple questions: What? So what? Now what?” (Cumbria, 2016) this model is used to write a personal reflection. “Cultural safety is a concept of care first advocated by the Maori nurses of New Zealand in the late 1980s. Cultural safety is concerned with power relationships between nurses and those in their care. The recipients of nursing care are empowered to decide what is culturally safe rather than complying passively with the authority of nurses or other health professionals.” (Australian Government-Cancer, 2019) Cultural safety is vital for nursing practice, in this critical reflection the Registered Nurse was not being culturally safe towards patient Alan and his husband Mark. It is important that cultural safety is not just based on ethnicity but it also includes other cultures like gender, sexuality, religion and disability.
Within this studied case study, it has shown that the Registered Nurse had assumed that Alan’s partner Mark, is his carer rather than his husband. There where assumptions made by the Registered Nurse as she assumed that her patient Alan had a male carer Mark instead of mark being Alan’s husband. The Registered Nurse’s actions may have made Alan and Mark feel like they are not going to achieve the right care for them, or they do not feel like they are accepted as a same sex couple.
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My responsibilities within this critical reflection are, as being a student nurse on clinical placement where to maybe ask Mark what relation he is to Alan, or to let the Registered Nurse know that Mark is Alan’s partner. My responsibilities are very different to the Registered Nurse as I have noticed the relationship of the patient and how they have felt from the initial greeting from the registered Nurse. By looking at my personal beliefs, values, biases and assumptions personally I believe that everyone should be entitled to love who they love; I also believe in same sex marriage as it then allows the same sex couples to feel like they are being slowly accepted into the world. I come from a family who does not believe in same sex couples and marriage but they understand my beliefs and values towards them.
In this critical reflection I think that the couple have to right to feel upset as the Registered Nurse has used her own assumptions and beliefs that she has grown up believing. By looking at this case it has made me feel like people are very quick to assume things about other people and their chosen relationships, as I personally know people who like the same gender and they can be heavily bullied for being gay. There can be some potential consequences of the main experience for the patient they may immediately feel upset and may feel violated as they have been assumed to be straight, as the Nurse has just assumed their relationship status and had not asked who Mark was in relation to Alan. This overall experience has linked to my professional and personal development by showing that you really need to not make assumptions as they can offend someone and to think about it before you speak. For a personal and professional view, it would be more beneficial to ask who peoples relationships are especially if they are present.
As a result of this experience, I have learned that it is important to not assume or judge a patient on their relationships and to always treat them with respect. By applying what I have learned from this critical reflection through my clinical placements as a student nurse and when I become a registered nurse through regular day to day practice. Some suggestions on what I would personally do in this situation and similar ones, I will not make assumptions or judgements of patients before speaking to them, as it will prevent any issues that may occur. I will ask the patient who the people are that they are with to then know who is present and that will then make the patent feel more cared for. Then I will always treat same sex couples with the same amount of care and respect as non-same sex couples, as I personally support same sex relationships. These will allow me to be a better nurse.
