title: Caring for a patient with COPD: a reflective account.
abstract: Reflective practice has been a familiar topic in nursing journals and the term is regularly used in professional nursing practice. However, it was not until I used Johns' (1994) model to analyse and explore my feelings and actions in daily practice that I fully understood the concept of reflective practice and discovered how it can enhance professional development. This article describes a reflective experience related to caring for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the community. The professional implications of this experience are explored through reflection. This exploration raised two main issues: the development of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship and the feelings of guilt experienced when reflecting on whether I had let the patient down when most needed, in the final stages of her life.
authors.affiliation: Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. margaret.barnett@pcs-tr.swest.nhs.uk
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016294:Models, Nursing; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000379:methods*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000451:nursing*; D012647:Self-Assessment