Group Home Reflection

Look Back In my second semester, I am placed in a group home that cares for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In particular, the most significant event that I have encountered in the past 5 weeks, was the time I assisted my resident to his dental surgery. In this event, I was challenged by my resident’s act of aggression as I did not possess the knowledge and skills needed to handle the situation effectively.

Elaborate

On January 30th, my resident was scheduled for a dental surgery at 12:00 p.m. but it was unexpectedly delayed to 3:00 p.m. At the hospital, my resident and I, along with the group home supervisor and the resident’s parents, were seated in the children’s waiting room. The room was filled with various toys and books to keep the patients occupied while they wait for their surgery. During the first waiting hour, my resident was relaxed as he peacefully played with the toys. As another hour passed, he began to show mild signs of

Whereas, my feeling of incompetency arises from my professional values since it is an expectation for a nurse, or nursing student, to have the knowledge and skills necessary to handle complex situations and provide the best quality of care. In addition, I believe that my resident’s actions were due to feelings of frustration and confusion as he has been confined in an unfamiliar space for almost 3 hours and has not eaten for almost 15 hours (in preparation for the surgery). I felt that the hospital should have been more considerate towards my client, or patients with autism in general, as it is more difficult for this population to cope with situations other than their normal routines. After this experience, I started to think about different strategies that I may implement to prevent/manage aggressive behaviours and its importance in the promotion of client safety and well-being.