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Reflection

1) The author reflects on their experience as a clinical clerk in a psychiatric institution, noting it has been exciting, fun, and challenging due to the cases observed. 2) The author recognizes key differences between psychiatry and other fields of medicine, such as eliciting a patient's entire life history to truly understand them and identify reasons for their current state. 3) Working with outpatient services, the author gained experience communicating with and understanding patients with mental illness or those conscious of their mental health.

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Dawn Marco
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1K views

Reflection

1) The author reflects on their experience as a clinical clerk in a psychiatric institution, noting it has been exciting, fun, and challenging due to the cases observed. 2) The author recognizes key differences between psychiatry and other fields of medicine, such as eliciting a patient's entire life history to truly understand them and identify reasons for their current state. 3) Working with outpatient services, the author gained experience communicating with and understanding patients with mental illness or those conscious of their mental health.

Uploaded by

Dawn Marco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Marco, Carmela Dawn M.

OLFU – Group C

REFLECTION PAPER

When I mention that a career in psychiatry, I do not always get a positive response. Some
people seem to think it is boring, that people rarely get better and, that I would spend most of my
time listening to peoples’ problems. As a clinical clerk, two weeks in this institution is exciting, fun
and challenging because of the cases that can be observed. Having experiences during college
as a nursing student, rotated in two mental health center (NCMH and CCMH) I already gained
some insights of what psychiatry differ from other fields of medicine. During my first day here, I
was challenged because I was assigned in Pavilion 3- Female Ward, the ward itself is differ from
other pavilion because it’s not yet renovated but I saw how they provide care and proper medical
management among the patients in this pavilion. At first, I was thinking that many electric
convulsive therapy I can observed from Emergency Room, ACIS and Pavilion. Medications
prescribed by the doctors was properly given to the patient and we have these nurses and nursing
attendants who ensure. I recognized quickly that there were vast differences between medicine
and psychiatry and I learnt that a psychiatric history is structured slightly differently to a medical
one and that in psychiatry, it is important to really get to know the patients on a deeper level. Not
only are the presenting symptoms discussed, but the patient’s entire life story from the moment
they were born up until the present day is also elicited – this I found was a great way of truly
understanding the patient. Additionally, it helped highlight the reasons why someone is
presenting, as I learnt that often, patients have experienced particular life events in the past which
have lead to their current state. Working out a full patient’s history is greatly beneficial, as it allows
doctors to make the right diagnosis and establish an appropriate management plan. In out patient
service, it made us experience how to deal with these patients for follow up check up, for patient
with symptoms of mental illness and for those patients who are conscious about their mental
health. It also practiced us on how we can communicate with them and to understand what they
cannot talk about their problems.

During these weeks, I learnt about the different reasons for why people commit crimes
and that they can sometimes be mentally unwell and not realize the implications of their actions.
Instead of being punished, I recognized that these people needed help, support and treatment in
order to manage their mental health.

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