Benchmark – Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal
Reflective Journal
Clinical experiences are important for promoting competency and skill development among nursing students. Nursing students utilize them to understand the unique needs that will influence care outcomes for diverse populations. Engaging in reflective practice enables nursing students to identify their needs, strengths, and opportunities for their continued professional development. Therefore, this paper is a reflection of my clinical experiences.
Discoveries about Professional Practice
I have made several discoveries about my nursing practice. Firstly, I continue to discover the crucial role played by nurses in optimizing the care outcomes for the populations that they serve. Nurses spend most of their time with patients than any other healthcare professionals. This provides them the opportunity to develop patient-centered interventions that enhance patient outcomes and experiences with care. I also continue to appreciate the role of nurses in ensuring the use of best practices in the care process. Nurses are pivotal in translating evidence-based practices into their practice to promote safety, quality, and efficiency (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2022). As advocates, nurses ensure the adoption of care interventions that safeguard the patients’ rights in the care process.
The practicum experience has also expanded my understanding of the importance of interprofessional collaboration. Nurses and other healthcare providers in the practicum setting collaborate in providing patient care. The collaboration is evident in different aspects of patient care such as assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Interprofessional collaboration has improved communication among healthcare providers as well as patient outcomes. I have also appreciated the role of culture in healthcare based on my clinical experiences. Patients and healthcare providers have diverse cultural values, beliefs, and practices that influence their care. Healthcare providers should be competent to offer culturally appropriate care to their populations. They should also advocate the adoption of policies that ensure cultural responsiveness in the organization. The delivery of culturally appropriate care motivates patients to be actively involved in addressing their health needs.
Personal Strengths and Weaknesses
I have discovered my strengths from the practicum experience. Firstly, I am an effective team member. I can easily work with other healthcare providers in providing the required patient care. I can also influence team activities through my input on how to optimize outcomes. I am also an effective communicator. I can express my ideas freely and respect others’ opinions. I am also an effective listener. I listen more than I speak, which helps me to learn more about the profession and people. I also discovered that I am an effective health educator. I have been educating patients about the effective management of their health problems. The education has been effective in increasing their awareness levels and promoting the adoption of healthy lifestyles and behaviors.
I have also discovered some weaknesses based on my clinical experiences. Firstly, I have not developed the required competencies in translating evidence into practice. I have participated in some activities involving the use of evidence-based practices in the care process. However, I feel inadequately prepared to lead the process. I have also learned that I tend to aim to do many things at the same time. This focus has been detrimental to me since I find myself overwhelmed at the end of a shift. As a result, I need to learn to prioritize things that I should do and start with the most important tasks. Prioritization will help me to save time on my assigned tasks and link outcomes with the implemented care interventions.
Additional Resources and Abilities
I believe that some interventions and opportunities should be introduced in the practicum site to influence optimal outcomes. Firstly, nurses should be given opportunities to participate in policy initiatives in the organization. The adopted changes or interventions should ensure adequate stakeholder participation. Nurses’ input on any changes adopted in the organization would ensure optimum outcomes in strategy execution. The second opportunity that should be considered is training nurses on the translation of evidence-based practices in their roles. Nurses might be competent in using best practices in the care process. However, they might have inadequate knowledge and skills in determining the credibility of evidence (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2022). The organization should provide training opportunities and mentorship to bridge this gap.
How I Met the Competencies
I met the competencies that align with the course. Firstly, I improved my teamwork and interprofessional collaboration skills by being part of care teams involved in case management in the organization. I participated in team activities such as patient assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of care. I also used different technologies such as electronic health records and barcode system for medication administration. I also researched the effectiveness of these technologies in ensuring safety, quality, and efficiency outcomes in the care process. I also immersed myself in a learning activity that increased my understanding of the influence of culture on healthcare. I learned about the cultural practices that influence the population’s uptake of different services. I also learned the different ways in which nurses can promote culturally appropriate care in their roles. As a result, I feel prepared to advocate the delivery of culturally sensitive care and initiation of programs to achieve the objective in my future practice.
Conclusion
Overall, the practicum experience has been important for my personal and professional growth and development. I have learned several things about my professional practice. I have also discovered my strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for self-growth and development. I engaged in activities that met the competencies aligned with the course.
References
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2022). Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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BP is to improve health care, the cost must be addressed and considered in the
value equation. Practice changes require an upfront investment of time and
resources. These investments create an improvement in outcomes, whether
clinical (e.g., reduced infections), organizational (e.g., shorter length of stay), or
fiscal (e.g., reduced unplanned readmissions, which helps the organization avoid
Medicare penalties). Any of these may have cost implications. Some EBP
improvements may not create cost savings but may achieve an equally valuable
outcome (e.g., patient satisfaction) that helps fulfill the organizational mission.
(hfma.org, 2018)). After discussing with my mentor regarding the
implementation of EBP, it is important that financial, clinical, and quality aspects
areas are critical areas to consider when developing EBP. The financial aspect
that needs consideration in the development of the evidence-based practice
project is whether the evidence-based solution would help in reducing the cost
of health care services for the targeted population. The change project intends
to reduce the cost of health care by reducing the fall rate among hospital
patients. Which then leads to a reduction in fall-related medical costs.
For quality consideration, the intervention must help in promoting the
anticipated patient outcomes, which includes reducing falls-related injuries or
death, thereby promote the patient’s quality of life and reduce hospital length of
stay. Change projects, such as reeducation intervention to promote the quality
of care. EB risk assessment increased prevention activities to purposeful
rounding, improves the quality of care, and increases patient satisfaction. To
further ingrain EBP within health care professional practice, EBP processes,
whether related to developing, disseminating, or implementing evidence, be
embedded in a more structured way into everyday clinical care to promote
active and consistent engagement with EBP continuously (ebm.bmj.com, 2019).
The clinical aspect that needs consideration is the availability of health care
staff with relevant expertise and knowledge to facilitate the evidence-based
solution in the medical-surgical unit. The current staffing shortage in the health
care system is a reason to consider the skill required to implement Evidence-
based projects. Its availability and the implications on the workload of the health
care professionals in an organizatio
BP is to improve health care, the cost must be addressed and considered in the
value equation. Practice changes require an upfront investment of time and
resources. These investments create an improvement in outcomes, whether
clinical (e.g., reduced infections), organizational (e.g., shorter length of stay), or
fiscal (e.g., reduced unplanned readmissions, which helps the organization avoid
Medicare penalties). Any of these may have cost implications. Some EBP
improvements may not create cost savings but may achieve an equally valuable
outcome (e.g., patient satisfaction) that helps fulfill the organizational mission.
(hfma.org, 2018)). After discussing with my mentor regarding the
implementation of EBP, it is important that financial, clinical, and quality aspects
areas are critical areas to consider when developing EBP. The financial aspect
that needs consideration in the development of the evidence-based practice
project is whether the evidence-based solution would help in reducing the cost
of health care services for the targeted population. The change project intends
to reduce the cost of health care by reducing the fall rate among hospital
patients. Which then leads to a reduction in fall-related medical costs.
For quality consideration, the intervention must help in promoting the
anticipated patient outcomes, which includes reducing falls-related injuries or
death, thereby promote the patient’s quality of life and reduce hospital length of
stay. Change projects, such as reeducation intervention to promote the quality
of care. EB risk assessment increased prevention activities to purposeful
rounding, improves the quality of care, and increases patient satisfaction. To
further ingrain EBP within health care professional practice, EBP processes,
whether related to developing, disseminating, or implementing evidence, be
embedded in a more structured way into everyday clinical care to promote
active and consistent engagement with EBP continuously (ebm.bmj.com, 2019).
The clinical aspect that needs consideration is the availability of health care
staff with relevant expertise and knowledge to facilitate the evidence-based
solution in the medical-surgical unit. The current staffing shortage in the health
care system is a reason to consider the skill required to implement Evidence-
based projects. Its availability and the implications on the workload of the health
care professionals in an organizatio
BP is to improve health care, the cost must be addressed and considered in the
value equation. Practice changes require an upfront investment of time and
resources. These investments create an improvement in outcomes, whether
clinical (e.g., reduced infections), organizational (e.g., shorter length of stay), or
fiscal (e.g., reduced unplanned readmissions, which helps the organization avoid
Medicare penalties). Any of these may have cost implications. Some EBP
improvements may not create cost savings but may achieve an equally valuable
outcome (e.g., patient satisfaction) that helps fulfill the organizational mission.
(hfma.org, 2018)). After discussing with my mentor regarding the
implementation of EBP, it is important that financial, clinical, and quality aspects
areas are critical areas to consider when developing EBP. The financial aspect
that needs consideration in the development of the evidence-based practice
project is whether the evidence-based solution would help in reducing the cost
of health care services for the targeted population. The change project intends
to reduce the cost of health care by reducing the fall rate among hospital
patients. Which then leads to a reduction in fall-related medical costs.
For quality consideration, the intervention must help in promoting the
anticipated patient outcomes, which includes reducing falls-related injuries or
death, thereby promote the patient’s quality of life and reduce hospital length of
stay. Change projects, such as reeducation intervention to promote the quality
of care. EB risk assessment increased prevention activities to purposeful
rounding, improves the quality of care, and increases patient satisfaction. To
further ingrain EBP within health care professional practice, EBP processes,
whether related to developing, disseminating, or implementing evidence, be
embedded in a more structured way into everyday clinical care to promote
active and consistent engagement with EBP continuously (ebm.bmj.com, 2019).
The clinical aspect that needs consideration is the availability of health care
staff with relevant expertise and knowledge to facilitate the evidence-based
solution in the medical-surgical unit. The current staffing shortage in the health
care system is a reason to consider the skill required to implement Evidence-
based projects. Its availability and the implications on the workload of the health
care professionals in an organizatioCapstone
Students are required to maintain weekly reflective narratives throughout the course to combine into one course-long reflective journal that integrates leadership and inquiry into current practice as it applies to the Professional Capstone and Practicum course.
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In your journal, you will reflect on the personal knowledge and skills gained throughout this course. The journal should address a variable combination of the following, depending on your specific practice immersion clinical experiences:
- New Practice Approaches
- Interprofessional Collaboration
- Health Care Delivery and Clinical Systems
- Ethical Considerations in Health Care
- Practices of Culturally Sensitive Care and Ensuring the Integrity of Human Dignity in the Care of all Patients
- Population Health Concerns and Health Disparities
- The Role of Technology in Improving Health Care Outcomes
- Health Policy
- Leadership and Economic Models
Students will outline what they have discovered about their professional practice, personal strengths and weaknesses that surfaced, additional resources and abilities that could be introduced to a given situation to influence optimal outcomes, and finally, how the student met the competencies aligned to this course.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.