NRS-493 Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal – Topic 2

NRS-493 Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal – Topic 2

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

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