Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

The professional capstone and practicum experience has been informative. Through combining different learning approaches (reviewing publications, discussions and observation), I have gained an understanding of new practice approaches thereby improving my professional nursing competencies. Still, there is an awareness that nursing practice is rapidly evolving even as new practice approaches are presented. This indicates that what is a considered new practice approach now may not be considered that tomorrow (Finkelman, 2019). This is especially seen in the Covid-19 era where distancing requirements has seen a shift towards the use of telehealth and telemedicine. As a nurse, it is not possible to be competent in all new practice approaches, but it is important to be familiar with them Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

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Interprofessional collaboration

The experience has seen be being part of an inter-professional team that includes different medical professions. The experience affirmed the expectation that each member of the team has unique responsibilities and roles that are complementary and additive. Also, each member is important for ensuring that the team goals are met. Besides that, inter-professional collaboration is best achieved through open communication that allows for effective exchange of information and ideas (Finkelman, 2019). As a nurse, I feel that inter-professional collaboration plays an important role in ensuring the best patient care outcomes as it brings together knowledge from different medical professions Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

Health care delivery and clinical systems

The experience has improved my understanding of and familiarity with health care delivery and clinical systems. I have gained a better awareness that these systems must be optimized for patients to enjoy optimal health. With optimized systems, organizations are able to coordinate and deliver high quality medical services. Through understanding the systems, a nurse is able to identify bottlenecks and present strategies for addressing them (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020).

Ethical considerations in health care

I have always understood that the ethical code is an important guide for nurses. As nurses take on greater responsibilities and decision making situations, they are faced with ethical dilemmas. In fact, the ethical issues are not clear cut and nurses face situations in which some of the ethical concerns conflict. To address these concerns, nurses must learn to prioritize between ethical principles (DeNisco, 2020). As a nurse, I must be able to prioritize between the different ethical principles and use them appropriately in making decisions Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

Practices of culturally sensitive care

I have an understanding of cultural sensitive care as being responsive to the patient’s culture to include attitudes, feelings and circumstances. Through interactions with other medical personnel, patients and their family members, I have become more appreciative of cultural diversity. I understand that nurses have an obligation to deliver culturally sensitive care, and this process begins with having an awareness of the different cultures, or at least being open to recognizing and respecting other cultures. An important step in delivering culturally sensitive nursing care is communication to understand what culture means to the patient (Helming, Shields & Avino, 2020).

Ensuring the integrity of human dignity in the care of all patients

The experience has made it clear that nurses are responsible for ensuring the integrity of human dignity when dealing with patients. It is important to ensure that the care that nurses deliver does not violate the human dignity of patients as regards rights to privacy, confidentiality and respect. Also, it is important to communicate with the patients and be sensitive to their needs. In upholding these rights, nurses deliver on the promise of integrity (Helming, Shields & Avino, 2020). I must uphold these rights in order to ensure integrity of human dignity in the care of all patients Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

Population health concerns

Covid-19 era remains a significant public health concern. It threatens public health with populations forced to take proactive and reactive measures to address this concern. As a nurse, I continue to see how Covid-19 pandemic affects my professional and personal life. Also, I have been a source of information for others on Covid-19, to include how the virus is transmitted and effective countermeasures. In addition to Covid-19 pandemic, there are other public health concerns that include diabetes. I must be aware of the public health concerns that affect my community and be prepared to inform the public about them and implement interventions that address these concerns.

The role of technology in improving health care outcomes

Technology is increasingly becoming an important tool for improving health care outcomes. In fact, it supports nurses and augments their efforts to deliver effective care. As a nurse, it is important to know the different technologies and how to leverage them to support nursing care delivery. Technology has now become a distinctive segment of health care, to include Telehealth and Telemedicine (Gogia, 2019). I have become more accepting of the different technologies and readily apply them to augment my efforts as a nurse so that I am able to deliver more and better care Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

Health policy

Health policies play an important role in health care delivery. They determine a principle or course of action for undertaking nursing and health care actions. Each policy is intended to address a health care concern. Through following the policies, nurses’ activities are controlled within a range that allows for the best health care delivery. However, nurses can do more than apply policies. They can influence policy framing and development through engaging in advocacy activities to ensure that their opinions are included in the policies. This is important as nurses work with the policies are able to identify the shortcomings that affect them, thus positioning them to propose policy changes that improve nursing care outcomes (Milstead & Short, 2019)Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

Leadership and economic models

Nursing care is guided by different leadership and economic models. The leadership models determine how nursing care activities are conducted to include delivering care, and managing nursing personnel. Also, the economic models determine how resources should be assigned to ensure the best outcomes. Familiarity with leadership and economic models is important for planning nursing activities while taking into consideration resources limitations and where they can be applied. An understanding of the models helps nurses make the best decisions (Buppert, 2020).

Health disparities

The experience has made me aware that health disparities are a significant concern. We pursue an ideal in which there are no health disparities, and yet scarcity of resources is a reality what can and cannot be addressed. It is clear that health disparities mainly follow financial lines as persons with financial resources are able to access the required care while those who are unable to pay for care go without. Nurses, particularly advanced practice nurses, are uniquely positioned to address health disparities as they can practice independently so that they fill health care access gaps. Also, nurses can bring attention to health disparities so that resources are mobilized to address them, such as getting legislators to present favorable policies (Milstead & Short, 2019)Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

References

Buppert, C. (2020).  Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide (7th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

DeNisco, S. M. (2020). Advanced Practice Nursing: Essential Knowledge for the Profession (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Finkelman, A. (2019). Professional Nursing Concepts: Competencies for Quality Leadership (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Gogia, S. (2019). Fundamentals of Telemedicine and Telehealth. Elsevier Science.

Helming, M., Shields, D., & Avino, K. (2020). Dossey & Keegan’s Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice (8th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Milstead, J. & Short, N. (2019). Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse’s Guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. Elsevier, Inc Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal.

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Assessment Description Students maintained and submitted weekly reflective narratives throughout the course to explore the personal knowledge and skills gained throughout this course. This assignment combines those entries into one course-long reflective journal that integrates leadership and inquiry into current practice as it applies to the Professional Capstone and Practicum course. This final submission should also outline what students have discovered about their professional practice, personal strengths and weaknesses that surfaced during the process, 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. The final journal should address a variable combination of the following, while incorporating your specific clinical practice experiences: New practice approaches Interprofessional collaboration Health care delivery and clinical systems Ethical considerations in health care Practices of culturally sensitive care Ensuring the integrity of human dignity in the care of all patients Population health concerns The role of technology in improving health care outcomes Health policy Leadership and economic models Health disparities 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. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance. Benchmark Information This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies: RN to BSN 2.3: Understand and value the processes of critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and decision making. 4.1: Utilize patient care technology and information management systems. 4.3: Promote interprofessional collaborative communication with health care teams to provide safe and effective care. 5.3: Provide culturally sensitive care. 5.4: Preserve the integrity and human dignity in the care of all patients. Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal