Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper

The practicum experience has presented an opportunity to verify some of the concepts learned in theoretical classes while learning new clinical concepts. In fact, the practicum experience was instrumental in identifying and affirming my strengths as a nurse, particularly my eagerness to learn new skills, accepting criticism, and willingness to improve. Still, there were some weaknesses, particularly concerning following rules according to guidelines, how to treat patients properly, and how to take on leadership responsibilities. These weaknesses were evident when dealing with challenging patients. An example of this concerned a 67-year-old patient with chronic kidney failure who was a formed smoker, had a history of colon cancer, diabetes, hypertension, gallstone, hernia, obese, and GERD Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper.

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The patient’s chief complaint at the time was abdominal pain rated at 10/10. Another example concerned a 75-year-old patient with a history of seizure/epilepsy, GERD, diabetes, hypertension, migraine pelvis structure, stable angina, and difficulty swallowing. The patient’s chief complaint was hyper-cholesterol, insomnia and generalized pain. Yet another example concerned a 46-year-old patient with a history of hypertension, hyper-cholesterol, and obese. The patient came in vomiting, diarrhea, coughing up thick yellow mucus, and complained of pain from left hip down to lower leg with the pain rated at 8/10. In each of the three examples, the patients presented complicated cases with a myriad of symptoms. The lesson learned from dealing with the challenging patients was that each patient is diffident and that each treatment plan would consequently be different. This requires that the provider learn about the patient, the diagnoses and medication Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper.

A significant research available within the practicum environment was experienced nurse personnel who acted as mentors and offered helpful advice when necessary and required. These experienced nurses were able to guide me through the challenging experiences, helping me to learn from the experiences and improving my nursing and leadership skills and competencies. Another useful resource was the library and internet. Access to this resource allowed me to acquire relevant, current literature that informed evidence-based practice decisions. Access to the two resources allowed me to make defensible, informed decisions supported by tangible, accessible evidence (Murray, 2022) Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper.

A significant skill learned from the experience is how to prioritize needs in care delivery. This is an especially useful skill when dealing with challenging patients who have complex needs such that nurses have to prioritize what to attend to first. Besides that, this skill is useful for managing patient flow and volume as it helps with time management, tracking and streamlining workflow, and tightening clinical and non-clinical services, and improving communication (Hall & Roussel, 2022).

Practice is the best opportunity to improve on my skills and knowledge. The practice environment presents an experiential learning opportunity that allows me to learn by doing. Based on Kolb’s cycle of learning, the practice environment is an opportunity to: learn from natural successes, mistakes and consequences; engage physically, socially, emotionally, creatively and intellectually; take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for the results; and reflection, critical analysis and synthesis. This is useful when accompanied with feedback that identifies opportunities for improvements (Cherry & Jacob, 2019) Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper.

References

Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2019). Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, & Management (8th ed.). Elsevier, Inc.

Hall, H. R., & Roussel, L. A. (2022). Evidence-Based Practice: An Integrative Approach to Research, Administration, and Practice (3rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Murray, E. (2022). Nursing Leadership and Management for Patient Safety and Quality Care (2nd ed.). F.A. Davis Company.

HI, TTHIS CLINICAL IS MY FIRST CLINICAL ROTATION AS A NURSE PRACTITIONER STUDENT

PLEASE READ EACH BULLET CAREFULLY, SO YOU CAN A GOOD JOB IN THE PAPER.

MY STRENGHT IS EAGER TO LEARN TO NEW SKILL, ACEPT CRITISISM, WILLING TO MAKE APROVEMENT

FOLLOW RULE ACCORDING TO GUIDELINE AND WANT TO KNOW HOW I CAN TREAT MY PATIENT PROPERLY AND TAKE LEADERSHIP.

Critical reflection of your growth and development during your practicum experience in a clinical setting has the benefit of helping you to identify opportunities for improvement in your clinical skills, while also recognizing your clinical strengths and successes.

This week, you will write a Journal Entry, reflecting on your clinical strengths and opportunities for improvement Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper.

Learning from Experiences

  • Reflect on the three most challenging patients. What was most challenging for each?

ANS-#1-67 y/o patient with chronic kidney failure, former smoker for 25 years, history of colon cancer, diabetes, hypertension, gallstone, hernia, obese, GERD. This patient came in to the clinic for with a complaints of abdominal pain rates 10/10.

Patient #2-75 y/o Patient with history of seizure/epilepsy, GERD, diabetes, hypertension, migraine pelvis fracture, stable angina, swallowing difficulty. This patient came in for hyper cholesterol, insomnia, and generalized pain.

Patient # 3- 46y/o patient with history of hypertension, hyper cholesterol, obese came in for vomiting, diarrhea, coughing up thick yellow mucus, complaints of pain from left hip down to lower leg. Pain rates 8/10.

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  • What did you learn from this experience?

Learned each treatment plan is different, different approach for each patient, learn about the diagnoses, different medication

  • What resources did you have available? Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper
  • What evidence-based practice did you use for this patient?
  • What new skills are you learning?
  • What would you do differently?
  • How are you managing patient flow and volume?

Communicating and Feedback

  • Reflect on how to improve on your skills and knowledge and how to communicate that back to your Preceptor.
  • How are you doing? What is missing?
  • What type of feedback are you receiving from your Preceptor? Contemporary Nursing Issues Discussion Paper