Practicum Objectives Research Paper
During the practicum, I came across various experiences that helped me achieve the practicum objectives because I provided care to diverse patients in the clinical setting. For instance, I was able to provide care to the pediatric population aged between 5-17 years; these patients presented with various types of mental disorders ranging from ADHD, personality disorders, conduct disorder, major depressive disorder, and a few cases of early-onset schizophrenia. Additionally, there were times I came across adolescents with substance abuse disorder. Therefore, I performed differential diagnoses for this population group in order to come up with the correct diagnosis for each type of mental disorder. Moreover, I also took part in developing treatment plans for diverse patients and provided treatment to different types of pediatric patients with mental disorders. This was done in collaboration with my preceptor, who guided me when prescribing medications. I also had an opportunity to provide a variety of psychotherapies for example interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, and humanistic therapies, motivational therapy, among others.
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During the practicum, I integrated the Christian worldview by ensuring that the Christianity aspect was integrated when handling the pediatric patients and their families. For example, before interviewing the patients I would suggest prayers to be part of the mental assessment. I would also encourage the patients to use the spiritual realm when providing therapy to patients and families who believe in God. I documented patient information in the electronic health record (EHR) system and used the EHR system to retrieve patient information for easy and fast access. As part of health promotion and disease prevention, I would educate patients about mental health and how to prevent some disorders, for example staying away from drugs and avoiding negative thinking patterns. I also ensured I observed the required ethical and legal considerations such as seeking informed consent from the patients and maintaining their confidentiality and privacy. Moreover, when developing treatment plans, I researched to ensure that the best available evidence was integrated into the care plans. Practicum Objectives Research Paper
Part II
During the practicum, I discovered various gaps. For example, sometimes making differential diagnoses would be difficult because patients would present with similar symptoms, and also some mental disorders normally present with almost similar symptoms. Therefore, I would face a challenge in identifying the exact mental disorder. In the future, I plan to use the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria when making a diagnosis in order to be able to differentiate different types of mental disorders (First et al., 2018). I also plan to consult the best-available evidence to inform my practice, including when making differential diagnoses.
Sometimes I would encounter patients from different religions. In the future, I plan to enroll in various cultural competency training in order to become culturally competent and be able to handle patients from diverse backgrounds. For example, I would ensure cultural sensitivity for patients and families who are not Christians.
Moreover, at times I encountered pediatric patients who were aggressive and relatively violent. Sometimes my strategies to calm the patients would not work and I had to seek the help of experienced PMHNPs and my preceptor to handle such patients. I plan to improve this aspect by observing how the experienced PMHNPs handle mental patients in crisis and conducting research to identify the best-available strategies (Sibiya et al., 2018). This will help me gain more skills and knowledge on how to handle patients in crisis, as well as aggressive mental patients.
Additionally, some patients were uncooperative and did not adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen. This patient population would not respond to treatment and the symptoms of mental disorder would instead worsen. I plan to improve this aspect during my practice by researching to identify the best available strategies that could be used to improve patients’ adherence to treatment. For example, it would be appropriate to identify a consistent and reliable person to always monitor the patient while at home to ensure they adhere to the treatment regimen. Practicum Objectives Research Paper
Part III
I collected both objective and subjective data to inform diagnoses and the care plan. Moreover, informed consent was sought before performing interviews and collecting data from patients (Gebremariam et al., 2018). When I was starting the practicum, the preceptor played a big role in guiding me during the collection of both subjective and objective data, and when conducting a comprehensive physical assessment. I also handled diverse patients who presented with various symptoms and different kinds of mental health disorders. I also performed differential diagnoses for 5 pediatric patients. Because the patients were minors, the families participated when developing treatment plans, and also informed consent was sought from the parents.
I also utilized evidence-based approaches when developing treatment plans. The preceptor was very helpful when developing care plans for the clients. The evidence-based practice facilitates the provision of the best available care to ensure high-quality care and better health outcomes (Li et al., 2019). I, therefore, utilized the best available evidence and integrated theoretical knowledge when developing both psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic interventions. However, sometimes prescription of the psychotropic medication was a major challenge, particularly when the patients reported side effects and this would interfere with their adherence. My preceptor was extremely helpful and guided me to identify and select the medications with good tolerability and a good safety profile for the pediatric population. By the end of the practicum, I was able to prescribe treatment and develop care plans, while involving the clients and their families in the process.
I collaborated with different members of the interprofessional team that included my preceptor, other PMHNP, psychiatrists, pharmacists, and the nursing staff. For instance, when my client would experience side effects from a particular drug, I would consult and share the information with my preceptor, pharmacists, or psychiatrists. This facilitated effective coordination of care and led to high-quality care and improved patient outcomes (Rosen et al., 2018). In addition, with collaboration with my preceptor, I performed patient education, especially regarding the risks associated with substance abuse, side effects of the prescribed medications, and the additive properties in some psychotropic drugs. I feel that I achieved the majority of the practicum objectives, and this was possible with the help from the preceptor.Practicum Objectives Research Paper
Part IV
I feel that I improved my communication and collaboration skills. During the practicum, I met diverse clients, and I had to use my communication skills when collecting the data and when interviewing the patients. I would also observe the body language of the clients and interpret this accordingly. I would actively listen to the clients and this made them feel valued and that as their therapist, I was ready to listen to them. This helped develop a good therapeutic relationship with the clients and thus they could trust me with their issues. this is very important in mental health patients. I interacted with various healthcare professionals and this significantly improved my collaboration skills.
I believe the practicum experience positively impacted my personal growth and also developed my role as a PMHNP. For example, as a future PMHNP, I was able to conduct mental health assessments, make diagnoses, and prescribe the appropriate pharmacological and psychotherapy treatments for different clients that I encountered.
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Finally, I significantly improved my ability to develop pharmacological interventions. For example, during the practicum, I discovered that some psychotropic medications have more metabolic effects when compared to others. I also had an opportunity to apply my knowledge on the pharmacokinetics and psychodynamics for various medications used in treating mental disorders.
In my future practice, I plan to integrate the gained knowledge and skills during the practicum. I will apply my Christian worldview when interviewing and providing care to the clients. I will also apply my Christian worldview to encourage my clients that sickness is part of life and one should pray and ask for strength from God to overcome such challenges.Practicum Objectives Research Paper
References
First, M. B., Rebello, T. J., Keeley, J. W., Bhargava, R., Dai, Y., Kulygina, M., Matsumoto, C., Robles, R., Stona, A. C., & Reed, G. M. (2018). Do mental health professionals use diagnostic classifications the way we think they do? A global survey. World psychiatry: official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 17(2), 187–195.
Gebremariam, A., Yalew, A. W., Hirpa, S., Wondimagegnehu, A., Kaba, M., Assefa, M., Mitiku, I., Kantelhardt, E. J., Jemal, A., & Addissie, A. (2018). Application of the rapid ethical assessment approach to enhance the ethical conduct of longitudinal population-based female cancer research in an urban setting in Ethiopia. BMC medical ethics, 19(1), 87.
Li, S., Cao, M., & Zhu, X. (2019). Evidence-based practice: Knowledge, attitudes, implementation, facilitators, and barriers among community nurses-systematic review. Medicine, 98(39), e17209. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000017209.
Rosen, M. A., DiazGranados, D., Dietz, A. S., Benishek, L. E., Thompson, D., Pronovost, P. J., & Weaver, S. J. (2018). Teamwork in healthcare: Key discoveries enabling safer, high-quality care. The American psychologist, 73(4), 433–450.
Sibiya, M. N., Ngxongo, T., & Beepat, S. Y. (2018). The influence of peer mentoring on critical care nursing students’ learning outcomes. International journal of workplace health management, 11(3), 130–142. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-01-2018-0003 Practicum Objectives Research Paper