Category: Professionalism
Resume
Refinement and Final Post
When looking back on this experience I have learned so much about hospital policies and interprofessional teamwork. My group and I were very interested and passionate about our topic of the standardization of crash carts. This made the dissemination of the project easy! Our group has been great friends for a long time and we all like to make each other laugh. Since we are comfortable with one another we decided to create a short video showing the importance of the standardization of code carts. I have learned how to find evidence-based research articles and dissect the information for my benefit. I have also learned about time management within a group. We all had very different schedules and priorities and this became a hardship within the group. We eventually came to the conclusion of a time to meet up to film our video in a timely manner. This required communication skills and compromise in order to successfully complete the dissemination project.
When we presented our video we were very nervous because we had not prepared anything to announce our topic. We also went first and did not have any guidance on how to introduce ourselves. We also had some difficulty with the sound for our video but quickly figured out a solution. As the video started we noticed that our video was going to be a big hit. Everyone was laughing at our jokes while learning new information. We put smiles on everyone’s faces while also decreasing the stress levels that were in the room. I would say the class enjoyed our video!
I believe I learned patience and organizational skills during the creation of our video. I had to recognize that everyone has their own lives and we need to be aware of this and work together as a team to find a time to work together. I also learned that coming into the filming day with an organized script and vision helped with the structure and acting part of the project. Once we started filming we were all on the same page and completed the video in less than 2 hours because we were prepared. I can bring this knowledge to my future nursing career when caring for patients with different beliefs and priorities than I may have. This patience and recognition will make me an empathetic nurse. The organization skills I’ve learned will help me prioritize and manage my time when caring for a lot of individuals. I have learned that I am a people pleaser and that I will sacrifice my personal time to do what is best for the group as a whole. This can be a positive and a negative attribute.
Simulation Reflection
I have learned a lot from this experience about mental health and myself as a future nurse. Before today, I had not had a one-on-one conversation with a patient with BPD or Schizophrenia. Going into this experience I was very nervous about the questions I was supposed to ask and how to respond to unexpected situations. I have learned a lot about how the variety of demeanors made us have to rapidly alter our communication styles to fit what was best for the patient. I can see myself using this skill within clinical practice. Our direct and focused question style for a person with BPD was completely different than the questions we asked a patient with severe depression. I also learned that I have to expect the unexpected with how patients may react. Specifically, during our conversations with the BPD actor, I was very caught off guard as the woman called me out for smiling. I was smiling because after our mid-interview debrief we had a coherent plan as to where we wanted this conversation to go. As the second half of our conversation began, it did not go as planned which made me smile and laugh. I was quickly able to adjust my frame of mind and correct my wrongdoings. This situation threw me for a loop which is something to always expect in practice. I hope to eventually develop a large skill set to therapeutically respond to situations like this one. Another thing I have learned is that upon instilling hope in a patient it is important to figure out what the patient thinks their individual strengths are. This can provide motivation for the client which may be one of the biggest factors to regaining one’s mental health. This is one of the many tools I will use throughout my nursing career.
Final Reflection
Reflecting back on the evolution of this research paper, I have learned a lot about myself as a future nurse. I have learned that nursing is about helping people get better in the present moment and making the future better by introducing new policies, medications, and procedures. This is very important as this is an ever-changing profession. As new technology and disease arise it is important to re-evaluate the current practices to find the best outcome for the patients. As nurses, we have personal experiences that can provide insight as to what is working on a unit and what may need improvement. This is where evidence-based practice comes into play within the nursing profession. For this assignment, we were able to work with a peer. This has improved my communication skills, time management, and interpersonal compatibility. I have learned how to delegate certain tasks to my partner in order to break up the workload. I also learned how to read research articles and evaluate whether or not they are reliable. This is important because I may need to develop new guidelines for my floor based on the evidence from various articles. All in all, I have learned that a nurse has many roles and responsibilities some of which may change the course of our practice for the better!
Ethical Considerations for EBP
My understanding of the nurse’s role in the ethical conduct of research has changed immensely. I had not thought about how long ethics has been a part of the healthcare profession. I understand that nurses and doctors alike are in charge of holding each other accountable when confronted with an ethical dilemma. As a nurse, a big part of our job is to advocate for our patients and provide them with all of the information in order to create an informed decision about their care. It is important for nurses to understand the historical importance of the principles of research ethics because it creates a similar point of view from a different time period. This is the same issue but in a different way. This movie shows the disastrous consequences of going against the right thing to do. In the view of the doctor, it seems as though they are creating a historical study with data that will make them famous regardless of the expected outcome which is death. The nurse in this movie is faced with charges due to her role in letting this study happen even though it was very unethical. The nurse knew what she was doing and was opposed to it at first. She tried to encourage the use of penicillin once it was confirmed to treat syphilis but the doctors shot down her request for the sake of the study. This historical movie is important to watch because things like this still happen today. It is important to be the change you want to see for your patients. Throughout this course, I have learned how to ethically collect, analyze, and document research. I am now able to participate in evidence-based practice initiatives with knowledge about the past and how it has shaped research and clinical practice today. This ability is very important when providing the best care for my patients
Gratitude and Self Care
Write about the importance of gratitude in a professional setting. How do think members of an interprofessional team demonstrate gratitude to one another? At times when you are feeling stressed, what is one way that you manage?
Gratitude is extremely important to have in a professional setting because results in kindness and caring for others. If you are grateful for what you have you can be a happier more caring individual to your patients. Showing gratitude to members of an interprofessional team will provide a level of professionalism as well as an appreciation for another person’s abilities.
Explain one strategy that you use to decompress. Is this a strategy that you use that might also work in a professional setting? If not, what might you do in a professional setting to practice self-care to manage your stress?
A way I decompress is by doing exercise. I like to exercise outside because it helps me clear my head and get rid of any excess energy so that I can focus on the rest of the day. This could possibly work in a professional setting if I want to walk up and down stairs or do laps around the hospital to get my heart rate up during a break. If I am unable to get my heart rate up then I might do some breathing exercises to help me focus on the task at hand.
Revisiting the Image
Write a response about another important quality or skill of a nurse that gets less attention in popular culture. Is this part of nursing usually represented in fictionalized nurses? What do you think will be challenging about the more mundane duties of nursing as compared to the idealized qualities or skills of a nurse?
A quality of a nurse that gets less attention in pop culture is how they are leaders. Many TV shows highlight the role of the doctors and dismiss the importance of the nurse. Nurses are the people that are there for the patient 24/7. They are the medical professional that communicates to the doctor about the status of the patient. They tend to lead conversations about how the patient is feeling and any concerns that the person and family have. Something that may be challenging during the more mundane duties of nursing is that it will feel like chores.
