In this Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal, I will discuss important skills, competencies, and values that I have gained during the course offered this semester. The blended course is designed to advance clinical role development through practice competencies in interprofessional collaboration, ethical considerations in practice, information technology, healthcare leadership and policy, etc.
Such skills can be helpful in navigating the dynamic healthcare environment characterized by heavy nursing workload, understaffing, and increasingly complex patient needs (Zwozdiak-Myers, 2012). The aim of this reflective journal paper is to provide an overall picture of the knowledge and skills I have acquired throughout the Professional Capstone and Practicum course. It also contains an integrated reflection of my strengths and weaknesses and competencies met.
Throughout this course, I have learnt multiple approaches to direct-care practice that are critical in quality healthcare delivery. One such approach that I have learnt through my capstone change project on nurse practitioner collaboration is evidence-based practice. This practice approach entails a judicious use of research information to inform clinical decisions (Meehan, 2012). The aim is to provide better care through evidence-based diagnosis and therapy. Patient-centered care is another new practice approach learnt in this course. It requires nursing care decisions to be sensitive to patient or family values/needs. The third practice approach learnt is health teaching, which is premised on the view that the provision of health information to patients promotes self-care, especially after discharge.
I also gained a deep understanding of the concept of interdisciplinary collaboration in clinical care. The diversity of clinical backgrounds and specialties makes collaboration inevitable in a clinical environment. As such, I will collaborate with other nurses and physicians to ensure better diagnoses, outcomes, and interventions through improved communication and mutual respect (Meehan, 2012).
Health care delivery and clinical systems determine the quality of patient care provided. I have understood the critical role nurses play as a part of the clinical microsystem to deliver quality care. Delivering the best care to patients with complex problems is possible through my participation in interdisciplinary care teams and effective stakeholder engagement in the design and delivery of care.
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