Capstone Reflective Journal

A separate Journal entry is required for Modules 1-6 by 2359 Saturday of each indicated module.  Provide details of your thinking, including insights, challenges, paradigm shifts, and goals. Identify previous course topics, readings, or research that relate to the prompt.

Completing the VARK helped me understand that  there are diverse alternatives to tackle challenges and individuals apply different approaches to solve problems like there are multiple learning styles. The assignment instilled me with organization and prioritization skills; This is an aspect of role development identified in the transition to professional nursing course. The lesson also aligns with the “time management” element specified in the Nursing leadership and management course. The study is significant for my practice, enabling me to prioritize patient care and my needs.

I gained this insight through the peer-reviewed article I searched from the UTA library for my capstone project. The article emphasized promoting the safety of older patients through fall prevention. The article points out how to identify an unsafe environment that may promote patient falls. Safety information encourages patients to take responsibility. The insights gained from the nursing research article were critical in helping me identify the research article. The impact of this lesson in my work experience is that providing information about patient safety enhances collaboration with the physicians to yield better quality care.

Keirsey’s Temperament Theory demonstrates diversity in the behaviors and personalities of individuals. The theory identifies the primary categories of temperament as; Guardian, rational, idealist and artisans. Understanding human behavior plays a critical role in conflict resolution. I consider myself a guardian. The theory relates to my RN-BSN since I perceive myself capable of creating an enabling environment for the healthcare providers and advancing the nursing profession.

Setting goals is a critical aspect of an individual’s personal and career life. Goals should be specific and match an individual’s expectations. The SMART acronym guides goal setting and helps one to achieve the set goals. The abbreviation represents Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and time-bound. One of the articles suggested that it is critical to write down one’s goals. This activity is crucial for my nursing practice. I will reflect and continually evaluate my professional goals. I will set goals when caring for my patients and ensure that is meet them to achieve positive results.

This week’s activity helped me understand that culture and spirituality play a critical role in patient safety. I deduced that some cultural factors affect the behavioral response of patients towards health promotion programs. For instance, ethnicity affects individuals’ perceptions of health promotion strategies against patient falls. Older persons have a fatalistic understanding of patient falls, resulting in behavioral changes after participation in health promotion programs. As a nurse practitioner, I should value cultural diversity between my colleagues and the patients and discourage the cultural and spiritual beliefs that undermine the patients’ well-being. Cultural, spiritual, and sexual ideas should not get in the way of a patient’s safety. However, it is critical to respect the patient’s beliefs. This week’s discussion posts were crucial for this lesson. The insights will help me relate well with the patients and colleagues and make clinical decisions while considering the cultural and spiritual implications.

Evidence-based research is a critical aspect of nursing research. This week, I could locate three peer-reviewed articles related to my capstone research project, “prevention of falls in older patients.” I followed the UTA library guide step by step and to locate high-quality articles about the topic. Again, I identified the critical aspects of the peer-reviewed paper that relate to my research topic. The nursing research course was crucial to achieving this week’s objective. I intend to apply the evidence-based practice insights gained from the nursing research course and this activity as a nurse practitioner to make an informed clinical judgment based on the evidence, thus promote patient safety.

This week I reflected upon the issues related to my capstone project topic. I searched for three peer-reviewed articles regarding patient falls and performed a synopsis on the paper by Smith et al. (2015). I realized that patient falls is a critical healthcare issue that needs to be addressed. I was shocked to learn that patient falls are the leading preventable cause of mortality rates among older patients in the emergency departments. Injuries and deaths related to patient falls cost the United States a large amount of money every year. Unfortunately, the risk continues to rise due to the increase in the aging population across the country. I learned that falls are associated with feelings of embarrassment and affect the patient’s physical and emotional state. The insights gained from the nursing research course helped me identify the most recent (within five years) peer-reviewed article for my capstone project and perform the article synopsis. The insight gained from this activity is critical for my nursing practice as now I understand the severity of the patient falls issue. I will foster to enhance safety for my patient to prevent falls in my work setting.

Reference

Smith, M. L., Stevens, J. A., Ehrenreich, H., Wilson, A. D., Schuster, R. J., Cherry, C. O. B., & Ory, M. G. (2015). Healthcare providers’ perceptions and self-reported fall prevention practices: findings from a large New York health system. Frontiers in public health, 3, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00017

By completing the assignments for this module, I learned about the dissemination of evidence-based research. First, I was able to identify the target audience for my capstone project, including falls patients, their families, and caregivers. Again, I realized that my capstone project’s information would be critical for nurse practitioners to perform a fall risk assessment to identify the patients at risk of falling. Additionally, the data would help create community awareness and healthcare management to establish safety measures against falls within the healthcare facilities. I was intrigued by the numerous strategies; visual, verbal, and demonstration could relay information to the audience. I considered PowerPoint presentations, guided discussions, and brochures as essential tools to relay information to my audience. I believe that the dissemination of information regarding patient falls will significantly impact the audience. Again, I give credit to the insights gained from the nursing research course in completing this activity. The insights gained from the activity are critical for my future BSN role. I will be required to present projects, nurse care plans, and other relevant materials to the nurse leaders, managers, patients, and colleagues. It will help me to confidently identify the most efficient tools for disseminating information for different audiences.

One of the activities for this module was to identify the solution to the identified nursing issue. As I read through Smith et al. (2015), I recognized the various solutions to patient falls, including; modifying the risk factors using multifactorial clinical interventions and using a falls-risk assessment to evaluate the likelihood of falls. The article indicated that training is critical to enhancing the use of a falls-risk assessment tool among the clinicians. Again, I learned that patient education is essential to prevent falls. I can relate the insights gained from this activity to the information in the health promotion strategies course. The data is critical for my future BSN role as I will integrate the primary prevention strategies to promote my patients’ safety. I will also provide patient education regarding different conditions to my patients to improve health literacy.

Reference

Smith, M. L., Stevens, J. A., Ehrenreich, H., Wilson, A. D., Schuster, R. J., Cherry, C. O. B., & Ory, M. G. (2015). Healthcare providers’ perceptions and self-reported fall prevention practices: findings from a large New York health system. Frontiers in public health, 3, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2015.00017

One of the significant lessons learned this week is the importance of being affiliated with a professional organization. I completed acquired the American Nursing Association certification for basic life support. Currently, I do not belong to any professional organization; however, I plan to join the American Psychiatric Association upon completing the BSN program. I learned that being a member of a professional organization demonstrates a commitment to one’s career. It is also a platform to showcase professionalism. Reading through the discussion posts, I learned the significance of being a part of a professional organization. The professional organizations provide members with an opportunity to network, share, and receive information about the nursing profession’s new trends (Escoffery et al.,2015). This week’s discussion also enabled me to understand that being affiliated with a professional organization is an added advantage for the resume. I am eager to join and commit to a professional organization once I am through with this program. I will apply the knowledge gained from professional organizations in my practice to improve the quality of patient care and satisfaction

Reference

Escoffery, C., Kenzig, M., & Hyden, C. (2015). Getting the most out of professional associations. Health Promotion Practice, 16(3), 309-312

I gained insights into spirituality and religion in the nursing profession. I researched materials to answer the third question in the discussion board, which was “the professional organization’s spiritual/cultural considerations. In most cases, when spirituality is mentioned, most people tend to think about religion. The relationship between spirituality and nursing always amuses nursing professionals. Sometimes spirituality deters nurses from providing a touch of care to the patients when they are affiliated with a nursing organization. Most nursing professionals forget the nursing goal is to provide holistic acute and long-term care that meets the needs of the patient (Bensing, 2013). The lesson was critical in realizing that I should not allow my spiritual beliefs or perceptions to get in the way of care. Meeting the patient’s spiritual needs and considering it is a requirement for accreditation by the Joint Commission of Healthcare. I will apply the knowledge about spirituality in psychiatric care by being empathetic and respecting my patients. I consider the patient’s spiritual needs during treatment and involve the patients in making critical treatment decisions that account for their cultural and spiritual beliefs.

Reference

(Bensing, 2013). Retrieved from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Article/Spirituality-in-Nursing-Part-1-Enhancing-the-Journey-2 aspx

This week’s discussion reminded me of the significance of a resume in one’s professional life. A resume speaks volumes about an individual. It is a marketing tool for a job applicant and the first thing that meets the employer’s eye before considering a candidate. I learned that a resume is my professional statement that tells the reader about my intentions and professional commitment. I learned that a resume should reflect a person’s ability. As I read through my peers’ posts, I realized that a resume should be designed according to the specific needs of the job, and one should avoid using the same resume to apply for jobs that have different demands. A good resume should portray an individual’s qualifications and not be an overstatement. It should be well designed, free of grammatical errors, and possess the responsibilities and accomplishments for each role taken. It should also be updated continuously (Karsh and Pike,2009).  The technical communication skills class was critical in helping me design my current resume. I will create my resume to the specific job requirements while searching for a job upon completing my BSN program and consider the lessons gained from this class and the technical communication skills course.

Reference

Karsh, B., & Pike, C. (2009). How to Say it on Your Resume: A Top Recruiting Director’s Guide to Writing the Perfect Resume for Every Job. Penguin.

This week has been quite challenging. Finalizing the capstone project was involving, but I am glad I handled the challenge. I completed the capstone project on ‘prevention of falls in older patients’ with an appealing PowerPoint presentation using a straightforward and clear language suitable for my audience. I incorporated visual diagrams throughout the presentation to enhance my understanding of my audience. I used a variety of sources, including peer-reviewed articles, to develop the project. The themes that I addressed in my capstone project include; The causes of falls, John Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment, the importance of a fall risk assessment, nursing interventions, prevention of falls in hospitals. Cultural factors affecting prevention of falls, and the spiritual considerations when caring for fall patients. Developing the topic helped me gain significant knowledge about the prevention of falls in older patients.

The most capturing theme in the project was a fall risk assessment. I learned about several fall risk assessment tools, including Morse, STRATIFY, and John Hopkins. However, my focus was on the John Hopkins Fall Risk Assessment Tool. A fall risk assessment is critical as it identifies the likelihood of a patient experiencing a fall and helps nurses develop suitable interventions to prevent falls among the patients.

The nursing research course was critical in helping me complete the project. The course guided me in finding high-quality research articles for a project. I intend to apply the skills gained in developing this project for my future projects in my nursing career.

As I mentioned earlier, the Capstone project has been a challenging but worthwhile task. After developing the Capstone project, I presented it to a small audience of older patients, the shift managers, and the nursing staff in my unit. I designed my project to match the needs of the audience. I used simple and concise language during the presentation. I demonstrated practical presentation skills, such as maintaining eye contact and being audible. I actively engaged the audience throughout the presentation and allowed them to ask questions. Before the presentation, I gathered enough knowledge regarding the topic and was confident enough to answer any questions asked during the presentation. I was time conscious during the presentation and ensured that everyone understood at the end (Sari, 2011).

Dissemination of evidence is critical in the nursing profession. The skills gained from the technical communication course enhanced my presentation skills. I will apply the presentation skills in my nursing profession when providing education to patients and creating awareness about critical topics. I will design my presentations to suit the needs of my audience

Sari, P. (2011). Creating an Effective Presentation in English for Business Communication Class.

I used two evaluation tools, the Likert Scale and a post-test survey, to determine the Capstone Project’s effectiveness. I used the Likert scale to obtain feedback about my presentation skills and the materials’ appropriateness. I considered the Likert scale as it is simple and orderly. It allows the audience to provide an objective opinion about the project (Hutchinson, 2019). I was impressed by the positive feedback provided by the audience. In the second section, I used a post-test survey to determine the knowledge gained from the presentation (Hutchinson, 2019).

Evaluating outcomes is part of the nursing profession. Sometimes we consider the treatment outcomes to assess the effectiveness of the project. We also assess if the patient understands the discharge instructions and patient education. We also evaluate the effectiveness of the newly implemented system within the facility and the nursing outcomes. Therefore, evaluation is a critical aspect of nursing practice. Moving forward, I will apply the Likert Scale and a survey test to evaluate the appropriateness of projects in the nursing profession and identify improvement areas.

Hutchinson, S. (2019). 7 Assessing oral presentations. Innovative Assessment in Higher Education: A Handbook for Academic Practitioners, 88