Reflective Journal
Students are required to submit weekly reflective narratives throughout the course that will culminate in a final, course-long reflective journal due in Topic 10. The narratives help students integrate leadership and inquiry into current practice.
This reflection journal also allows students to outline what they have discovered about their professional practice, personal strengths and weaknesses, and additional resources that could be introduced in a given situation to influence optimal outcomes. Each week students should also explain how they met a course competency or course objective(s).
In each week’s entry, students should reflect on the personal knowledge and skills gained throughout the course. Journal entries should address one or more of the areas stated below. In the Topic 10 graded submission, each of the areas below should be addressed as part of the summary submission.
1.New practice approaches
2.Interprofessional collaboration
3.Health care delivery and clinical systems
4.Ethical considerations in health care
5.Practices of culturally sensitive care
6.Ensuring the integrity of human dignity in the care of all patients
7.Population health concerns
8.The role of technology in improving health care outcomes
Health policy
9.Leadership and economic models
10.Health disparities
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are not required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite.
Sample Paper
Reflective Journal
The course has been both challenging and informative. The completed course activities have allowed me an opportunity to grow my knowledge and skills in nursing practice. Attaining these competencies is essential in the current rapidly changing healthcare system. The knowledge helps nurses effectively solve challenging clinical issues attributed to the changing healthcare system.
New practice approaches
The course helped me learn new practice approaches in patient care and their significance to patients and providers. These approaches include evidence-based, patient-centered, community-centered, value-based care approaches and technology integration in nursing care, such as the electronic health record system. With increasing research in the healthcare sector, new care approaches are being developed to improve patient care and care outcomes. Through the course, I have gained knowledge on how these practices work. I now understand the value of integrating research studies, evidence-based clinical guidelines, and consideration of patient values in the nursing process. These new practice approaches promote better care outcomes by facilitating safety, quality, and improved patient experience (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2021). Therefore, the course has prepared me to contribute to changing healthcare positively.
Interprofessional collaboration
The course has equipped me with teamwork skills and helped me realize the value of interprofessional collaboration in nursing practice. These skills include communication skills, respect, trust for other professions, understanding professional roles, and task prioritization. Team-based care is essential in promoting the safety and quality of nursing care. In addition, with the increasing rate of chronic illnesses and elderly populations presenting with co-occurring conditions, there is a need for interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing practice. The collaboration prepares graduate nurses to lead inter-professional teams in analyzing multifaceted practice and systems issues. It also prepares them for leadership role in developing and implementing changes related to improving patient care and outcomes. It will also be essential in promoting standardized nursing care, as it allows nurses to put their skills together to solve challenging healthcare issues. Interprofessional collaboration among nurses also creates a conducive environment for nurses, significantly improving care quality.
Health care delivery and clinical systems
Through the course, I have gained a better understanding of the health care delivery and clinical systems, regarding their role, objectives, and the role of a nurse in facilitating the attainment of these goals. Health care delivery and clinical system encompass quality, safe, and affordable health services. They promote care continuum, health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care services through the different levels and sites of care (Ngiam & Khor, 2019). The healthcare systems include four significant elements: financing, insurance, delivery, and payment. In addition, they include healthcare providers, insurance companies, employer groups, and government agencies. These components work together to facilitate access to care and affordability among diverse populations. The knowledge gained will be essential in designing various healthcare delivery and clinical systems, educating patients, and guiding them on how to access systems that best suit their needs.
Ethical considerations in health care
Through the course, I have learned the various ethical considerations in nursing practice. It entails adhering to the implemented health policies and the nursing code of ethics. In their approach, nurses interact with many patients and other healthcare stakeholders. During this interaction, some ethical considerations need to be applied to uphold the image of the nurse in the healthcare sector. Such issues include safeguarding patients’ privacy in accordance with the existing health policies. The knowledge is essential in guiding nurse behavior during nursing practice. In addition, it helps avoid ethical issues that may arise during nursing practice, resulting in adverse patient experience and cancelation of practice licenses.
Practices of culturally sensitive care
The course has equipped me with cultural knowledge and helped me understand the significance of cultural competency in nursing practice. Culturally sensitive care is an integral part of patient-centered care. It entails being aware of the cultural differences among patients and respecting patients’ values, attitudes, feelings, or circumstances during nursing care. Nurses can demonstrate cultural competency during patient care by familiarizing themselves with diverse cultures, avoiding assumptions about patient cultures, building trust and rapport with patients, avoiding language barriers, and demonstrating active listening during interaction with the patient (Sharifi, Adib-Hajbaghery & Najafi, 2019). Cultural sensitivity allows nurses to serve patients with sensitivity and competence. It also improves patients’ experience and satisfaction. Through the course, I understand nurses promote culturally sensitive patient care by learning about other cultures and influencing other nurses to learn about different cultures.
Ensuring the integrity of human dignity in the care of all patients
Respect for human dignity is a necessity for all humans. It is also an essential aspect of nursing care. The program has equipped me with competencies to promote human dignity in nursing practice. It entails respecting patients’ rights, involving patients in clinical decision-making, demonstrating sensitivity while interacting with various patient populations, and advocating for patients’ wellbeing, such as proper diet and hygienic care environment. The practice makes patients feel valued and respected, thus maintaining their respect for nursing practice.
Population health concerns
Different populations in the community have unique health problems. The difference in population health needs is attributed to cultural and personal behaviors. Through this nursing program, I understood the various population health concerns, cultural health practices, and how they affect population health. I also understood the role of nurses in population health. Nurses can promote community heath by educating various populations on unhealthy cultural practices and designing targeted community health promotion programs. They can also promote population health by advocating for equity in access to nursing care services among all populations.
The role of technology in improving health care outcomes
The rapidly advancing technology has revolutionized the healthcare sector. The application of various technology devices, systems, and software has improved efficiency and quality in healthcare. An example of such technologies includes artificial intelligence to help medical practitioners in clinical decision-making and use electronic health record systems to manage patient data (Zonneveld et al., 2020). The program has helped me understand the various technologies that can be integrated into nursing practice and the role of nurses in the integration of technology in healthcare. Using their nursing informatics knowledge, nurses can help design technology systems that suit organizational and patient needs, assess the efficiency plans, and influence other healthcare practitioners to embrace the integration of technology in healthcare.
Health policy
Health policies play a crucial role in healthcare. They help prioritize the most significant health concerns in the community due to limited resources. They also guide the nurses in implementing certain practices related to patient care. The program helped me understand the policymaking process and the role of nurses in policy making and review. Nurses use policies to advocate for patient needs and those of the other nurses. Through policymaking and review, nurses lead positive change in healthcare.
Leadership and economic models
Nursing leadership and economic models are increasingly becoming essential for the success of every healthcare organization today. The program helped me understand the role of a nurse leader, in patient care, departmental and organizational capacities. As leaders, nurses lead positive change to improve patient care and advocate for better care practices. On the other hand, choosing a suitable economic model helps healthcare organization manage their demand and supply of medical resources, facilitating a cost-effective care approach.
Health disparities
Health disparities arise from racial, economic, gender, age, geographical, and status difference in society. Nurses have a crucial role in addressing health disparities in society. Nurses can promote equity in access to care among all populations through advocacy, designing mobile and accessible health programs, and providing community health education.
The program has equipped me with various skills related to nursing practice. Through personal assessment, I have identified my strengths in nursing practice to include communication, teamwork, and leadership. On the other hand, my weaknesses include adapting to new technologies and handling ethical issues. My goal is to improve these skills to make me a more competent nurse.
Reflection
Ngiam, K. Y., & Khor, W. (2019). Big data and machine learning algorithms for health-care delivery. The Lancet Oncology, 20(5), e262-e273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30149-4
Sharifi, N., Adib-Hajbaghery, M., & Najafi, M. (2019). Cultural competence in nursing: A concept analysis. International journal of nursing studies, 99, 103386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.103386
Sherwood, G., & Barnsteiner, J. (Eds.). (2021). Quality and safety in nursing: A competency approach to improving outcomes. John Wiley & Sons. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KzxKEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=new+practice+approaches+in+nursing&ots=YM_0YAFkZv&sig=0AskR242mlicfiStoqVlgGJ-soc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=new%20practice%20approaches%20in%20nursing&f=false
Zonneveld, M., Patomella, A. H., Asaba, E., & Guidetti, S. (2020). The use of information and communication technology in healthcare to improve participation in everyday life: a scoping review. Disability and rehabilitation, 42(23), 3416-3423. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1592246
