Nursing Self Reflection Paper

As my senior year here at Jersey College of Nursing moves quickly to its end, I reflect on how far I have come and what exactly my experience here at Jersey College of Nursing has meant to me.

This essay will discuss a clinical skill in which I have become competent in practicing as a student nurse.

Conducting an interview with someone makes you see things in many different perspectives and in a new light. The person I interviewed saw nursing as a broader term that saw things in a different way even though she has just started. She knows that special people need to take roles in being a nurse. I interviewed my aunt, Ann Juknevicius. She is 30 years old and she has been a nurse for 2 years in Illinois now. Relatively she is a new nurse. One of the main reasons why I started the nursing program is because I look up to Annie a lot and she showed me so many different perspectives on how to look at people, different situations, and the way you handle things. I thought that it would be a great interview session to see if Annie’s expectations were the same as the nursing reality.

Over time the health care industry has become more complex. Health care is rapidly evolving and continuing to complicate our delivery of care, which in turn has the same effect on quality of care. This steady evolution and change results in nursing shortages and an increase in the prevalence of errors being made. In hopes of preventing these errors and creating safe and high quality patient care, with the focus on new and improved ways of thinking, The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative was developed. The QSEN focuses on the following competencies: patient-centered care, quality improvement, safety, and teamwork and collaboration. Their initiatives work to prepare and develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are necessary to make improvements in the quality and safety of health care systems (Qsen.org, 2014).

This self-reflective paper is focused on what I’ve learned about myself this semester regarding my strengths, and weaknesses. Concentrating on areas of my professional practice that need improvement and discussing two goals I have created for my self, and how I plan on achieving them. This semester I have discovered I have two key strengths those being a dedication to the practical nursing program, and seeking help in the program when I need it. This trait is hopefully carrying through as a strength in my nursing career. However, I have many weaknesses to work on as a student and future nurse. Along with my shortcomings, there are fears I have looking into the future, into CPE 1 and term 2. Those are the fears of not being good enough in

Nursing can be a demanding career, but the benefits far much outweigh the challenges. Most importantly, it’s the rewards it offers by allowing an opportunity to make a difference in another person’s life through the provision of care when they need it. Just as Patricia Benner theorized in her book “Novice to Expert,” nursing encompasses both educational knowledge and extensive clinical experience acquired throughout one’s career. This far, I continue to acquire knowledge and clinical knowhow which will promote proper and efficient care to patients. Since I began practicing one year ago in a long-term healthcare facility, I have interacted with patients, families, physicians and other members of the healthcare team to coordinate patient’s care which has enabled me to gain confidence in myself. While I cannot deny that it was difficult to transition from a student to a licensed nurse, I learnt to overcome these challenges and focus on my strengths. Practicing as an LPN has provided a platform to learn and gain experience even though the duties and responsibilities are limited by the scope of practice.

Once these qualities are achieved that organization’s outcomes are superior. The intended audience is for nurse managers and those in leadership positions to help them identify their particular skill set and enhance their management qualities for most effective outcomes. This article is relevant because it allows for accurate public perceptions of people’s skill sets as leaders in nursing. The strength of the article is the clear and concise language used as well as the incorporation of figure 1 chart. The chart allows the reader to differentiate between the styles of leading and it’s effect on organizational outcomes.

The national league for nurses defines critical thinking in the nursing process as “a discipline specific, reflective reasoning process that guides a nurse in generating, implementing, and evaluating approaches for dealing with client care and professional concerns” (Kozier, 2008). This definition is imperative to help a nursing student learn how to think in terms of nursing care. Nursing students must achieve a comprehensive understanding of critical thinking in order to understand the nursing process. The purpose for this paper is for nursing students to learn how to use the nursing process, how to properly document their findings and assessments, and correctly implement APA formatting in a formal paper.

I have also had similar experiences, while working in labor and delivery. Being a mother and nurse, I find it very natural to be nurturing. While caring for Muslim families, I have found they are not as nurturing to their children. As a matter a fact, I have had many only hold their infants for a few seconds, them want them put back under the warmer. The Muslim father almost never holds the baby, but does come over to the warmer and say a prayer in the infants ear. The Muslim call to prayer or adhaan ("God is great, there is no God but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Come to prayer.") are the first words a newborn Muslim baby should hear (BBC, 2009). They are whispered into the right ear of the child by his or her father (BBC, 2009).

Starting the Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelorette of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at Jacksonville University in June 2015 was a simple transition for me. I had graduated an Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) program in December 2014 and became a licensed RN in January 2015. I had just gotten hired for my first nursing position the month prior to the start of class and had not yet started working. I was very much still in student mode. While this makes it a bit easier to learn and process information in a classroom setting, I had no real world experience to help guide me. Through the knowledge I have gained as a student at Jacksonville University I have become a competent and well-rounded nurse. I am able to quickly problem solve and utilize critical thinking to identify and rectify issues. I have even put together, and will be presenting, and presentation about nursing practice for staff members at the facility where I work.

This essay is a discussion about my experience during the first two weeks of my clinical placement in an older adult ward. My experiences will be demonstrated using the various nursing skills acquired thus far. The reflective account used is adopted from the work of Driscoll (2007) which splits the essay into three segments namely a) what happened, b) so what, (what were my feelings, what was good and what was wrong about the experience, c) now what, (if I find myself in that same situation what would I do differently).

This self-reflective paper focuses on what I’ve learned about myself this semester regarding my strengths, and weaknesses. Concentrating on areas of my professional practice that need improvement and discussing two goals I have created for myself, and how I plan on achieving them. This semester I have discovered I have two key strengths those being a dedication to the Practical Nursing Program, and seeking help in the program when I need it. Both being potential strengths in my nursing career. I have some weaknesses to work on as a student and a future nurse.

The following reflection demonstrates my awareness for my own cultural influences. Through the cultural lenses of a student nurse and a tennis member. They have impacted the way I view others and is a guidance to my bicultural professional health care relationship.

The nursing profession has been around for a very long time. Through many changes and reforms, it has drastically evolved into the nursing profession we have today. Nurses have an important role within the healthcare industry in the treatment and medical care of the sick. These trusted healthcare professionals continue to make up the largest majority of the healthcare field, as well as the fastest growing occupation. Nursing is a job that allows people to not only care for the sick but also to experience, learn and further their interest in the human body. This course has definitely provided me an insight to the roots of the profession I would like to pursue. I think it is important to know the history of nursing to understand fully on the problems that are affecting the profession. I believe that we cannot effectively address important issues without a foundation of historical knowledge. In other words, by examining the nursing history, I will be able to appreciate my important role as a nurse in the healthcare system. The topics I will be including in my reflection are the works of Florence Nightingale, the affects of World War II, the challenges of Filipinos aspiring to be nurses, and excerpts in Chapter 10 of “A History of American Nursing.”

Furthering nursing research is essential, as it forms the basis for evidence-based practice in healthcare today. With this in mind, developing the skills to critically appraise research articles is of the utmost importance in order to determine the relevance of research findings for clinical practice. As I pursue a doctorate degree in nursing practice, I am reminded of the necessity of these skills. Thus, in the following paragraphs, I will reflect on the research goals I developed at the beginning of the Critique and Design of Nursing Research course, and will discuss my views on the role of the graduate nurse in regard to