Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Practice Mentor

Nurse leaders play a vital role in establishing standards and leading organizational change. The effects of the Affordable care Act (ACA) on the healthcare industry is characterized by change (Delmatoff & Lazarus, 2014). Given this ACA paradigm transformation, I believe today’s nursing leaders must adapt quickly and assist new leaders to develop the skills necessary to envision and evaluate new healthcare delivery systems. According to Chism (2009), the roles of the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) prepared nurse graduates may be incorporated to meet the transformation of today’s contemporary healthcare. After reading the assigned material, I gained confidence that the DNP program will prepare me for eligible leadership roles within the healthcare industry.

Slide 1: The expectations of nurses today are higher than ever with goals such as achieving top percentiles in nursing and patient satisfaction, to being among the top leaders in quality outcomes, and to build productive work relationships and environments. Nursing leaders serve as the primary link between staff, physicians, and the community. They are expected to be innovative, highly skilled, possess a certain degree of nursing knowledge, and produce qualified individuals to care for the growing population. According to Lorber, Treven, and Mumel (2016) “nursing leadership is pivotal because nurses represent the most extensive discipline in health care”. Because of this growing need for diversity in leadership and my background in the military, I decided to focus on the MSN Executive Track at Chamberlain College of Nursing.

Leadership and collaboration are integral parts of every role of a DNP graduate (Chism, 2016). The competencies are part of the AACN Essentials, standards of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), and Practice Doctorate Nurse Practitioner Entry-Level Competencies (Chism, 2016). The competencies must include leadership skills for greater patient outcomes. Chism (2016) maintains a DNP’s interprofessional collaboration with other discipline is imperative for successful results. A DNP with strong leadership skills will strengthen the practice, which will lead to improved healthcare

Malloch, T. P.-O. (2013). Leadership in Nursing Practice: Changing the Landscape of Health Care. Burlington MA: Jones &

“The last thing I heard where the sirens. And the last thing I saw where a kaleidoscope of blue and red. And then everything went black, every ounce of air had escaped my lungs and had reached the surface of the lake in the form of little bubbles.” I told Louis Green, possibly the most boring person on earth. I don’t think he wanted to be my therapist anymore then I wanted to be in therapy.

“How can I be good again? I just lost my wife and son in a car accident. There's nothing in life that can cheer me up. I have become an alcoholic who is now jobless.” I said. My Therapist, Dr. Newman, told me “Trust me, Mr. Smith. Only time can heal your wounds if you allow it to. Well, that's the end of the session, and I want to recall the accident that occurred so we can talk about it tomorrow.”

I never thought that I'd be writing to you out of all people. Everyone may question my sanity once they figure out I've been trying to write to you ever since you were convicted five years ago. It's just.... I couldn’t find the right words to explain how badly you hurt me. However, my therapist said that writing this letter will help me accept the fact that I made the dumbest mistake in the world seven years ago when we got married. Oh yeah, I'm going to a therapist. I find that quite ironic since one day I thought I could become a therapist, and specialize in women sciences, but instead, I'm going to one.

My second clinic rotation is internal medicine and I’ve had many encounters, both with patients and colleagues, which have made me pause and reflect. One of those encounters, in particular, will still be on my mind long after I finish typing this reflective journal. The patient at the center of it all is a lady I’ll refer to from here on as “Mrs. Flowers.” Mrs. Flowers is an 81 year old female with dementia and diabetes. She arrived on our unit with a diabetic foot infection that had progressed from a simple toe ulcer to wet gangrene. Over the last 2-3 months, gangrenous changes encompassed the distal half of her left foot. During pre-rounds, our medical team unanimously agreed that we would contact surgery for a consult. At time, it was obvious

Week three in clinical was difficult for me, I had a great experience overall but I hated seeing and holding a baby that had passed away at 21 weeks. To know what the family could possibly be going through was heartbreaking. I wouldn’t exactly know what to do if I was with the patient and her family exactly. I do know that I did place her in the room when she was admitted to triage. I do feel good about seeing the scenario play out, while being a student rather than being in the field alone. Other than that I was able to see the beginning stage of labor as well as a C-section. Everyone was so bent out of shape on making sure I eat and that I don’t faint, but it seriously wasn’t bad. As a matter of fact I was too intrigued with the mother rather

The third and last section of the IOM report that will be discussed is on “transforming leadership” key message # 3 of the IOM report states, “Nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States.” The committee is calling for a new type of leadership, one that involves collaborating with others and working together as partners showing mutual respect. This style of leadership has been shown to improve patient outcomes, reduce staff turnover, and reduce medical errors. (Gardener, 2005; Joint Commission, 2008; Pearson, 2007) For the needed changes in the U.S. healthcare system to take place all nurses from nursing students through Chief Nursing Officers must develop competencies in leadership and become partners with physicians and others to improve our healthcare system and delivery of care.

In the fifth grade at Britton Elementary we had a ballroom class disguised as a mentoring program. Not only did we learn how to salsa and waltz but we also learned how to respect and take in leadership. The guys had to come to the girl and ask her the proper way to dance and the girl had to politely say yes. This is how we started class everyday. In December of 2008 we performed at Rose State College and had a wonderful time.

Mentors have an important role in ensuring the acquisition of knowledge obtained at university translates into competency in practice and does not lead to the 'theory practice gap' described by Cope et al (2000). Mentors have to consolidate the knowledge taught in university into practice in the learning environment and allow the student to reflect on their performance and experiences.

Shirey (2006) estimates that in 2020, 67,200 nurse manager vacancies will exist across the United States. The NCHL predicts a decrease in leadership talent over the next few years. Compounding the leadership crisis is a lack of interest from novice nurses in nursing management, as well as evidence that senior nurse officers report difficulty recruiting and filling nurse manager positions (American Organization of Nurse Executives [AONE], 2003). Also, the current average age of nursing leaders in the United States is 50 years old. The anticipated retirement of these individuals will further reduce nurse manager levels, emphasizing the need for nurse manager succession planning (Thompson, 2008).

This week I learned it is difficult to get someone to trust you. I had to evaluate my roles and ambitions to be a mentor. I learned to not be so judge mental to comments. I learned to accept different interests and incorporate in my routines. I learned to adjust my attitude and change how I interact in small group. It’s a challenge speaking to adults all the time. But when children are involved, I have to learn to bring it down a bit to understand what they are trying to convey me to understand about their feelings, social interactions, and

Mentoring is a process of where a more experienced professional teaches, give advice or guide a less experienced person. The mentee receives “guidance to develop professionally through a combination of advising on projects, skills development, creation of opportunities, and personal growth in an intense manner over an extended period of time.” (Tracey, C. & Nicholl, H., 2006). This process can be formal or informal, and according to Tracey & Nicholl (2006), “it is suggested in the literature that mentors do not, in themselves, create great people, but their value lies in their willingness and ability to nurture greatness in their protégés, and in helping them to achieve their dreams.”