Professional Development And Lifelong Learning

“Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (American Nurses Association, n.d.). The purpose of this paper is to expand my nursing philosophy as I transition into an Advanced Practice Nurse.

I define my philosophy of nursing within the three nursing domains of person, health, and environment. My goal is to communicate the importance of nursing as a knowledge-based career, depending not only on the nurse fulfilling her role but also on the patient’s compliance. A patient must learn to provide self-care at home in the same capacity as the nurse would provide care in the clinical setting. I discuss various subjects within nursing. I explain why I want to be a nurse, what I believe a nurse’s role is, the different domains of nursing, and where I believe nursing will be in the future. My philosophy demonstrates the interdependence of the nursing domains. You cannot fully evaluate a person without evaluating their health,

Nurses who have prepared to assume advanced nursing roles can contribute to the healthcare system through new ideas and insights in education, administration, research, and practice. During the process of further education nurses are exposed to professional socialization, which addresses values, norms and ways of viewing situations that are unique to the profession. This process will later provide the common ground that shapes the way work is conducted. Such process, forces nurses to go through different models of transition that will help them overcome personal and professional

2.1 Evaluate prior learning and work-related experience to identify personal strength and weaknesses in self-development.

In today’s healthcare system, nursing is a challenging field as a result of rapid technological advances and changes in healthcare policies. As a dedicated nursing professional, with a great passion for learning, I strive to stay on top of these changes. I am determined to increase my knowledge to be an instrumental part of providing quality healthcare. The demands of nursing are high; however the rewards are even higher. Nursing requires both a supreme understanding of the science of health, and a caring bedside manner befitting only those who seek a position of such a personal involvement in the well-being of a patient. Academically, I will put forth all of

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.

No matter which perspective the view is from, most everyone would agree that millions of nurses worldwide are involved in a profession that is constantly changing and changing at a very quick pace (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011). This transformation is due to a number of factors like demographic changes, the shortage of health care professionals, economic downfalls on the health care system, and evolving technology (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011). In an effort to support and promote the future of nursing and advancement in health care, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) took on a 2 year initiative that

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Affordable Care Act challenged the nursing profession to grow and change the way they practice their profession. The IOM recommendations asked nurses to “envision a future system that makes quality care accessible to the diverse populations of the United States, intentionally promotes wellness and disease prevention, [and] reliably improves health outcomes”(Buxton & Scott, 2012 p.15) The goals it has set are nurses should practice to their full extent of practice, we are to achieve higher levels of education, nurses should partner with healthcare members to redesign healthcare, and more effective planning and policy making require better data collection.

Since junior year I have seen myself grow not only as a nurse, but as a person. My philosophy hasn’t changed much, but instead has grown deeper and expanded on other important aspects of nursing that should always be addressed in practice. Last year a majority of my philosophy addressed keeping my patients’ values and beliefs incorporated into their care. I still find that incorporation important, but I have also found importance in incorporating the Nurse of the Future Core Competencies that have been set by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. These include Patient Center Care, Professionalism, Leadership, Systems-Based Practice, Informatics and Technology, Communication, Teamwork and Collaboration, Safety, Quality

Nursing is a practice that has been described as a science an art. It has many definitions and many philosophies that guide its practice. Nursing lacks a singular, definitive theory or philosophy. Individual develop their own philosophies and theories based on their values, beliefs and professional identities. As registered nurses that are seeking to advance our education and become professional nurses, defined as a registered nurse with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN), we need to be able to describe our current professional identities. We need to

Nursing has been a constantly developing profession. Nurses must be confident and remain open to alliance and assessment to achieve the best patient care. For a long-term and flourishing profession, nurses must pledge to improving their knowledge through lifetime education. (Swihart, 2009).

Changes in the Health Care System and the Practice of Nursing have become complex. Technological changes, complicated client needs, short hospital length of stay, and departure from acute care to community based care, all these changes have underscore the need for professional nurses to think critically in order to provide safe and effective client care. A better educated nursing workforce can provide good health education to patients and their families. The affordable care of 2010 has required the need for nurses to expand their role of practice to meet complicated patient demands. This has prompted the Institute Of Medicine to review the “Future of Nursing, Leading change and Advancing Health”. {Creasia & Fribery,2011}

This essay will discuss the significance of Lifelong Learning (LLL) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in relation to adult nursing. It has been suggested that LLL is too difficult to define, however it has been suggested that it is participated throughout life. It is important to discuss LLL, as it has many benefits within the healthcare system, as well as everyday life. This essay will explore reflection as a skill important to adult nurses, as this is vital in order to evaluate their own learning, which can encourage improvement of LLL. Reflection in action and on action can also influence the successful outcome of LLL. The attribute chosen to discuss will be self-motivation, due to the fact that this can lead to more

Due to these developments, the nursing practice has become a dynamic and fast-changing profession that deals with numerous theories, views and beliefs, hypotheses, and models. This profession is not only affected by factors within the healthcare field but it's also influenced by other branches that work closely with it. As a result, modern day nurses are required to become knowledgeable about numerous concepts and continue to develop their knowledge in these areas.

The choice I made to pursue an education in nursing did not occur during childhood. In fact, I made this decision when I was 34-years-old and had two children of my own. I have never worked in a healthcare facility, so my knowledge of the nursing profession was limited to receiving care from nurses myself and being involved while my loved ones received care from nurses. For this reason, prior to this semester, I was relatively ignorant regarding how the nursing profession looks from the inside. Consequently, I started this semester as a blank canvas on which the knowledge and wisdom of my HPR professors concerning the nursing profession could be applied. Without the presuppositions of what the nursing workplace looked like, I had the advantage of not having to unlearn misinformed or incorrect ideas. Of course, my learning about the nursing profession this semester is not anywhere near complete, but I do feel as though I have a solid foundation on which to build as I continue my education. I look forward to entering my career as a nurse armed with the knowledge of what professionalism encompasses, specifically which professional attributes and responsibilities nurses should have to provide the best care possible for his or her patients. I believe I will be a successful nurse if I dovetail these professional nursing attributes with quality and safety skills that are vital for a patient’s well-being.