In this paper, I will explore and explain the nursing skill stage I am currently in. I will also describe steps necessary to progress from, or maintain this stage, and the resources I will need to do this. I have been a Professional Nurse for twelve years. For ten of those years I have worked in Cardiac Intensive Care (CCU) where I currently work, and for two years in Outpatient Hemodialysis (HD). Using Benner’s model, I would consider myself at the Expert level. The Expert level Nurse “No longer relies on principles, rules, or guidelines to connect situations and determine actions; much more background of experience; has intuitive grasp of clinical situations; performance is now fluid, flexible, and highly-proficient” (Nursing …show more content…
The CCU is a dynamic specialty area. New advances in health care spurred by treatment research and evidence based care practices are emerging and must be integrated into the standard of care. It would be easy for me to slip from Expert to Proficient by ignoring these changes. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association gives four suggestions for maintaining the Expert skill level. They are “work to maintain and enhance skills, stay abreast of advances in technology, be capable of evaluating communication needs of specific populations, and be flexible-participate in cross-disciplinary service delivery” (Kamhi, 1995). I see these as relevant steps to maintaining my Expert skill level. I will have to be diligent in staying abreast of the use of new equipment. I will have to integrate new evidence based care into my current practice. The hallmark of Expert level skill is being able to care for patients fluidly. Therefore, having higher level of training, such as ‘Super-User’ designation, for new equipment and procedures is necessary for their use to become second nature. This will actually lead to a period of hybrid skill level, dropping down to Proficient or Competent with regards to the new materials, but because I have intuitive care created by years of experience and a solid theoretical background, I will be able to regain expert level quickly, allowing me to respond …show more content…
Because it is new policy, evidenced based care, and technology that I need to integrate into my practice, I will have to seek out opportunities to gain this information. The Unit Based Educator and Hospital Education office will be of use in gaining some of these skills and information as I take advantage of mandatory, and relevant optional training and in-services they offer. I will also need to seek out activities and associations with other nursing professionals endeavoring to increase or maintain their skill level, such as being involved with the hospital Journal Club and attending Nursing and Interdisciplinary Grand Rounds as a participant and spectator. Being involved in a nursing mentorship program is another resource I can use. Having a mentor that is also Expert level with more years of experience, education, or a different clinical area of expertise would help me to strive to maintain my level. Also, being a mentor to someone of a lower skill level, providing them with career advice and support would spur me to maintain my level so that I can act as a credible resource and example to them. My hospital has a mentorship program that encourages involvement at all levels of nursing, from the bedside to executive nursing
Standards are important aspects of nursing that a nurse must learn and implement every day for the rest of their nursing career. These standards provide for a nurse’s competence in the quality of care they deliver to the public. Standards offer a necessary guidance to nurses everywhere in an effort to ensure that people are treated correctly and ethically. Patients expect nurses to have a general knowledge of the medical realm and to know exactly what it is they –as nurses- are responsible for. Nurses need to have a sense of professionalism that enable the patient to feel safe and secure, knowing that a competent person is caring for him. A lack of professionalism does the opposite, making it impossible for a patient to trust or respect the nurse caring for him. Standards of nursing, if utilized correctly, give the nurse that sense of professionalism the patient is expecting. It insures for the safety of the patient and allows the nurse to provide quality health care that is expected of a medical professional.
The skills acquisition concept poses a backwards movement in progress. The competent nurse in this case steps backward down the ladder to the novice level as an NP. Moreover, learning new skills, knowledge, and methods of treatment may technically be a step forward in a person’s career, but it is a step backwards in confidence and experience. The transition theory suggests transition as a never-ending process. The success of this course depends on a person’s support system and methods for coping. The transition theory has three stages: moving in, moving through and moving out. The moving in stage would be entering graduate education. Moving through is the process of completing classes and clinical time. The final stage, moving out, is beginning the first position as an NP. Successfully transitioning through these stages is heavily reliant on support, self-awareness and coping mechanisms. For instance, failure to begin the transition phase in graduate school is a prediction of the inability to properly shift into the role of NP (Poronsky,
...uickly changing medical technology and environment. The bickering and infighting amongst nurses has to come to a stop if the profession is to move forward alongside the other medical professions. It is too late to take nursing back to the point of basic care of the 19th century now fulfilled by certified nurse aides. A nurse is the first and last person many people will ever see. They provide complex care, recognize symptoms and changes when the ever shrinking physician pool is not available, advocate for patient and families, and care deeply for their patients recovery. In this paper the author used past nursing history, current medical demands and advancements, and clinical patient outcomes to argue that the minimum education for a nurse should be a Baccalaureate degree in order to meet the Institute of Medicines goal of 80% of nurses should have BSNs by 2020.
The registered nurses, selected to be mentors are the more experience, knowledgeable and will support and nurture the new grad. These Mentors are the individuals that tell the new nurse what she needs to know and will show her ways to accomplish her goals successfully and expose them to opportunities to learn new things. The nur...
There is only so much an individual can learn from a textbook or classroom setting when it comes to nursing. Although clinical practicums are mandatory with any nursing program one can only retain so much in such a short timeframe. Student nurses mostly focus on completing their care plans and any other mandatory assignment related to their clinical experience. With that being said new graduates become novice nurses on the level of clinical practice. Patricia Benner discussed the education and experience levels of nurses by utilizing five significant stages. These stages include novice, advance beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. The ultimate goal for all nurses should
What do Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Dorthea Dix, and Lavinia Dock all have in common? All of these women made changes in the practice of nursing in great ways and are leaders in the advancement of nursing. The nursing shortage throughout American history has changed education in the medical field. Nursing education has been determined not only by the evolution of technology and advances in science, but by the needs and development of society over time.
Life’s experiences, work, and education have prepared me to further my education. I will achieve this goal with the ability to analyze situations, make informed decisions, and provide my patients with the best evidence based care possible. I will also have the ability to impact change in quality improvement, policy and procedure, and overall patient care with evidence based
The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the governing body of all registered nurses in Ontario and is regulated. The CNO provides expectations and guidelines to follow, which need to be met by each Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) individually. As a nursing student, I am taught about the CNO and the importance of referring back to the guidelines while caring for patients. While gaining experiencing in the nursing field through my clinical settings, I have realized as a nursing student there are areas I need further development in. In this paper, I will address two of my learning needs and my goal for each. I will also discuss the plan I created in order to successfully meet my learning needs prior to becoming an RPN, and
...es mentioned above provide the skills and proficiencies of a novice nurse educator. In my journey as an educator, I feel that developing complete competencies in all areas is a life long process, and I will work to substantiate excellence in these competencies.
Higher education is a highly encouraged aspect in today’s society. The higher degree a person has, the more knowledgeable they are said to be. The education and degree that a registered nurse acquires affects not only the nurse, but their patients and their fellow coworkers as well. It is crucial to consider how different education levels of registered nurses will impact the patients, the nurse, the medical field, and the view on nurses as a whole. A nurse with a BSN rather than an ADN could perhaps provide more knowledgeable care that is consistent with the advances of today’s society. With our society and technologies always advancing and changing, it is safe to assume that a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree should be the required level of education for a registered nurse.
This essay is going to reflect upon the nursing skills I developed during a period of placement simulations, placing emphasis on oral care, communication with a non-engaging patient and bed bath. It will outline the fundamental aspects of clinical nursing skills that I have begun to acquire. This will also highlight the learning processes which took place and how it helped me to enhance my knowledge, and ethical values in order to deliver quality and safety of care. Using a variety of sources from current literature, I will use a reflective model to discuss how I have achieved the necessary level of learning outcome. By utilising this model I hope to demonstrate my knowledge and understanding in relation to these skills as well as identifying areas with scope for learning.
In her theory, nursing skills and experiences are what is required to become an expert. Each step a nurse takes to build up their skills to master the expert level is built upon the previous steps. The nurse needs to have a good foundation in order to move them closer to obtaining the expert level. Benner’s theory also showed that practicing nurses can and should form theory (Current Nursing, 2013). Benner’s theory has five levels: the novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient and expert. The novice needs to be told what to do. Advanced beginner can recognize components that reoccur. A competent nurse is one that has had two-three years in the same type of situations. The proficient nurse starts to look at the whole picture and starts to critically think. The expert nurse does not need to look at the guidelines to react. An expert nurse has had many similar situations that, he or she can reflect upon a situation, analyze it and react quickly. Benner’s theory will be applied by discussing the problem,. a strategy to solve the problem,. discussion around the strategy and problem,. and finally the conclusion,. which will state what new knowledge was gathered by the
Be able to show competency with differential diagnosing based upon the disease process and show strong communication skills with my
SMITHS, S, DUELL, D and MARTIN, B (2008) Clinical Nursing Skills basic to advanced skills. New Jersey: Person Education Inc.
There are several nurses that have established themselves successfully in the work I am pursuing. The work mainly involves care management, client teaching and patient advocacy. Care management focuses on ensuring that the care that various health care providers offer is cohesive to meet the patients’ needs. Client teaching deals with enabling patient gain knowledge about the medications and health. Patient advocacy is involved with protecting and advancing patients’ rights.