Nursing students often ascertain skills, the fundamentals behind critical thinking, and attributes that assist with the transition from the student role to the professional arena. Professional development is individualized and varies between each student. In order to develop professional skills as a nurse the clinical experience within the actual work setting assists the nursing students in acquiring the instruments necessary for success. “Active involvement in education, service, and scholarship opportunities can help prepare you to deal with new roles and challenges in the employment setting and the larger scope of nursing and healthcare” (Yoder-Wise., 2015, p. 556). Practices that occur when a nursing student is taking part in the clinical
Wound care is a supervised activity. The nursing instructor ensures proper technique to decrease the risk of student error by supervising wound care and witnesses the assessment of wounds. Simple dressing changes may be unsupervised under the discretion of the nursing instructor; this may only occur after the student nurse has demonstrated proficient knowledge and technique. Peripheral inserted central venous catheter (PICC) line dressing changes are supervised by the nursing instructor and should never be preformed with out supervision because it is a sterile procedure, and the proper technique is essential in the prevention of the introduction of pathogens to the patient. Professional licensed nurses do not need supervision in changing the PICC line dressing; this is a difference in the student role and the professional one. The insertion of a nasogastric (NG) tube is a procedure that must be preformed under supervision by the nursing instructor. If the placement of the NG tube is incorrect it can initiate a life-threatening problem especially if the NG tube is inserted into the lung instead of the stomach. Proper technique and placement ought to be overseen by the instructor, even though a portable chest radiograph and a radiologist confirmation report must confirm the proper placement. In the professional nursing role the insertion of an NG tube is not supervised, but the placement still must be confirmed by an x-ray and
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
Nurses need a seat at the table to ensure they have a voice to influence and shape their future. Nursing is constantly evolving and changing, and employers continue to raise the bar for nursing. Nurses understand early in their career the importance of continuing education to enhance future career opportunities. Professional development relates to how nurses continue to broaden their knowledge, skills, and expertise throughout their career, therefore enhancing their professional practice. This advanced knowledge is not only career boosting, but also opens a seat at the table giving nurses the power to make decisions and effect changes. Professional development and continuing education are more important to nurses now than ever before to keep up with the rapid changes in healthcare today. Numminen, Leino-Kilpi, Isoaho and Meretoja’s (2017) article contends professional development enhances personal satisfaction, rejuvenates the love of nursing, builds confidence and credibility. There are many avenues to pursue
These next two years are all about preparation. My education as a nursing student is not simply about knowledge and skill, but also about growth within my attitude and professionalism. If I have all the nursing knowledge and skill in the world, but have a poor attitude and reflect poor professional values, then I truly cannot be a great nurse. That is why these professionalism concepts are such a vital aspect of my education as a nursing student, because without them, I cannot be a great nurse. A great nurse is one who has high knowledge and skill levels, but also utilizes professionalism in his or her interactions with patients, patient’s families, and other healthcare providers. A great nurse is someone who treats all patients with honor, dignity, and respect; exhibiting the professional values in all that they do. As I reflect on my own path and progress within my own professionalism, I notice that my professional communication skills need sharpening. Throughout my nursing education, I wish to further develop communication skills that will be reflected in my relationships with those around me.
Realistically, most students are not privy to the winding journey of a nursing career. Students learn how to bathe, medicate, feed, assess, and some psychosocial concepts. However, there is no class that teaches or can teach students how to stand back and watch your patients struggle to help themselves, how to face your own mortal...
Black, B. P., & Chitty, K. K. (2014). Professional nursing: Concepts & challenges(7th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Saunders.
I presume the role transition from academic nursing student to Graduate Nurse will be challenging and rewarding. In their findings, the researchers Doody, Tuohy & Deasy (2012) stated that for a successful transition NGNs need to be competent in a range of domains: interpersonal skills, managing workloads, providing health information, communication, and prioritising care delivery. Although I believe I am competent in the above specified areas, I am still not confident that I would get sufficient support in the hospital environment in terms of knowledge sharing, moral support and being given constructive feedback. Constructive criticism increases confidence in the work role and reduces stress in an individual (Doody, Tuohy & Deasy, 2012). In my previous professional placements I have been able to demonstrate my competency to work in the healthcare environment. I have received positive feedback from placement educators, buddy nurses and patients. Despite being competent in a range of the above areas NGNs may still face transition shock.
Around the 1960s, nursing educational leaders wanted to formulate a nursing theory that contained knowledge and basic principles to guide future nurses’ in their practice (Thorne, 2010, p.64). Thus, Jacqueline Fawcett introduced the metaparadigm of nursing. Metaparadigm “identifies the concepts central to the discipline without relating them to the assumptions of a particular world view” (MacIntyre & Mcdonald, 2014). Fawcett’s metaparadigm of nursing included concepts of person, environment, health, and nursing that were interrelated. The metaparadigm ultimately contributed to conceptual framework to guide nurses to perform critical thinking and the nursing process in everyday experiences in clinical settings.
Nursing students report higher levels of anxiety than the overall population of college students, in part due to heavy course loads, rigorous exams, long hours of clinical experiences, and ongoing pressure to get good grades in a very competitive environment. The educational goals of the academic nursing program are to cultivate students’ creative and critical thinking abilities and promote continuous self-development (Song, Y., et al 2015). Thus, nursing students must not only endure burdensome theoretical learning, but also experience clinical practice. Myriad stressors exist in nursing students’ experiences, including meeting professional
Our course, Transition to Professional Nursing, is barely two weeks old and already I am being enlightened and challenged to expand my experience of nursing. I will attempt to explain my personal journey and experience thus far including how and why I got here, my beliefs about nursing and related values, and my visions for the future.
As new nursing graduates begin the process of transition into the nursing practice. There are many challenges and issues which are associated throughout the transition. New graduates may embark their journey through a graduate program or seek employment solo. The transition period may consist of challenges, that students will encounter during their journey. This essay will identify, discuss and critically reflect nursing key challenges that student nurses may face, throughout the process of the transition phase. The nursing key challenges chosen for this essay include professionalism, preparation, personal factors, competency factors, patient- centered care and job satisfaction. These nursing challenges will be thoroughly discussed and supported by current evidenced based research and nursing literature.
Nursing students at State University need better clinical experiences and better clinical sites. Clinical sites that have nothing to do or preceptors who don’t want to educate should be cut out and replaced with better sites. Ideally each clinical should allow nursing students to gain experience in critical skills and patient ca...
I believe placing student nurses in the clinical setting is vital in becoming competent nurses. Every experience the student experiences during their placement has an educative nature therefore, it is important for the students to take some time to reflect on these experiences. A specific situation that stood out to me from my clinical experience was that; I didn’t realize I had ignored the patient’s pain until I was later asked by the nurse if the patient was in any pain.
Blais, K., & Hayes, J. S.(2011). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
According to Lora Claywell (2014), the author of the book LPN to RN Transitions,”the decision to undertake a course of study that leads to a new role in nursing is not an easy one” (p. 80). It is critical to consider the factors like time, energy, finances that affect the role transformation process. Any nursing student should recognize that the change agent element aimed at further modifying of RN role should be selected properly. The transition from LPN to RN should be managed effectively as role elements are defined clearly. According to Claywell (2014), a nurse should apply interpersonal skills, energy and motivation to perform the key tasks assigned to the RN, who is responsible for leading others in change and uses evidence based practices. Besides, a nursing student should be focused on balancing education, family and work. High levels of stress caused by the lack of balance of education, family and work have a strong impact on any nursing student. Due attention should be paid to modification of critical thinking skills and values in order to establish the most appropriate communication practices, and other activities related to the new role. There is a need for conducting self-assessment and self-reflection practices which help to identify the strengths and weaknesses, which affect the desired change. Due to role play activities, it is possible to enhance critical thinking skills and knowledge. In addition, any nursing student should understand that socialization within the role is critical for the RN, who will have to work closely with cohort, study groups and mentors/educators. According to Patricia Benner's theory, determination of role specialization allows using the proper interventions and methods of communication. In today's complicated health care environment, the experience of the RN is the determinant for the quality of nursing care and the achievement
Though there are barriers in creating a learning environment in a working atmosphere, yet it assembles a safe practice in nursing care by reflecting past experiences (Skaalvik, 2011). In my point of view, I find that besides creating a learning environment to enhance nursing practice, peer learning would also be suitable in developing nursing skills and practices. Fostering a person as an inspiration will tend to transform beginners to advance in their career. In order to improve a learning environment, clinical placement of new comers should be according to their interest. A positive learning begins when a person has adapted well with the surroundings. The earlier the adaption begins, the faster learning takes place (Roberts, 2008). In addition, the quality of learning environment can be improved by highlighting to the fresh graduates on the learning opportunities that can be accomplished in a working environment. As a mentor, one should guide new staffs on the different pathways in nursing career. Good communication skills in mentorship will challenge the mentees to take some effort in reflecting back those learnt experience in order to place them in to application. Evaluating, assessing and providing feedback is one of the important criteria in mentorship (Elgin, 2004. Mentees will be able to recognize the areas of improvement thus it creates a sense of direction whether or not they are in the