QSEN Reflective Journaling

Nursing is a discipline in change. As the intricacy and acuity of patients expand, nurses are taking an ever-expanding role in health care management and patient outcomes. As nursing has advanced so has the curricular structure of nursing education. The current focus on nursing education needs to meet the curricular standards developed by the national accrediting agencies such as the American Accreditation Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Learning methods used in nursing education need to support the evolution of nursing skills needed for continuous safety and quality improvement in practice. QSEN reflective journaling has been shown to assist nursing students in developing these important skills. The integration of the QSEN standards in nursing

Weekly journaling post clinical will assist students in applying the knowledge, skills and attitudes to improve the safety and quality of nursing care. Students will show improved critical thinking and judgment in making complex decisions in various situations, based on previously learned knowledge, ultimately improving patient outcomes (Coombs, 2001). The implementation of QSEN integrated journaling into the curriculum will enable educators to identify the knowledge learned, and skills needed for the enhancement of the students clinical experience (Aaron,

Senior nursing students will complete a QSEN weekly clinical journal requirement learn how to self-assess their progress toward demonstrating these nationally-based competencies. The students will select a different competency each week to address and discuss how they applied that competency to patient care or how they hope to better achieve that competency as a graduate nurse. By the end of the clinical rotation each student will have had a chance to focus on each of the six QSEN competencies: patient centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety and informatics. The students’ reflection on their clinical experiences each week will teach them how to integrate the core competencies required before graduation. According to Use of self-evaluative practices puts the power back upon the student to direct and think critically about their learning (Dickensen, 2015). Demonstrating these competencies supports safety and excellence in clinical practice (QSEN,