Nursing reflective journal

Nursing reflective journal

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection in relation to the integration of leadership and concerning the current practice in conjunction with professional capstone and practicum courses. My reflective journal will reflect on personal skills and knowledge through the learning course. Throughout my learning, I worked in a rehabilitation center and home to the geriatric clients with the supervision of my mentor.

New practice approaches

For the past decades, the nursing field has experienced tremendous changes. Throughout my course, I learned to be flexible and adaptive to the changes that come along to be able to deliver high-quality care to the patients. Consistent, evidence-based practice is one of the nursing practice approaches that enable the health care provider to provide safe and quality services (Ellis, 2016). EBP has not been fully embraced in the health care system. EBP comes with various advantages because it helps in lowering the cost of health care, and it enhances the provision of quality and safe health care. I applied the EBP competency to come up with the most recent preventive measures and interventions to curb with falls among the patients who have dementia. EBP has enhanced the utilization of nursing research to find more evidence.

Interprofessional collaboration

Provision of care for the patients is a complex process that requires more than one health professionals to meet the needs of the patients. Nursing tasks require the involvement of a different group of nurses from various specialties. Throughout my learning, I learned that nurses need to join their hands together because no single person can accomplish nursing tasks alone. Interprofessional collaborations go beyond the practical part of nursing to the incorporation education part of nursing (Kristensen, Nymann & Konradsen, 2015). Problem-solving, increasing the demand for health care, and enhancing technology and medication requires interprofessional collaboration. While I was handling my project, I utilized the concept of interprofessional collaboration during the development of preventive measures and interventions in patients with dementia and are affected by falls. All project involved the consultation from my nursing colleagues who assisted me greatly.

Health care delivery and clinical system

The two systems entail the organization of personnel, health institutions, and resources that are used to deliver health care services to meet the needs of the patients. The organization of clinical and health care delivery system plays a critical role in ensuring the accessibility of cost-effective and safe care among the patients (Ellis, 2016). The system should be developed in relation to the needs of the community and the available resources. I also learned that for efficiency in healthcare delivery, the non-governmental organization, government, religious organization, and trade unions should collaborate to provided planned care to the patients.

Ethical consideration in health care

Various ethical barrier influences nursing in the delivery of care to the patients. Ethical problems and issues always arise whereby deep ethical dilemmas on whether it is right or wrong affect the nurses’ decision making in patient care (Kristensen, Nymann & Konradsen, 2015). In the course, I was able to learn the importance of understanding the ethical climate and culture of a particular health organization I was working in. I understood the measures of dealing with ethical situations that resulted in ethical problems in the health care setting. I also appreciated the importance of involving other nursing colleagues in situations where there is an ethical dilemma. When I was conducting my project, I was faced with numerous ethical dilemmas, but I utilized the skills and knowledge ii had learned before to solve them.

Population health concerns

Population health is an interdisciplinary approach, which allows the health care institutions to relate the clinical practice to health policy to influence change (Harvey & Kitson, 2015). I learned that population health brings together the main health problems into a point of focus and develops means in which the available resources can be shared and allocated to handle the existing health problem. Population health also provides an opportunity for the health care agencies, organizations, and systems to work together in addressing the existing health problem and influencing the health outcome positively.

Technology and care outcome improvement

Technology development and advancement in the health care system help in improving the quality of care, patient health outcomes, and saving lives (Bauchner, Berwick& Fontanarosa, 2016). My learning has given me an experience that technology has a tremendous influence on clinical practices and processes in health care. The use of computers and the internet has enabled nursing research to be conducted with ease. In my project, I used the computer, excel, and internet to analyze the data collected. The use of technology in health institutions has helped in ease handing over, consistent workflow, conducting EBP, and improved safety and quality of care.

Health policy

Health policy is a means used to discuss and explore healthcare delivery system problems that focus on enhancing nursing research, communication between policymakers, legislators, and nursing research and professionals who are involved in designing and implementing health policy, health reforms, and healthcare systems. Health policies influence the way clinical practices are conducted and the entire healthcare system (Goldstein, Baptiste & Snow, 2017). Besides, healthy policies help in adopting and testing of the evidence-based information to improve the quality of care delivered to the patients.

Leadership and economic model

Effective and goal-oriented leadership is highly needed in the nursing field to help in accomplishing the goals and vision of the health care system. Mostly the community members view nurses from a different perspective and not leadership. All nurses should embrace the needs of having leadership skills and competencies, primarily in the field of advocacy, formulating, designing, and implementing health reforms and health policies (Harvey & Kitson, 2015). The economic model in nursing is more of a theory used in decision-making on the allocation of the available scarce resources. I learned that the economic model is applicable in nursing, and it is made up of various components that entail price, cost, scarcity, supply, demand, utility, and marginal analysis. The economic model plays an essential role in ensuring the delivery of cost-effective and quality care to the patients.

Health disparities

It is the responsibility of every nurse to ensure that all patients can access health care. The concept of health equality has been faced with numerous challenges because there still exist people who enjoy improved health services while others cannot access the health care services (Goldstein, Baptiste & Snow, 2017). The major challenge being social determinants of health care and the financial status of individuals. Throughout my course, I learned that selection is the best strategy to handle challenges related to health disparities. Selection entails people being grouped based on residential places, social gathering, or any other form of clustering.

Conclusion

Professional Capstone and Practicum course were so educative to me. I developed various skills and competencies that are related to nursing leadership, nursing practice, EBP, handling ethical dilemmas, and providing quality and safe care using the available resources.

References

Bauchner, H., Berwick, D., & Fontanarosa, P. B. (2016). Innovations in health care delivery and the future of medicine. Jama, 315(1), 30-31.

Ellis, P. (2016). Evidence-based practice in nursing. Learning Matters.

Goldstein, N. S., Baptiste, D. L., & Snow, S. (2017). Nursing Clinical Practicum: Integrated Application Process. Wiley.

Harvey, G., & Kitson, A. (2015). Implementing evidence-based practice in healthcare: a facilitation guide. Routledge.

Kristensen, N., Nymann, C., & Konradsen, H.. (2015). Implementing research results in clinical practice-the experiences of healthcare professionals. BMC health services research, 16(1), 48.