NURS 479 Professional Development Grid/Plan

Area

Direct
Patient Care
Leadership

Strengths

Bedside manner,
calming, trustworthy,
confident, instills
strong competence,
person ability,
communication with
family and patient
Ability to sympathize
and put myself in my
patients shoes

Unit Related
Leadership

Weakness/Opportunity for
Improvement

Patience, endurance
during 12 hour shift,
nursing skills (IVs,
calculations),
comprehensive
understanding of
pathophysiology, use of
alternative interventions

Leads by example

Delegating tasks

Helps other coworkers

when available

Asking for help

Emulates a strong
leader
Trustworthy
Hard Working
Recognizing strengths
in unit staff

Addressing concerns

Name: _Sean Chester___Date: 11/29/16

Short term goals/strategies
Present-2 years

Long term goals/strategies

3-5 years

To further strengths:
Strategy 1- prevent
compassion fatigue by not
picking up extra shifts. On
days off participate in
self-care activities that
make me happy (playing
basketball, hanging out
with friends, traveling)

To further strengths: Goal 1Choose a mentor, in nursing.

Emulate that person and choose
which strengths that person has
that I need to incorporate into
patient care at the bedside. By
3-5 years, I should demonstrate
a lot of the same qualities as
this mentor.

To improve weaknesses:
Strategy 2- Once a week
practice installing IVs on
dummies at home.
Read/study
pathophysiology of
common patient
conditions.

To improve weaknesses:
Strategy 2- Change units. Move
around and experience that
many areas of nursing has to
offer. This will allow me to
prevent being comfortable. I
will grow and develop in many
areas. I can practice my
improving my weaknesses in all
areas. Over time, by 3-5 years, I
should have eliminated these
areas that need improvement

To further strengths:
Strategy 1- Continue to
practice strengths.
Weekly, ask coworkers for
feedback on unit
leadership. Improve
based on feedback.

To further strengths: Goal 1Make it a goal to become a

charge nurse 3-5 years out of
school. This long term goal will
give me an objective, and an
incentive to work towards.
Practice fulfilling the charge
nurse role once attained.

To improve weaknesses:
Strategy 2- Practice
delegating to NAs.
Follow-up with positive

To improve weaknesses:
Strategy 2- Chose a clinical
nurse leader that you appreciate

reinforcement and offer to

help them in return. Use
an effective approach to
assigning tasks.

and ask them to mentor you.

After you have focused on
mastering skills and patient
care, eliminate weaknesses in
unit leadership by asking them
to evaluate your leadership
style.

Professional
Nursing
Development:
Organizations,

Acupressure certification

Nurses without Borders

Motivational Interviewing
Certification

American Nurses Association

Journals/

ACLS Certification

Certifications

RNFA Certification (RN

First Hand in surgery)

NURS 479
Book selection
(based on your
strengths and
weaknesses)
Leadership
Shadowing
Experience

Integrative Nursing
By
Mary Jo Kreitzer
Mary Koithan
Shadowing an emergency
room nurse enhanced my
weaknesses because I was
able to observe the
importance of understand
a myriad of patient
conditions. I practiced
studying pathophysiology,
reading EKGs and relating
these to my patients. I also
watched the emergency
room nurse perform many
IVs, it helped me develop
new strategies to improve
my IV skills.

The acupressure training

class I attended taught me
simple concepts of
acupressure such as its
history, effect and great
potential. I learned the
effectiveness of using this
alternative therapy in my
patient care. The training
helped me improve my
weaknesses of not having
abilities to provide
alternative therapy.

Professional
Activity/ Community
Service

Education:
Continuing Nursing
Education and/or
plans for Higher
Education

In general, I plan to
pursue higher
education in my future
as a nurse. I believe a
role as a nurse
practitioner will play to
my strengths as a
nurse including my
strong understanding
of patients
circumstances, my
leadership skills,
bedside manner and
overall confidence in
my ability to heal.

In the next 2 years I plan

to explore many areas of
nursing. I primary focuses
will be in psychology,
surgery, intensive care
and integrative nursing. I
hope to attain these goal
by becoming a traveling
nurse. This way I can
begin to gain experience
as well as generate an
idea of which area I would
like to specialize in as a
Nurse Practitioner.

In the next 3-5 years, I would

like to go back to school to fulfill
my dreams of becoming a nurse
practitioner. I intend applying to
schools in California, Colorado
and Arizona.