Running head: PRACTICE SUMMARY PAPER 1

Practice Summary Paper

Rebecca Eimer

Old Dominion University

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Practice Summary Paper

As soon as I made the decision to pursue a career in nursing I knew I wanted to complete

my Bachelors of Science in nursing degree (BSN) to make me a more qualified nursing

professional. Receiving an acceptance into an Associates nursing program first helped me start

my future as a nurse, and shortly after enrolling to the RN-BSN program at Old Dominion

University, it provided with more opportunity to grow as a nursing leader as well as advance in

the field of nursing. By obtaining a BSN I hope to accomplish a higher quality of nursing care in

my practice and advance my career in a non-clinical position in the future. Advancing my degree

gives me the opportunity to have a variety of nursing leadership positions such as case

management, teaching, informatics, or other job opportunities that go beyond bedside care.

Obtaining my BSN gives me hope of personal and professional enrichment, as well as advancing

my nursing career to further contribute to my leadership skills.

Analysis

The outcome behavior critical thinking is based on the scientific method, making

judgments, and developing strategies in the nursing field. The Therapeutic Nursing Intervention

Paper (TNI) best demonstrated the critical thinking concept, and helped me refined my critical

thinking skills. The TNI activity is about finding a clinical problem in the nursing field and

finding nursing interventions that can help improve the problem by using evidence-based

research. The activity also demonstrates the current practice being used, and how it can be

improved to help the clinical problem with research to support the interventions. The TNI paper

helped demonstrate my critical thinking skills by letting me follow the scientific method in

researching a clinical problem. Developing judgments on how to research various interventions

on the clinical problem of medical administration errors also benefited my critical thinking skills.
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I was able to find and use evidence-based research in the activity and analyze what supported the

clinical problem and interventions I chose to discuss. Overall, the TNI activity was instrumental

in developing my critical skills and demonstrated this behavior in various ways.

Developing a nursing practice involves creating relationships with clients, families,

communities, and utilization of critical thinking in order to maintain health throughout the

lifespan. The Theory Application Paper was the activity that helped me demonstrate my nursing

practice by aiding me to research nursing philosophy. The activity was about identifying a

specific conceptual model that had evidence-based research, and related to my current clinical

practice as well as my personal philosophy. I was able to examine my own nursing practice and

select a concept about caring in the clinical setting. The activity helped me demonstrate cognitive

thinking, and my current standard of care working in a neonatal intensive care unit. The paper

promoted my interpersonal skills and personal nursing practice by letting me research journals

and literature that discussed my theory of choice. I feel that my nursing practice has evolved

because of this activity since it let me express and research my own nursing practice in a

modeled theory.

Communication transfers knowledge by verbal and non-verbal messages that help

establish listening. Teaching other uses the concept communication that involves transmitting

knowledge to others. I have leaned communication and teaching concepts together in the

Teaching Project activity. The Teaching paper is about enhancing the needs of a specific group

by developing a teaching plan, instructional strategies, implementing and evaluating all teachings

to acquire the results that teaching was effective. I was able communicate my knowledge and

research about teaching nursing staff how to communicate more effectively in the discharge

process. Specifically I used a communication test, a learners questionnaire to help evaluate the
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needs of each learner, and provided key point on communication skills. Developing all these

resources for my teaching project helped establish my therapeutic communication, assessment,

planning, implementing, and evaluation skills in teaching and communication with others in the

nursing field. I also improved my verbal and non-verbal skills by public speaking and doing

activities such as role-playing and return demonstrating during my teaching activity. All these

interactive process improved my competency in communicational and teaching outcome

behaviors.

Research is used to improve nursing practice and quality of care by evidence-based

developments that enhance knowledge. The revolution of nursing is supported by research and

the new developments that are validated. The Business Case Analysis paper discussed a scenario

that caused a problem in the nursing field, and required background information, operational

impacts of the problem, cost/benefits, and implantation strategies to improve the process. This

activity allowed me to search professional literature in order to improve quality outcomes of

improving staff shortages. I was able to demonstrate my skills in researching evidence-based

information on the topic of solutions to increasing nursing staff needed to influence patient

safety. Learning how this problem was costly to healthcare facilities, and finding solution

through research helped establish my development in research overall.

The leadership concept requires a person to empower, critically think, and demonstrate

professionalism towards a group in order to influence effectively. As a nurse, developing

leadership skills benefited my nursing practice and helped my overall personal growth. The

Roys Adaptation Model group assessment project was an assignment that let me demonstrate

leadership characteristics as well as refine how I took action in leading my classmates. I was able

to start our group assignment by outlining interventions, research, and the PowerPoint format
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used in this specific assignment. I was able to use my creativity and demonstrate fairness among

my fellow group members in splitting the work equally among each other. I naturally took the

lead and later developed leadership traits that helped my group find our vision and goal of our

PowerPoint project. Overall, the activity of research and developing a PowerPoint presentation

about Roys model and developing intervention for a specific scenario, helped me demonstrate

my leadership skills by influencing others working with me as a group.

The professionalism concept has helped me build relationships with fellow colleges,

advocate, take accountability, and make an impact on ethical principles in the nursing field. I

consider professionalism as a key role in becoming a nursing leader and in a healthcare

professional overall. The Community Health Project best demonstrated the professional concept

because it helped me gain self-awareness of my community and gave me a platform to impact

the healthcare issues in my local area. The Community Health Project gave me the opportunity to

work independently to assess and use the nursing process in my community of choice. The

project had me diagnose a need in my community and develop interventions to address the

problem. I was able to use my professionalism as a nurse to communicate with my local

community, as well as research the recourses available.

The last concept culture has learned by educating myself on values and beliefs people

live by, in order to have a better understanding on certain individual thinking and decisions

making in healthcare. Religion and ethical factors are also apart of the culture concept and is

essential in everyones nursing practice. The Health Organization paper assignment was

instrumental for me learning the concept of culture because I was able to research global

healthcare networks that work with all cultures and environment around the world. The

assignment was about researching a picking a health organization to discuses the impact locally
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and globally, as well as what the nursing role is in the organization. The assignment

demonstrated the culture concept by having me learn about other cultures the organization works

with, and see what type of impact the organization makes around the world. It was an eye

opening experience to see how culture awareness skills can extremely benefit multiple healthcare

programs an organization develops.

Appraisal and Summary

In this course I expected to learn how to reflect on my nursing practice and developments

throughout the program. In reality I learned how to compact all my resources and build a

portfolio that represents my knowledge gained in the program overall. I acquired

professionalism and leadership skills and have development a more therapeutic nursing approach

to my practice. I feel more educated and prepared in critical thinking as well as believe in a

higher standard of nursing care. I believe this program gave me the right tools to be successful in

my current role as a neonatal nurse as well. I now feel more confident and have a better

understanding on how to be a better nursing professional.

My knowledge of nursing theories has influenced my overall philosophy, and practice of

nursing by letting me utilizing various nursing theories that have improved my practice.

Developing and understanding on my own personal philosophy was led me to discover what I

value in my nursing practice. I was able to reflect on my nursing practice and improve the way I

think about certain ethical situations as well as nursing care I provide to my patients. I feel more

open minded and aware of issues in the nursing field that can have effect on the future of nursing

as well. My newfound knowledge overall, has influenced the way I communicate, use the

nursing process, thinking critically, and have influenced the level of professionalism.

As a result of my enrollment in the baccalaureate-nursing program my practice has

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changed in many ways. I newly try to promote a higher quality of care and encourage more

community based nursing programs. I advocate for my patient with more confidence and

research leading innovations in nursing to help improve my nursing practice. My nursing

practice has improved my evidence-based nursing research Ive done, and my knowledge on

healthcare polices. The program has made me challenged myself more by on taking more

nursing leader opportunities and has transformed my future nursing career goals. I hope to

demonstrate continued improvement in my nursing practice and explore more opportunities to

become a nursing leader in my working environment.

Conclusion

Advancing my degree by enrolling in the baccalaureate-nursing program, in the long run,

will benefit my nursing career and give me more opportunities in the future. I have been able to

learn leadership skills, professionalism, and useful knowledge that have improved my nursing

practice. The course concepts that consist of critical thinking, nursing practice, communication,

teaching, research, leadership, professionalism, and culture have all been behaviors that Ive

attained through the multiple assignments in the program. Including this Practice Summary paper

assignment, I have been able to reflect how the baccalaureate-nursing program professionally

and personally developed my nursing career (see Appendix A for assignment introduction). I feel

more prepared to take on different roles as a nursing leader and know my degree will expand my

current role as a nurse. Overall, leaning about nursing theories and exploring my own nursing

philosophy during my time in the program has changed my nursing practice and will continue to

improve the way I care for patients now and in the future.
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Reference

Nur 403 Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing Practice Syllabus. (2017). Retrieved from

http://ple.odu.edu/courses/201630/nurs403/syllabus#course_objectives
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Appendix A
Practice Summary Paper

Course Number- NUR 403

Rebecca Eimer

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this paper is to guide you through a process of self-reflection and self-
evaluation to discover the scope of your personal and professional development while enrolled in
the RN>BSN nursing program at Old Dominion University.

Student Approach to Assignment

For this assignment I used the approach of recognizing my professional and personal
developments as a new registered nurse. Personally, the assignment reflects my interest on
reflecting on all my assignments that have helped me develop my current nursing practice. I
approached the assignment the way I did because it best demonstrated my gained behaviors of
critical thinking, nursing practice, communication, teaching, research, leadership,
professionalism, and culture.

Reason for Inclusion

I felt the project should be included in my portfolio because as a new nurse developing
my own nursing philosophy and nursing practice, I am able to explore my growth throughout the
baccalaureate-nursing program. The assignment reflects me as a nurse by showing my
knowledge on certain concepts in nursing and it exemplifies my preparedness as a baccalaureate-
nursing professional.

Curricular outcomes

Communication
Produces clear, accurate, and relevant writing using correct grammar, spelling and
punctuation:

The project justifies my knowledge and ability to use correct grammar; spelling and
punctuation in explaining my professional and personal developments throughout the
baccalaureate nursing. I produced clear and relevant descriptions of the assignments and projects
that helped me acquire the course objects of critical thinking, nursing practice, communication,
teaching, research, leadership, professionalism, and culture. I was also able to communicate
accurately about new developments in my nursing practice and overall growth as a nurse after
finishing the program.

Professionalism
. Demonstrates accountability for ones own professional practice.

The project let me reflect on my own professionalism as a nurse attaining new behaviors
that will ultimately impact my nursing practice now and in the future. I was able to account for
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all the assignment that has helped me gain knowledge to become the nurse I am today and will
continue to develop being. Giving the freedom to self-reflect and self-evaluate my professional
developments thought the baccalaureate-nursing program has given me more confidence and
strive for more goals to become a nursing leader as well as nursing professional.
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Honor code:
I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form
of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a
member of the academic community it is responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the
Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.
Name: Rebecca Eimer 7/14/2017