During my senior year, I participated in my second adult medical-surgical rotation. I went into this clinical experience much more confident that my first medical-surgical rotation and was able to advance in my skills and my critical thinking ability. I was able to advance from using care plans to making concept maps. This concept map shows my thinking process for preparing to care for a client with Heart Failure.
During my sophomore year, I took a basic Microbiology course to help me better understand the microorganisms that cause disease and ways to combat them. In this assignment, I explored diseases that can be contracting when traveling to foreign locations, specifically malaria. This paper discusses the symptoms, treatment, and prevention of malaria so that the reader is better informed on how he/she can be protected from malaria when traveling abroad.
During my Senior Seminar class, I had to opportunity to review the literature on disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and investigate nursing research on the topic. Along with one of my peers, I put together a short power point presentation and facilitated a class discussion so that my classmates would have a better understanding of DIC and how to care for patients who are at risk for developing DIC.
This semester, I have been working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) as part of my senior preceptorship. Based on my clinical experiences, I write reflective journals and use evidence-based research to improve the quality of care that I provide to my patients. The link below provides a few excerpts from my journal that include current evidence-based research.
While attending Pacific Lutheran University, I have had the opportunity to spend over 800 hours in a variety of clinical settings. Over the course of the last three years, I have had clinical experiences in long term care, adult medical-surgical, pediatrics, obstetrics, community health, and neonatal intensive care. During my clinical experiences, I have combined my textbook learning with up-to-date, evidence based practices from current nursing and medical research. From the assignments listed above in my evidence section, it is easy to see how much I have grown over the last few years and how evidence-based research has impacted my knowledge and the quality of my patient care.
In my second adult-medical surgical rotation, I was able to construct a concept map that challenged me to combine all aspects of my patient's history and current situation to make one clear web of the patient's life. When compared to previous clinical care plans, it is easy to see the growth and development of my comfort with the nursing process and my ability to make sense of all the patient's data. My concept map combines patient data and information from textbooks and research to create a concise and clear image of my care for this patient. It shows the way in which I was able to make sense of my patient's situation, as well as the incorporation of outside research to provide clinically competent care for my patients.
During my Microbiology class, in my sophomore year at PLU, I had the opportunity to better understand the organisms that cause disease and the way that the body works to ward off infection from such organisms. In this class, I completed an assignment on travel-related diseases, which specifically examine malaria. For this paper, I explored current research on malaria, its transmission, symptoms, treatement, and prevention. One of the main points that I addressed in the paper was the vital role that malaria prevention can play in the lives of world travelers. The information that I learned in doing this assignment has encouraged me
to talk about disease prevention with clients and friends I encounter
who are planning to travel abroad.This paper demonstrates the use of evidence-based research, even non-nursing research, and how it can be used to educate nurses and clients alike.
One example of the importance of evidence-based care can be seen in the facilitation that I led with one of my peers during my Senior Seminar class. For this facilitation, I used nursing research, medical research, textbooks, and a case study to illustrate how to care for a patient with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Information on evidence-based practice and case study questions were further used to spark class discussions on new ways to care for patients and encourage students to think "what would I do to best care for my patient in this situation?" When developing this facilitation, I was able to better understand the importance of nursing research and the role it has in the evolution of quality patient care.
Throughout my Senior Preceptorship in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), I have reflected on my experiences in journal entries. Based on some of my experiences, I have also used nursing research to inform my practice and promote better care and outcomes for my patients. In the journal excerpts I explore issues such as the experience of reassurance, pain and stress in the neonate, and assisting older adults in the grieving process. As a student, it has been helpful to have journals that encourage me to take my learning beyond the textbook and explore the current research and standards of practice. After graduation, it will be up to me to continue to pursue the highest standards of care and continue my education to provide clinically competent care.
When I first began the nursing program, I believed that being in school would teach me nearly everything that I would need to know about nursing and how to care for patients. After spending time in many different clinical settings and seeing huge body of knowledge that nursing encompasses, I now realize that I will never stop learning how to be a better and more effective nurse. After graduation, I plan to continue pursuing educational information in the work environment and beyond, for the benefit of my patients and my own personal fulfillment. Reading current nursing research and getting involved in teaching and change projects on my hospital unit are ways that I plan to continue to provide clinically competent, evidence-based care.
