Professional Development Plan
In a medical setting, the nurse-teacher role is critical. It is paramount. The nurse teacher’s role is essential in ensuring that future nurses receive the necessary expertise and competencies to deliver excellent nursing services to their patients. Nurse educators ensure that nurses improve their knowledge and skills in emerging issues in the nursing field. The continuous evolution of the nursing profession is an obligation of all primary caregivers, including nursing teachers. As a prospective educator, I have a clear professional development plan to direct me to gain the necessary expertise in all facets of nurse education. This essay describes my area of interest, my objectives, and the professional path I intend to take to reach my goals in the field. My philosophy of continuous improvement and evidence-based practice in nursing for service excellence form the foundation of my professional development strategy.
Area of Focus
My concentration in nursing training is Maternal Child Nursing. My development is founded on this role. I was explored at Galilee Medical Center as a new nurse graduate from nursing school. Our facility was one of the top high-risk OB hospitals in the state. I acquired training in antepartum and postpartum care (Russell, Allies, & Gluyas, 2017). I desire to serve as a nursing program trainer, teaching new students in the OB field, or a clinical nurse educator for antepartum and postpartum care in the healthcare facility.
I must stay well-conversant and current on nursing skills, tools, equipment and technologies, and research-based practices used by the clinical personnel as a clinical OB educator. Doppler and fetal heart rate monitors examine the unborn baby’s well-being. I will acquire the certifications needed to conduct these tests. Post-delivery assessments of mothers and newborn vitals and warming carts are specialized skills acquired from nursing practices. Managing the well-being of newborn babies and mothers and care of cesarean part mothers in recovery and healing in the postpartum department comes with robust foundations of medical interventions. The clinical nurse educator must remain familiar with emerging issues and the latest developments in the area. Using resources such as The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal (AWHONN) is perfect. These two institutions provide seminars, evidence-based studies, monthly newsletters, and nursing guidelines and policies that assist the nursing educator in availing quality learning materials to the clinical nurses.
Furthermore, different MSN-made proficiencies are needed to attain the nursing supervision position. The ability to use EBP in casework and supervision of clinical professionals is one of the essential skills for a nursing supervisor (Russell et al., 2017). The most recent research and its appropriate implementation in the field serve as the foundation for nurse educators with MSN degrees. As a result, they need to be skilled at investigating and locating reliable data in particular practice areas. Translating practice into the healthcare setting is equally essential since it calls for tailoring the evidence to specific patient situations. This ability is necessary for a nursing supervisor to mentor and counsel nurses on how to take for the efficacy of treatment programs.
Secondly, nursing supervisors should have good management and leadership skills. Nurse educators are leaders, driving and motivating nurses and other healthcare professionals toward best care practices and promoting practice and knowledge models. Thus, the supervisor must have management skills that allow them to direct other practitioners in the correct practice direction (Herrman, 2019). The nurse supervisor can develop management and leadership skills by adopting management models that suit the practice environments and effectively achieve excellent performance. Educating in nursing management, management skills, and nursing models is necessary because the supervisors are involved in practice guidance and care coordination, where they usually have to lead and guide nursing practitioners towards quality and distinction.
Besides, I need to work on my relationship skills, which are essential for managing my interactions with patients and nurses. Herrman (2019) argued that empathy, active listening, stress management, and proper communication are among practitioners’ and nurse educators’ most crucial relationship skills. The nurse educator must listen carefully and communicate clearly with staff members, co-workers, and patients on the job. Additionally, because working in nursing may be demanding, having the capacity to recognize and control one’s stress is essential for job success. Only if nurse educators can work well with people will they be able to provide excellent nursing supervision.
Professional Goals
As a clinical nurse educator in Maternal Child Nursing, I must have vast knowledge and skills regarding pregnancy, delivery, and newborn care. There are three specific things I would love to attain through my professional objectives. My first objective is to get a job in a busy healthcare facility as a clinical nurse educator for the antepartum/postpartum unit. My second objective is to become a clinical nurse trainer in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit. I want to be a nursing director of the Maternal Newborn Unit after acquiring adequate skills and knowledge in antepartum/postpartum areas (Billings & Halstead, 2019). I can use my clinical philosophy and my nursing educator master’s degree to assist me in getting this position because I already have a background in the Maternal Newborn Unit and a comprehensive knowledge of the nursing personnel’s needs. I will attend the conference they host and take advantage of the training sessions provided by AWHONN or ACOG to stay current on the most recent advancements in the field. My nursing philosophy will be useful since it emphasizes teaching clinical personnel with positivism, humor, and compassion. I want to learn to be enjoyable so that the clinical nurse will be open to learning new things. I need to be compassionate so that they will feel supported rather than criticized.
My next professional objective is to become a labor and delivery department clinical educator. I would want to spend six weeks learning about this field and the skills I will need to keep up with to assist and educate others here because I do not have any official training in it. I want to study this field in six months to transition into labor and delivery. I will obtain further accreditations as required, upgrade my BLS to an ACLS (which is required in this field), and then we will talk about adding this subject to my present area of learning instruction.
My final professional growth objective is to advance to a director position in the Maternal Newborn Department during the next three to five years. I intend to pursue a second master’s degree in leadership and administration to deepen my education and achieve this aim. Since I am motivated to complete the tasks and have the resources necessary to attain goals, I feel confident in my ability to meet goals and advance my professional career. When a nurse felt pressed for time and hurried to reach the finish line, maintaining ethical standards is not an option. We must take time, complete the necessary work and training, and avoid rushing.
Leadership Role
This directly leads into the following phase, which is about developing a leadership position in a particular area of nurse educator concentration. As I take the time to grow in my job, as I have stated above, I do intend to go into leadership responsibilities. I believe that because of my expertise, I can relate to the clinical staff’s needs and give them the confidence they need to carry out their everyday tasks. As a clinical educator, I can help the staff by using the most recent research to argue for improved nurse-to-patient ratios. Staffing has always been a problem at the hospital, and the Maternal Newborn Department is no exception. “There is growing evidence that unhealthful working conditions cause medical mistakes, inefficient care delivery, and stress and conflict among health workers. A position as a clinical supervisor is another route to advancement. I have the power to change things as a manager so that nurses are better supported.
The nurse supervisor serves as a mentor to their pupils as well. The basic strategy I will employ is role modeling. Medical faculty directors might be seen making deliberate choices to impact students in an idealistic way (Herrman, 2018). I will serve as a role model by carrying out activities during intervention since I am familiar with the complexity of patient care, and I expect the learners to observe and learn from me. Additionally, since it shall show the learners how to tackle problems in the area, modeling cognitive processes and decision-making methods are even more crucial.
In addition to setting an example, I will exercise my leadership position by articulating a vision. The capacity to mentor and motivate employees to set challenging yet attainable objectives for themselves is a crucial trait of a good leader. The nurse educator should be able to guide learners on the proper path and assist them in establishing both long-term and short-term goals as well as a strategy for reaching them (Billings & Halstead, 2019). Clinical supervisors’ primary goal is advancing nurses in the field. In order to help nurses set personal, professional, and care-based objectives that will enable them to strive for brilliance and progress in their job, I will work closely with them.
Influences and Analysis
We must consider where nursing has come from and where it is going as we navigate these extraordinary circumstances. Socially, we have become accustomed to donning masks, and I believe they give us a sense of security because they make us feel safe from the unknown. While I support wearing a mask, I am eager for society to return to our daily activities because I wonder whether I will ever get to know the people I educate intimately with a barrier between our feelings. A vulnerable demographic is unduly subjected when the mask’s efficacy is seen to impact them and their views.
Academic, social, institutional, and political influences greatly influence nursing supervisors’ roles in addition to individual professional objectives. The practice models and institutional structures implemented are some of the biggest influences in my case. As a nursing supervisor, essentially a nurse teacher, I shall work with other healthcare providers based in the school to manage patient cases. The institutions greatly influence the values, norms, and cultures that practitioners adhere to. As a result, this culture will impact my work since I must tailor my function as an educator to the needs of the expectations and culture of the institution.
As a nursing supervisor, the social aspects of the clinical profession will also have a significant impact. I will first assist nurses in completing evaluations, coming to nursing diagnoses, and implementing medication programs in the community. Our therapy strategy will depend on the social context in which we work. Therefore, my strateg7 for medical training strategy will significantly influence my social milieu, especially my interactions with the individuals I oversee.
Analysis
I know that the hospital’s nursing practice is changing and that it is necessary to properly instruct staff and visitors on how to use masks and other new skills related to COVID-19. This does provide me the chance to apply for scholarships where I can now use the Boyer Model as a clinical nurse educator. The use of masks has demonstrated the effectiveness of the discoveries relating to patient and healthcare staff safety. teaching individuals who make up the unit to use the mask, wash their hands often, and, where possible, keep a safe distance. The evidence-based approach is now being used in scholarly programs. The Boyer Model places integration last before dealing with other disciplines.
In order to support the employees and tourists with their learning objectives, I would like to create brochures and handouts. In order to assist other clinical nurses in understanding how to manage patient care while remaining safe in COVID periods, I want to submit an article or journal to AWHONN or ACOG at this time. “Knowledge created via the scholarship of application may have substantial contributions to nursing practice and patient care; accordingly, there are consequences for nurses in all positions,” states the scholarship of application.
The concept-oriented education methodology serves as the foundation for my nursing scholarship strategy. This strategy encourages a thorough comprehension of nursing ideas and their application to clinical practices (Herrman, 2018). This strategy also uses clinical judgment methods and pattern recognition to locate underlying nursing problems. Based on my nursing educator’s concept of continuous progress in giving information to the practice, this approach will be helpful in my scholarship work. I will adapt the concept to include scholarship initiatives supporting my academic positions at the organization I work with.
Incorporating evidence into medical training and using it to advance conceptual understanding will be one of the main methods of scholarship (Russell, 2019). Essentially, I will cite reliable and current journal papers that illustrate the many ideas in practices while instructing nurses on various themes. The idea-based strategy is a component of this practice-based education, enabling me to use the most recent information in my work as a teacher. This will be important for conducting lessons in the educational context and getting pupils ready to practice using these teachings.
My core concentration field, assisting caregivers in their work, will also enable me to instruct implementers on several topics. In addition to the class setting, I will oversee professionals at work to help them put the models and concepts they have learned into practice (Honkavuo, 2020). This strategy is further grounded in the practical concept-based paradigm, which promotes a thorough comprehension of concepts and their application in the real world. As a result, the foundation of my scholarship programs shall be applying knowledge from evidence to practices, which places it firmly within the realm of research-based practices.
Development Plan
My effort to work in the field with nurses and a portion of my time in the classroom forms the basis of my overall professional strategy. Thus, I have a dual goal: to get certified to practice pediatric nursing and teach RN and BSN classes. My MSN completion will provide me with the necessary qualification to teach nursing in a facility, and the first half of my plan is almost finished. Regular nursing practice will be needed when I apply for academic positions because many schools often welcome academics with considerable professional expertise. In order to gain experience while I transition into the academic profession, I will thus keep working in my area of expertise.
Second, I will attempt to obtain further pediatric nursing education. Considering my education and work history, I am a certified pediatric nurse (CPN). Nonetheless, I will need to work directly with children to have the necessary experience to pursue a degree in pediatric nursing. Thus, working in academics and the field will encourage me to become a practical nurse educator. Additionally, I will look for clinical practice institutes where hands-on experience in the field is prioritized above theoretical learning in a classroom.
Reflection
As a Clinical Nurse Educator at the Maternal Newborn Unit, this is the career path I have selected for myself. This job calls for a solid foundation of knowledge on clinical staff requirements as well as experience as a role model, resource, and subject matter expert. I am prepared to move forward with developing a curriculum for clinical nurses utilizing sound judgment and pertinent resources as a nurse with a Master’s degree in education. I have developed exceptional communication abilities to help me reach the people I want to teach. I want to earn a second degree in leadership and administration, advancing my credentials as a superb OB clinical nurse educator.
My professional growth plan is complicated, but I am confident I have the skills necessary to complete it. The first requirement is a lot of perseverance and patience. My patience and tenacity will be needed while I work in the field to gain the experience many institutions look for in instructors. Working in the field, with diverse institutions, and with people will also call for a high degree of skill and moral conduct. Thus, upholding ethical standards in my employment and developing healthy connections will be essential to achieving my aim. In the next five years, I hope to work with a self-created nurse training program to assist me in directing nurses in their clinical practices.
References
Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2019). Teaching in Nursing e-Book: A guide for faculty. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Herrman, J. W. (2019). Creative teaching strategies for the nurse educator. FA Davis.
Honkavuo, L. (2020). Nursing students’ perspective on a caring relationship in clinical supervision. Nursing ethics, 27(5), 1225–1237. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330198716
Russell, K., Alliex, S., & Gluyas, H. (2017). The influence of the art of clinical supervision program on nurses’ knowledge and attitude about working with students. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 33(6), 307-315.
Russell, K. (2019). The art of clinical supervision: Strategies to assist with the delivery of student feedback. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, The, 36(3), 6–13. https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/ielapa.308959001248800
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