Introduction
When I am ready to share my success with the Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (FPMHNP), my feelings lead me to powerful feelings of accomplishment and deep appreciation. Such an academic journey was so transforming. It brought so much personal growth, embraced high academic demands, and visited experiences a sole-trained clinician gave me. This shaped me into a professional individual I am. As this course progressed, the ANA’s Standards of Practice has been the main pillar and a lighthouse guiding my way to providing excellent patient-centered care and considering the highest ethical principles for the registered nurse profession.
Critical Standards for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
The ANA standards are as comprehensive as they come, and three stand out as the most important ones I ought to observe and incorporate if I am to secure viability in my future role as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Firstly, Standard 1: Evaluation as the basis of all good psychiatric mental health care is manifested in a thorough clinical examination. Comprehensive assessment has started as the backbone of any psychiatric and mental health care plan. In order to be successful as an APRN, one has to acquire the knack of getting the pertinent data, detecting key findings, and eventually being left with an accurate diagnosis. The adoption of this norm means that the process will take place mainly with the use of evidence-based assessment tools, and its influence will be multifaceted, taking into account the patient’s culture and psychosocial factors, which, in turn, will lead to the creation of an individual and holistic approach to providing health care to the sick.
Secondly, Standard 5: Personalized, targeted interventions based on evidence decrease the chance that those procedures will increase the likelihood of good patient outcomes. This standard gives out the message that collaborating is not a choice. Rather, it is necessary to involve patients, families, and interdisciplinary teams to create and perform individualized treatment plans. On the other hand, this emphasizes allowing patients to choose preferences, values, and beliefs while implementing a patient-centered approach to care delivery.
Lastly, Standard 9: Ethics is the powerbase that holds the pro of an ethically responsible APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) at the highest level. Such standards are required to promote patient self-determination and autonomy, confidentiality safeguarding, and justice and equity in the delivery of health services. While this movie portrays weighty ethical dilemmas and subtle issues, it also recognizes the importance of problem-solving by using critical thinking and sticking to professional codes of conduct so that patients’ welfare is given priority.
Clinical Experience Reflection
In two months, I had a tremendous opportunity to dive into multiple specialties and experience diverse clinical settings at their deepest level. My first professional experience as an attendee in the emergency room was an adventure in itself because seeing patients with acute psychiatric conditions is a real thing. This situation empowered me to achieve the basics in terms of crisis response, risk identification, and also the building blocks of communication with patients who are faced with issues like suicidal ideation, psychosis, and substance abuse illnesses. Though it was nerve-wracking and fruitful, the supervision saw me walking in an environment conducive to my learning, turning this knowledge into something fun and worthwhile.
My community healthcare clinic’s second clinical rotation provided me with an experience that I can describe as a different point of view concerning the continuum of care for the residents in the community. I was involved and shared in the care of stable patients who were suffering from emotional disorders, including depression, fears, bipolar disorder, and others. This encounter demonstrates rather clearly why psychoeducation, medication management, and building therapeutic relationships are so necessary for long-term adherence and recovery in the future (Collins & Small, 2019). It was a very useful period. I could see how the outpatient services contributed to the patients’ having the opportunity to maintain their stability and be functional in the community at the same time.
Lastly, my third clinical rotation within the inpatient unit of the hospital, not only fully equipped with rich resources and experienced staff, was a chance for me to consolidate the knowledge and skills acquired during the program in an all-encompassing way. I got a chance to put what I learned into practice by working at the Psychiatric clinic, testing patients in detail, and developing treatment plans with the interdisciplinary team. Besides this, I have learned the value of patient-oriented care, empowering the patients, and licit ethical norms in the monstrosity scene. The inpatient experience then was the last one of the academic training that cemented my faith and ability to function in the capacity of an FPMHNP role.
Facilitators and Barriers
My way toward a flight paramedic and mid-level nurse practitioner career has been challenging. Some things have been the achievements of my pedagogy, and other aspects have been trying. A learning environment that featured a supportive learning environment in the classroom and real-world experience in the clinic was the most helpful in my progress as a healthcare professional. Tovuti represents a teaching environment that encourages case presentation, peer involvement, and mentorship from proven healthcare mentors, which helps create a favorable and conducive setting for professional growth and skill development. The open, collaborative nature of such sessions allowed me to ask questions, seek answers to any uncertainties, gain insight from peers, and seek advice from instructors whenever needed.
Nevertheless, there was a remarkable hindrance for me: my lack of experience and feelings of inadequacy occurred while transitioning from a registered nurse to an APRN role. The extended range of practice and the elevated tasks I assumed to work with the secretary of state in charge of the country generated an initial feeling of being overwhelmed. I had to learn how to deal with the weight that came together with autonomy and responsibility. However, This unfamiliarity was overwhelmed by the sense of natural inferiority that always comes about while developing new knowledge and practices. Even though my clinical experiences made me insecure about myself, I got to the point of learning where I felt comfortable with my capabilities, and the support of my mentors and peers helped me gain more confidence in myself. I had the opportunity to discover the significance of continuous lifelong learning.
Challenging Aspects of Professional Practice
The professional skills of boundary maintenance and patient relationship building were the most problematic during my internship. Being an FPMHNP, it becomes crucial to precisely balance the extremes of empathy and objectivity such that the therapeutic relationships do not cross ethical levels and stay, in fact, right as professional integrity. I faced the dilemma of constant self-reflection and reliance on my supervising psychologists to work my way through intricate scenarios. Developing trustworthiness and creating a safe and non-judgmental place for patients to share their stories and emotional establishments is critical to the responder process. On the other hand, emotional fusion in empathy can grow when it may blur the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship and eventually cause the crossing of those boundaries, which is not good. Resolving this problem was a picture-perfect case of sustained vigilance, self-reflection, and a knack for acquiring advice and feedback from accomplished profs (Elliott & Ragsdale, 2020).
One of the risky sides of professional activity when working with patients who tend to commit suicide or murder is risk management, ensuring patient safety, and so on. Conducting comprehensive risk assessments, preparing safety plans based on them, and putting together interdisciplinary teams of professionals as key components of case management were critical considerations in developing responsible case management (Nyman et al., 2020). The noteworthiness of this reliability was not lost on me, as I understood very well the depth of the impact that my choices and decisions might have on the life and the welfare of the patients under my care. Thus, it was paramount to constantly train and apply evidence-based practice, an important factor to ensure that my knowledge and skills were up to the test and that I could handle the high-risk difficulties. The experience served as a constant reminder of the efficacy of ongoing professional development, and that is, keeping pace with the latest research and best practices is not an option; it is a necessity while also emphasizing the value of the collaborative approach to patient care.
Strengths in Professional Practice and Skills
In my clinical rotations, I had 2 or 3 things effective in professional practice that would be very handy for me as an FPMHNP. My strongest skill was making good contact with my patients and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with them due to my ability to listen to them, understand their feelings, and approach them non-judgmentally. Establishing the relationship and a security niche for patients to explore their condition opportunities freely ensured great communication and the best treatment results. Wandering around the hospital wards and sitting at the patient’s bedside allowed me to notice the impact of the surroundings and a practiced communication style. Through active listening, showing sincere interest and concern, and mindfully avoiding judgment and stigmas, I created a space where trust and respect were key elements inseparable from impressive success in mental healthcare.
Areas for Improvement
However, I still have some areas that I need to improve on as I gained much experience and come up with the skills of therapeutic approach. However, my educational and skills development still needs to be completed. Mastery in constructing well-structured patient treatment plans that combine evidence-based techniques, pharmacology, and different psychotherapeutic therapies is another field in which I aspire to improve myself. Designing diagnostic and treatment procedures with multi-dimensional psychiatric issues considerations in mind, stressing the balance between biology, psychology, and social issues, necessitates a thorough comprehension of the relationships among all these factors. Undoubtedly, I have acquired theoretical standpoints and practical experience in all these areas. However, the truth is that I see a great need for improvement in my skills, and therefore, I will work towards achieving holistic and patient-centered care.
According to Collins and Small (2019), who were conducting the research, they demonstrated that a considerably exclusive treatment plan that absorbs all biological, psychological, and social perspectives of a client’s situation is a key factor of quality psychiatric mental health nursing. This research, therefore, emphasizes the importance of light treatments or varied modalities that involve using drugs, therapy, and lifestyle modifications for overall health and mental health purposes. In that case, including this point of view in my work is very useful for me as a practitioner because it allows me to guide my patients better and develop individual approaches to treatment that meet their individual requirements and life circumstances.
Strategies for Improvement
Concerning creating an effective improvement plan, I would focus on developing a multifaceted approach that would include continued education, mentoring, and self-assessment. First, I will locate educational opportunities, which could be in workshops, conferences, or online courses, to keep myself up to date with the most recent evidence-based practices and oversee the application of treatments in general. Moreover, I will explore learning materials in psychopathology and psychopharmacology in addition to the treatment planning process. Education is vital in the dynamic field of psychiatry; therefore, I look forward to acquiring the tools and codes required to fine-tune my competencies.
Another successful strategic direction is building a mentor-professional relationship with the experienced psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner or contacting the interpersonal team. This collaboration will furnish me with all the tools needed for professional guidance and aid, which I will use to plan for complex cases and refine my skills. Through exposure to experienced professionals and being a contributing member of multidisciplinary teams, I can catch on more on what is more of an active and passive style of treatment interventions and how each approach applies to specific patients and patterns of illness.
In addition, I will work on creating a regular habit of self-reflection and obtaining peer assessment on my treatment plans. This approach will constitute the major learning tool used to think critically, identify some weaknesses to be worked on, and proffer self-improvement (Scheel et al., 2021). Reflection on my experienced clinical moments, going through my decision-making processes, and receiving feedback from peers enables me to acquire diverse and useful insights and perspectives that will improve my practice and guarantee patients encounter quality care.
Future Plans and Aspirations
After graduation, I want to use everything I have studied in the mental health field to make a real change as a FPMHNP. I aim to acquire a role in a clinic offering outpatient services. I will be dealing with patients suffering from psychiatric diseases, providing them with holistic care that will help them achieve and maintain their level of stability and integrate back into diverse social settings. This environment is becoming the one-of-a-kind background that motivates me in the least restrictive setting of the world, and they can perform their daily activities and get their required healthcare facilities. In this position, I anticipate working jointly in polarized groups to form a comprehensive approach to every patient, personalized to their particular cases and objectives. Supporting people and their families with psychotherapy and psychoeducation, usually tailored to long-term recovery and resilience in the future, is the key therapeutic technique of our practice.
Forging solid bonds between myself and the patients will be a priceless part of my demeanor, which will go a long way in boosting their trust and influencing them to adhere to the prescribed treatment regimens. By providing an environment that promotes a non-judgmental approach and plenty of room for open two-way communication, I will encourage patients to actively participate in their care and carefully deliberate the steps they will take regarding their mental health. Six months after graduation, I want to successfully prove myself to be a distinguished and compassionate FPMHNP to improve the stable mental health of my community. Continuous learning, streamlining of learners’ practice, and structured, evidence-based practices will be important to achieving this aim. Going ahead, it is perfect to participate in seminars and conferences to gain new skills and grasp any recent changing trends in the field.
Conclusion
My time in the FPMHNP program is one of the biggest life transformations I have gone through. It is full of challenges and has brought me personal and academic growth, qualitatively and quantitatively. At the same time, this program helped me develop a deeper level of admiration and respect for the guidelines and recommendations of the ANA Standards of Practice that define my professional code of conduct and shape my efforts to improve the patient’s health status. Hence, this principle has turned into a default setting for my approach to nursing when I apply my moral compass for making the right decisions and going ahead to provide the best care for the health of my patients. Given that challenges and prospective places for improvements still exist, I, being well-read, will bandy continuous learning and professional development. The effective application of best-evidence practice requires self-awareness, sustained seeking of advice from more experienced nurses, and unceasing updates of professional knowledge. I am confident of my abilities to deal holistically with my patients by providing the required psychiatric mental health care.
Going forward, I am all revved up with a push to show a sense of worthiness for those assigned to my trust. In this regard, I plan to utilize my passion, understanding of the human condition, and ethical practice approach as the institution’s building block and the key factor that will promote the well-being of the society and individuals of the community in general. The array of emotions, the micro-invasions, the constant pace of critical care, and the cycle of death and rebirth were all part of this journey, in its essence, a testament to the strength and dedication of nurses. I am privileged to walk the same path as those who have embarked on a career of caring for and helping others.
References
Collins, C. M., & Small, S. P. (2019). The nurse practitioner role is ideally suited for palliative care practice: A qualitative descriptive study: Canadian oncology nursing journal, 29(1), 4.
Elliott, M., & Ragsdale, J. M. (2020). Mental health professionals with mental illnesses: A qualitative interview study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(6), 677.
Johnson, A. (2023). The Impact of Multi-Academic Level Student Simulation on Clinical Judgment in Prelicensure Nursing Students (Doctoral dissertation, Southern Connecticut State University).
Nyman, M., Hofvander, B., Nilsson, T., & Wijk, H. (2020). Mental health nurses’ experiences of risk assessments for care planning in forensic psychiatry. International journal of forensic mental health, 19(2), 103-113.
Scheel, L. S., Bydam, J., & Peters, M. D. (2021). Reflection as a learning strategy for training nurses in clinical practice setting: a scoping review. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 19(12), 3268-3300.
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