Introduction
The NURS 2700 course has greatly influenced the semester’s experience and preparation towards being a nurse. The lessons, materials and experiences were instrumental in equipping potential nursing candidates with the knowledge and skills that they need o effectively serve their patients and excel in the field. The wide range of experiences which were part of the course, such as engaging in community-based learning, having interviews with experienced members of the profession, classroom experience, clinical experience, lab simulation and learning, and even having the opportunity to interact with members of the MNA and MN Board of Nursing played a critical role in providing a well-rounded learning experience. Each of these elements provided a unique learning experience for the nursing candidates and ensured they would be prepared for life as professional nurses. The goal of this scholarly paper is to reflect on the rich experience by engaging in a self-assessment while at the same time planning for professional development. Some of the issues it will focus on include the need for nurses to engage in lifelong learning, professional nurse practice focusing on values, attitudes, skills and knowledge, vulnerable populations and how values in the nursing practice influence them and finally, how spiritual beliefs serve to promote health.
Life Long Learning
Lifelong learning denotes one of the elements or traits that is expected in the life of a professional nurse and which ties to their performance and excellence in care delivery. Through lifelong learning, nurses can ensure that even as they continually serve their patients over the years, they are continually informed of the changes that are taking place in their field, and their skills remain excellent. It is, therefore, imperative that nurses continuously engage in learning and commit to the various strategies to keep learning and grow as competent professionals in the field as they offer patient services.
A reflection on the course experience shows that it puts a great premium on ensuring that nurses engage in life-long learning and keep their knowledge and skills current and in tandem with the changing trends. It was interesting that the MNA and MN Board of Nursing websites illustrated the need for continual learning. It showed that the nurses still need to take a test and get their license after graduation. Similarly, the license they get is periodically renewable, which requires that they stay informed on their regulations and professional knowledge so that they can be able to effectively pass their tests. Life-long learning requires that nurses continually engage in continuing professional development (CPD) to keep nursing skills and knowledge fresh and current (Mlambo et al., 2021),
Nurses can use diverse strategies to ensure that they are continually learning at a formal and informal level. Ernstmeyer and Christman (2022) argue that after graduating and successfully passing the NCLEX-RN, which allows nurses to gain a position in a professional setting, that is when the learning of these professionals begins. The experiential learning that nursing professionals get in their first years as professionals start off the lifelong learning process. Some of the other ways that nursing professionals can achieve lifelong learning range from obtaining an additional degree in nursing, getting various forms of certification, attending workshops and conferences, joining professional organizations and reading nursing literature and research which can serve to ensure that they stay informed and up-to-date on evidence-based practices. Qalehsari et al. (2017) provide further insight into strategies that nurses can use to ensure that they engage in continual learning and highlights the need to persist in learning, collaborate with peers, carry out research, practical and intellectual independence and so forth.
Nurses, therefore, have the mandate to identify the strategy that suits them best and then proceed to adopt it so that they can engage in lifelong learning. Nurses can also make use of mixed approaches in their learning, where they choose the most suitable learning approach based on their circumstances and their particular learning environment (Mlambo et al., 2021). Within the nursing profession, nurses are required to take care of patients who require diverse and comprehensive care needs. Therefore, they need to be able to offer effective care to their patients informed by the evidence-based research available. As such, lifelong learning ensures that they can be able to acquire the necessary knowledge needed to care for the diverse patient population. Nurses can opt to learn informally, where they learn experientially on the job, through reading journal articles, getting and giving feedback to their colleagues and self-reflection. They can also learn formally through enrolling in various advancement courses which seek to equip them with the knowledge and insight they need for their skills and knowledge acquisition.
Although there are some institutions which could be on the frontline advocating and encouraging their nurses to engage in continued learning, most of the time, nurses have to desire and pursue continued learning of their own accord. According to Qalehsari et al. (2017), nurses have the mandate to initiate their learning engagement to develop their skills and knowledge. Through informal learning, which is often times unstructured, the nurses gain knowledge and insight through their interaction with colleagues and patients. Further, given that this type of learning occurs within the work environment, nurses have the opportunity to explore the expert knowledge and skills which are already available in the workplace. The learning, however, does not occur at a single time, but it is the result of daily professional work experience. Therefore, lifelong learning is very critical in the professional life of nurses as it allows them to gain important knowledge and skills to continue to offer effective care.
Professional Nurse Practice
Professionals in the field of nursing have certain elements and traits which set them apart. Specifically, these professionals have certain values, knowledge, skill sets and attitudes which set them apart in their professional practice.
Values
Values refer to the goals and beliefs that one holds and which inform behaviour and serve as the standard in decision-making (Poorchangizi et al., 2019). Nurses have certain values which have been stipulated to inform their practice specifically given that they handle a diverse patient population with different needs. As such, when they need to respond quickly and handle different situations utilizing different skills and knowledge, they rely on their values to inform the process of decision-making. The values have a bearing on care since they help to enhance its quality and ensure that ethics are adhered to. There are specific core values that nurses share which inform their practice and ensure that everything is done in an ethical manner while respecting patients at the same time.
One of the main core values that nurses uphold and which inform their practice is human dignity. The value plays a critical role in the field of nursing as it requires professionals to treat their patients with kindness and thoughtfulness (Shahriari et al., 2013). The nurses, therefore, need to consider the whole patient, from their physical to emotional well-being, as they offer care and educate them. Further, they have to see the patients as being able to determine their health options and give the desired privacy.
Integrity is another vital core value in the field of nursing. The value is instrumental in helping nurses to be able to establish connections with their patients as they offer ethical and quality care. The value helps members of this profession to be able to make proper moral decisions, make contributions towards the patient’s recovery and meet the standards that have been set to inform care. (Shahriari et al., 2013). When patients embody the value of integrity in their operations, their care of patients is enhanced as they become more willing to get treatment from these exemplary nurses. Another vital core value is social justice which prompts care providers to care for all their patients following moral and legal standards. The nurses ensure that they show equality in their service delivery to all patients without regard for any distinguishing factors (Shahriari et al., 2013). The nurse ensures that each of their patients they are attentive to them and offer them accommodation and care on the basis of what they need.
Altruism is another vital value which refers to showing consideration for the well-being of the patient. When nurses embody this value, they are prompted to take on the role of advocating for the proper treatment of their patients. Nurses, therefore, carry out these typical duties, which are geared toward ensuring the well-being of their patients and beyond without requiring anything in return.
Another core value in the field of nursing is compassion which calls for nurses as care providers to strive to show respect to their patients as they provide them with care (Shahriari et al., 2013). The aim is to ensure that they are able to make the patient feel that they are valued and respected as individuals since they are providers who listen to them and respond to them to address their concerns. Still, in line with compassion, nurses have to embody the value of trustworthiness, where their patients can fully trust and rely on them in the course of care. The impact of the value is that it moves the patients to cooperate more with those offering them services and providing treatment. The care providers embody this value by being interested in how the care impacts the patient, offering insight and answers, and quickly offering accurate information.
Accountability is another core value that nurses have to endeavour to embody. This value calls for these professionals to acknowledge all the actions they take and be ready to learn from any potential mistakes. Since the actions that these professionals take to have an implication for the provision of care and their patients, they need to acknowledge any mistakes that happen so that they can be quickly addressed and not impair the quality of care. These professionals are also required to show curiosity in their work which is a central skill in lifelong learning. The value ensures that the nurses are keen to learn and question everything, including treatment concerns, thus improving care.
Nurses also have to embody the value of empathy in their provision of care. This value inspires nursing to take into consideration the aspect of the patients as they offer care. As a result, the nurses are able to understand the needs of the patients and what they require from the healthcare providers, thus enhancing the provision of care. As a whole, the nurses also have to ensure that they embody the value of professionalism in their provision of care. The value informs the nurse’s ability to be part of a team as they offer effective care for their patients, check their attitude and so forth. Nurses are required to ensure that they have a sense of professionalism in all their operations and performance of duties (Shahriari et al., 2013). Another core value that these professionals are required to reflect in their operations is excellence. This value influences the operations of nurses and ensures that they offer their patients quality care. Some of the things that nurses do to embody this value include striving for professional development and continued learning, as well as working in collaboration with their colleagues.
The course experience played a significant role in introducing the student nurses to the different values that they need to embody in their operations. Various reading materials that were supplied as part of the course and encountered with professionals in the field were instrumental in providing insight into these values and how they play a critical role in enhancing the provision of care and its quality.
Knowledge
Nurses also need to have a special set of knowledge which is instrumental in helping them to perform their duties and offer effective care for their patients. The course experience was instrumental in equipping nursing students with the diverse form of knowledge that they need to be qualified professionals offering care to their patients. The provision of care in the capacity of a nurse requires that these professionals have the necessary and proper technical skills, which include being able to monitor a patient’s vital signs, being able to recognize signs of struggle as they monitor their breathing, and checking their pulse. They also need to be well-equipped with the knowledge to identify different symptoms that their patients have and offer the necessary assistance.
However, the knowledge that nurses need to perform their duty is dependent on their field of specialization and the type of care that their patient population requires. According to Person Pathway (2023), the nursing profession is diversly multifaceted. As such, there are different nurses’ specializations which include registered nurses (RNs), nurse leaders, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs. Therefore, based on their specialization, these nurses require specific knowledge to serve their patient population and offer effective care. The diversified nature of each position and the unique responsibilities that come with it requires that the nurse is well known to equipped to serve in their capacity.
The semester experience was instrumental in equipping nursing students with the knowledge that they need to serve in their professional capacity. Through the course instructor’s direction, reading materials and even professional encounters, the students were made aware of the different specializations that exist in the field of nursing and the specialized knowledge that each branch needs to pursue to effectively serve in the capacity. For example, other than the basic college degree that the students were working towards, the experience showed the additional knowledge that was needed to serve in the different capacities and thus the need of interested nursing students to pursue a specialization in their fields of interest.
The experience also highlighted the need for these students to engage in hands-on training in the job environment where their knowledge is practically put to use in the care of patients. Here the knowledge gets more flesh as it is put into practice. Another vital lesson that the course provided is the need for nurses to first get their licenses before they can be allowed to serve in the field. The nursing board, which has the mandate for licensing nurses, seeks to ensure that the professional is properly qualified, highly skilled and knowledgeable. The experience was instrumental in ensuring that these students were equipped with the knowledge that they need to offer care but also the steps that they need to follow to get the license which allows them to perform in the field.
Skills
There is a body of skills that nursing professionals need so that they can effectively offer patient care. The ability of nurses to effectively offer care, educate their patients on different things that pertain to their health, offer them emotional support and so forth relies on having a certain skillset (Person pathway, 2023). Although there are different skills, some of the essential skills that nurses need to have to include being effective communicators. The skill is instrumental since it helps these professionals effectively communicate with their patients and explain such important factors as the treatment plan, communicate information on their medication and even address any patient concern (University of North Dakota, 2023).
Further, nurses need to embody critical thinking in their operations. This skill is instrumental in helping nurses think and respond to the ever-changing healthcare environment. The skill helps nurses to effectively monitor their patient’s vital signs and determine any complications that are likely to occur and how they can respond to them. The skill is thus instrumental in contributing to the saving of lives.
Nurses also need to be equipped with the vital skill of urgent care, which they use to respond to situations where their patients are experiencing conditions that are life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest, catastrophic bleeding and blocked airways. Some of the skills which fall within this category include wound care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). As they serve in the emergency department of their g healthcare facilities, the skill to offer urgent care enables these professionals to be able to determine which patient needs more urgent care and which department they need to be sent to as they engage in triage.
The learning experience throughout the semester was instrumental in identifying the different skills that nurses need to succeed as professionals and equipping nursing students with them. The learning experience and interaction with seasoned professionals in the field identified and put an emphasis on the need for nursing students to have such skills as communication which improved their working with patients and collaboration with teammates. It also emphasized the need to develop one’s ability to engage in critical thinking as it showed the vital role that this skill plays in the everyday life of professional nurses. Specifically, the experience showed how nurses could continue to acquire and hone their skills through engaging in critical exercises such as lifelong learning.
Attitude
There are specific attitudes that professionals in the field of nursing need to embody in their operations. These attitudes are instrumental since they enhance the attitude that they have in the delivery of care. For example, nurses are required to ensure that they maintain a positive attitude in the provision of care to their patients and towards their profession as a whole. This is instrumental in ensuring that they are able to provide effective care for their patients. Nursing professionals also need to ensure that they are open-minded in their interaction with their patients eliminating any biases, thus ensuring that they offer effective care.
As Rekisso et al. (2022) show, the field tends to be significantly ambiguous with the diverse number of duties and the uniqueness of care that nurses provide for their patients. As such, the attitude that nurses have is vital and is strongly associated with the care that they deliver and the satisfaction of their patients. It is, therefore, important for these professionals to ensure that they maintain a positive attitude where their career is concerned so that they can effectively care for their patients. It is only when a nurse has a positive attitude that they can embody compassion, empathy, professionalism and so forth in their care. Alternatively, when a nurse has a negative attitude towards their profession, they tend to have no interest in the care they provide, which results in negative patient experience and even outcome.
The course experience in the semester was instrumental in shedding light on how the attitude of nurses has an implication on the provision of care and its quality. Specifically, the experience and interviews with professional nurses gave vivid illustrations and insight into how the attitude of nurses could either serve to enhance or impede care provision and the quality of service. As such, the nursing students were able to learn how important their attitude is to their chosen profession affecting not only their professional position but also the patients who rely on them to receive care.
Vulnerable Populations
Healthcare providers encounter diverse individuals who can be classified as vulnerable populations based on socioeconomic issues, which serve to impede access to care. According to Caudill-Slosberg (2019), the vulnerable population within the healthcare sector include patients who are uninsured, those within the poverty level, immigrants, the homeless, ethnic and racial minorities and so forth. As advocates within the healthcare systems, nurses need to be able to utilize their position to ensure that members of vulnerable populations are able to gain access to the care they need. Access to care for these vulnerable populations can however be affected by attitudes, values, and expectations of the nursing professions and members of the vulnerable population.
Attitudes
In terms of attitudes, it is clear to see that it could have a major implication on access to care, serving either as a promoter or impediment. An example of a vulnerable population whose access to care could be promoted r impeded by the attitude of the attending nurses is immigrants. As a whole, this population is afraid of seeking care since they are afraid of being reported and deported. As such, they are unwilling to take the risk although their health condition. The charged political environment in the US with regard to immigration sees individuals take different positions on the matter and give rise to health disparities, majorly affecting vulnerable populations (Carlson, 2023). The attitude that nurses embody when serving immigrants determines whether the patient feels safe or they fear that their care provider will report them
In an effort to influence these attitudes and provide guidelines in operations, the American Nurses Association (ANA) provides guidelines which are supposed to guide attitudes and their provision of care to vulnerable populations. For example, the policy states that the first commitment of nurses is to their patients and their family. They, therefore, should not be eager to report immigrants to law enforcement, and as such, they offer care to all patients irrespective of their immigration status, thereby promoting social justice for this group of a vulnerable populations (Carlson, 2023).
Values
The values that the nursing profession embodies also have a huge impact on the provision of care for vulnerable populations. For example, sexual minorities are another group of vulnerable populations whose access to care is impacted by the values that are embodied by these professionals. For example, transgender patients often fear receiving medical care since they are afraid of being ridiculed by their care providers, who tend to be judgmental and do not embody such values as compassion and empathy in the provision of care.
However, the course experience has shown that there numerous efforts that have been made to ensure that nurses as healthcare providers promote access to care among vulnerable populations through the values that they embody. For example, reading through the policy documents by ANA shows that the agency has taken bold steps towards advocating for the well-being of the vulnerable population and promoting social justice. Through their policy document, the agency has made provisions that stipulate how nurses should use their position to advocate for human rights and social justice as they address healthcare disparities impacting vulnerable populations (Carlson, 2023). Some of the things that the policy stipulates are for nurses to advocate that patients belonging to vulnerable populations get equal treatment, despite their different gender identity, their socioeconomic status, immigration status, sexual orientation and so forth.
Expectation
The expectations that patients from vulnerable populations have within the healthcare system could also affect their access to care. According to Ngo et al. (2021), there are diverse expectations which could have an implication and affect access to care. Some of the elements that the scholars identify include communication expectations. When these patients visit the healthcare sector, they expect that they will express themselves and be understood so that they can receive the care they need. However, when this expectation is not met, their desire to receive care diminishes. These populations also expect that they will receive assistance to bridge the communication gap when there is a language barrier with their care providers as well as medical tips. However, when nurses fail to meet these communication expectations of their patients from a vulnerable population, their expectations of care are dashed and impeded.
Patients also expect that they will relate with their care providers who offer support emotional and psychosocially when experiencing distress. For example, the patients expect that their nurses will help them navigate issues when they receive bad news. They also expect that they will be given access to resources and information available when they visit the care facilities (Ngo et al., 2021). However, when these expectations are dashed, access to care by vulnerable populations tends to be impeded
The entire course experience was vital in showing the important role that nurses play in promoting care to vulnerable populations. As advocates, they promote social justice for all and ensure that all patients, despite their diversities, are able to access the care they need without bias or discrimination. Further, the policy documents such as those published by ANA and other reading materials showed the vital role that nurses play as advocates of promoting care for all patients, specifically for vulnerable populations.
Spiritual Beliefs
Spiritual beliefs are an important part of people’s lives. These beliefs inform the way people live, approach life and deal with the different things that they encounter in life. In the field of healthcare, spiritual beliefs play an important part in the lives of patients, especially when they are dealing with sickness and illness which is life-threatening. As such, it is important for professionals in the healthcare sector to recognize and make accommodations for these beliefs. While nursing also has their own spiritual beliefs, they need to be able to recognize that patients also have their own and accommodate them.
Nursing professionals, therefore, require cultural competence, which enables them to understand the diversity which exists among their patient populations and ensure that they offer competent healthcare (Swihart et al., 2022). Swihart et al. (2022) show that religion and spirituality are highly relevant to patients receiving care. While most healthcare providers do not put much stock and these beliefs and fail to take them into consideration, they are instrumental in the promotion of patient health. The scholars show that patients often turn to their spiritual beliefs when they are faced with significant medical concerns and need to make decisions. Further, spiritual beliefs have an implication on the lifestyle of the people, informing their dietary choices, the preferred gender of their health providers, medications and so forth. Members of the nursing team, therefore, need to have a grasp on diverse spiritual beliefs and practices and the significant role that they play in the lives of their patients so that they can make accommodations for them and help enhance the health and well-being of their patients.
Further, a look at spiritual beliefs shows that they are instrumental in the lives of patients, particularly when they go through difficult times, as they help to alleviate the stress and anxiety they experience (Swihart et al., 2022). Nursing professionals, therefore, need to be able to take stock of these beliefs since they are very influential in the lives of patients and services to enhance their health and well-being. Care providers should understand that these beliefs provide important coping mechanisms for their patients in the face of diverse challenges, as Puchalski did. (2001) indicates various scholarly works have been able to establish the impact that religious beliefs and practices have in coping with illness, stress, and even living longer for patients with diverse forms of illness. The central role that spirituality has been shown to play in the promotion of enhanced patient recovery should be recognized and understood.
The semester experience has also served to reinforce the importance of catering to the needs of patients and putting them first. Various reading materials, professional encounters and even course instruction put an emphasis on the need for nursing professionals to offer quality care to each patient by focusing on them, understanding their needs and unique circumstances and offering care. Spirituality has emerged as a significant element in the health and well-being of patients and, therefore, needs to be considered and taken into account so that patients can be given proper care enhancing their well-being and improving patient outcomes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the nursing course proved to be instrumental in providing the knowledge and insight that is needed in the field of nursing. Through the course experience, nursing students were able to gather the diverse knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that they need as professionals so that they can offer effective and excellent care. The course also highlighted the need for these professionals to ensure that they engage in lifelong learning, which ensures that their skills are up-to-date and thus can offer effective care.
Further, the experience shows that nursing professionals are advocates who have the mandate to promote access to care for vulnerable populations through their values and attitudes in care provisions as well as meeting the expectations of their patients. Finally, it shows the important role that spirituality plays in the health of their patients and the need to understand and accommodate them in the provision of care.
References
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