NR 509 REFLECTION – GRADED AN A

NR 509 REFLECTION – GRADED AN A High quality healthcare is the goal of all healthcare providers. Advanced practice nurses should possess the skills and competency necessary to provide the best care possible to their p ...

NR 509 REFLECTION – GRADED AN A High quality healthcare is the goal of all healthcare providers. Advanced practice nurses should possess the skills and competency necessary to provide the best care possible to their patients. The Advanced Physical Assessment course allows students the opportunity to observe and practice proper assessment techniques and fulfills program outcome number one. The MSN program’s outcome number one reflects the essentials of master’s education in nursing and focuses around providing high quality, safe, patient-centered care grounded in holistic health principles (AACN, 2011). The use of Shadow Health throughout the course and the Immersion weekend allowed me to acquire the desired outcome of the course. Shadow Health provided a platform to practice assessment skills while interviewing and performing physical examinations on virtual patients with a variety of diagnoses. It also provided practice for documentation, diagnosing, and creating treatment plans. Shadow Health proved to be a great tool for practice and obtainment of the skills needed in the course. Immersion weekend also provided a great avenue to practice “hands-on” with classmates while learning assessment techniques from instructors. The weekend gave me the confidence and experience to feel better prepared for the beginning of my future practicum courses. Overall, the assignments throughout the course expanded my knowledge and skill level to prepare me to provide high quality care to my patients in the future. The APEA 3P exam at the end of the Advanced Physical Assessment course was an excellent tool to assess my strengths and weaknesses in the areas of physical assessment, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. Upon completion of the exam, it was determined that my weakest areas were in dermatology (33%), urology (50%), women’s health (67%), and cardiovascular (67%). The results provide a glimpse of areas that I need to focus more specifically on throughout the rest of the program prior to taking the certification exam. These specific areas are ones that I have always struggled with and do not have a lot of experience with in my current nursing role. However, I do know that my knowledge base and skill level in all areas will increase as I progress through my practicum courses. Practicing patient care with a preceptor will be a great way to learn new skills and enhance my knowledge. Playing an active role in one’s education is a great way to learn something new and develop new skills. I plan to utilize Chamberlain’s Library to assist me in decreasing my knowledge deficits and improving my performance. There are many valuable educational resources available to students for self-study. Anatomy TV is a resource that provides pictures along with descriptions and interactive learning tools to review physical anatomy and physiology (Chamberlain Library, 2018). The Daily Med link will also prove to be a valuable resource to familiarize myself with medications and improve my knowledge in pharmacology. Access Medicine is also a great resource to use for videos, case studies, animations, and material to test one’s knowledge (Chamberlain Library, 2018). All of these resources through the library will provide various tools to test and strengthen my knowledge base. Creating a quality improvement plan for myself is necessary for success in improving my ability to provide optimal care to patients in my future practice. I plan to study Hollier’s NP Certification Practice Questions weekly. I will tackle the questions one system at a time, beginning with the four weakest areas revealed by the APEA 3P exam. Once I have practiced all systems, I will return to the weak areas for one more round of focus. I plan to also use the library tools mentioned above along with each system. I plan to devote approximately 2 weeks to each system and then return to those that are still weak areas. My goal is to complete practicum and have reviewed all body systems at least once prior to sitting for the board examination. Monica References American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2011). The essentials of master’s education in nursing. Retrieved from http://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/MastersEssentials11.pdf Chamberlain Library. (2018). Resources for 3P Self-Study. NR-509 Advanced Physical Assessment: Home. Retrieved from https://library.chamberlain.edu/NR509