Post-Interview Reflection
I learned a lot of new things about nursing during my interview. The most significant thing that stood out to me was the importance of teamwork. Obviously, there are situations where leadership is necessary, but I found that teamwork is almost more important. The nurses on his unit are always helping each other out and the charge nurses are supportive. The nurse I had interviewed works in the ICU and has only been a nurse for 7 months. It surprised me that even as a new nurse, leadership qualities are still very important. This nurse spoke about how often he must communicate with the doctors to facilitate the care of the patient. He is always in constant communication with the providers and asking for medications. He also spends time communicating with the patient and family about what is going on. I asked him about his specific role of being a leader, and he said that he does not see himself as one. I explained to him that being an advocate for his patients and standing up to the providers for what he thinks is right are examples of him being a leader.
This interview has given me a new perspective on what leadership means. Being a new nurse can be intimidating and standing up for what you believe is right takes a lot of strength. I have learned that separating yourself emotionally from a situation can give you a different perspective to be able address concerns. A person with leadership qualities has this ability while still being able to connect with the people around them. What I learned most is that in all levels of nursing, teamwork and leadership go hand in hand. When I start working as a nurse, I will try to be both a leader and a team player. Leadership qualities are needed in nursing and are necessary to give your patients the best care possible.
Prep for Licensure Peds
I think that I am doing a better job at not changing my answers as much. Although this is still happening, I have noticed that it is not happening as frequently as it used to. I think I should have taken a break, considering I did over 100 questions straight through. I noticed that I may have made a couple mistakes that I normally wouldn’t make towards the end of the exam. these mistakes maybe could have been prevented if I took a small break or two during the quiz. I think overall I am becoming better at multiple choice questions and the practice is helping me improve my knowledge overall.
Pre-Interview Reflection
I chose this person because we have been friends for years now, but I have never worked with them in a professional setting. I always noticed that this person was not the type to follow along with the rest of the crowd. Since I noticed their leadership qualities outside of the workplace, I would like to interview them to see how they incorporate them into the workplace. They are a new nurse and do not necessarily have a formal leadership role. An example of a formal leadership role would be nurse manager or charge nurse. Even though this person is not in a leadership position, like a manager, they still can act as a leader when it comes to their patient’s care. An example of this is being an advocate for the patient. Communicating with the provider what you believe is best for your patient is a form of leadership. I do know a little bit about their experience in the new grad program, but I would like to know more. I think it is fascinating how leadership qualities are important in nursing even in a non-leadership role. In this interview, I am interested in learning how a new graduate nurse can still demonstrate these qualities and how it can affect patient care. I am also interested in if this person has self-awareness of their leadership qualities and if they recognize them daily while working. I think this interview will be a different perspective of leadership and I look forward to learning something new about this person.
Preparation for Licensure Pharm
I think I did a much better job at not changing my answers compared to the first Adaptive ATI. I also took my time and tried not to rush. I still think that I could have used a break or two, but overall, I am pleased with my results. I think I need to go over pharmacology more before I take the NCLEX but doing the remediations has helped me to review some of the medications. for my next assessment, I will continue to try and take my time and not change any of my answers.
Preparation for Licensure MedSurg
After taking the first adaptive medical surgical ATI, I learned a lot about myself. I realized that I need to slow down and take my time with each question. I made a lot of mistakes my misreading or missing parts of questions and answers. I also need to stop changing my answers; however, this has been a long-standing issue that I have had. There was a lot of content that I remembered that I was surprised about, others that I needed some brushing up on. Overall, my testing experience went okay, and I will incorporate these changes in the next adaptive quiz I take.
Career Development
I loved hearing the nurses speaking about their jobs in the NURSES If Florence Could see Us Now film. What resonated with me most is that nurses can make a difference in so many ways. It does not matter which path you chose, you can have an impact on others lives. One of the nurses spoke about being bold, brave, and courageous when others won’t and that are there so many different paths you can chose to change the world. I believe throughout nursing school, I have begun to develop these qualities. I think I still have a long way to go, but I hope that I keep these things in mind and continue to develop as a person and as a nurse. A population mentioned in the movie that I have yet to have experience with was the Native American population. The nurse spoke about their beliefs and how it can interfere with their care. Some believe in the power of prayer, and your job as the nurse is to advocate for your patient and be able to care for them in the best way possible while still being respectful of their wishes. This can be applied to working with any culture and something I will stay mindful of when working with these populations in the future.
After reviewing the career services presentation and listening to the guest speakers, I definitely was overwhelmed. Even though I felt this way initially, I realized that it helped me prepare for a future interview. I learned that I should always be prepared with questions before I enter. I learned to describe my strengths in an effective way, I would incorporate them with the values of their mission statement. It is important to be confident in both strengths and weaknesses. When addressing weaknesses, I will show motivation to improve and the desire to change. Overall, I learned that it is important to be confident and prepared.
Prepare for Transition
Approaching my last semester of college, I am having a lot of mixed feelings. I am most excited about learning how to not be a student anymore. Going to school is all I have ever known, and it will be quite the transition when it will finally be over. I am looking forward to more free time and being able to be around my family and friends more often. Once I graduate, I will hopefully have a big graduation party and possibly go traveling overseas. I have been struggling with my health over the past year, and I am happy that graduating will give me some more free time to focus on my own needs. Although I am excited about the future, I have many reservations. I am still uncertain of what type of nurse I want to be. Even though I have been able to narrow it down, it is still hard for me to decide. I am anxious about the hiring process and passing the NCLEX most of all, which I am sure many new graduates feel the same way.
It is nice to think about the future, but I like to stay focused on the present. School is my main priority right now and planning thoroughly will help me succeed. I have a calendar and planner with all of my due dates written in. On Sundays, I go through the past week to make sure I did all my assignments and then look ahead to plan my week. One thing that I am going to start incorporating into my weekly routine is preparation for the NCLEX. Through the ATI modules, I have learned how to analyze questions and figure out how to answer them even if I am not confident with the content.
Presenting Change
Our project was done on infection control. We created posters that were posted to the unit that we did our NSG 456 clinical rotation on. These posters included ways to help prevent the spread of infections in the hospital setting. A survey monkey link was put on the poster to track the response to the information given. The data from the survey is still pending. It is unfortunate that we could not be there to see the posters and how the staff will respond to them. We did receive some feedback from our clinical instructor, which will be helpful to apply for future projects. She said that the length of time of washing hands is actually longer than singing happy birthday, which is a common recommendation. This might be an interesting fact to add to the poster. She also stated that next time, to not forget that skin and wound infections can be considered hospital acquired.
What we learned from this project can be applied to the rest of our nursing careers. Hospital acquired infections are a big problem and is something that needs to be addressed. What I learned most is that sometimes just simple things can help prevent the spread of infections. In my future nursing practice, I will be sure to thoroughly wash my hands and follow the hospital protocols for infection prevention. As a new nurse, it is important to be upfront about your plans in ways to contribute to quality improvement and initiating evidence-based practice.
For this project, I believed that out team worked well together. As a team member, I was there to put in the amount of work necessary to make sure our project was done well. It was getting hard towards the end of the semester when we all had different schedules and preceptorship to worry about. In the end, I believe we did a good job working together and making sure that the project was up to our standards.
Disaster Nursing
Nurses play many roles when it comes to different forms of disasters. One of the primary parts in disaster nursing is emergency preparedness. The best way to respond efficiently is having a well thought out plan that is well known among staff and has been practiced. Collaboration is a key element for establishing and facilitating a good disaster paln. During a disaster, a nurse must coordinate communication between the care team and the patient. The nurse must be an advocate for the patient and educate them on how to stay safe after they leave. Provision 2 of the ANA code of ethics says that a nurse’s primary responsibility is to their patient, so it is important that they do everything they can to keep the patient safe. Also stated in the code of ethics is that a nurse owes the same duty to themselves. If a nurse is unable to care for themselves, then it is impossible for them to give the best care to their patients. For example, during this pandemic, nurses are working long hours and overtime shifts sometimes without breaks. If a person is not well rested, their body and mind will not have the capacity to do their best work. So not only is this detrimental to the nurse, but also to the patient. I am a strong advocate for people, and nurses in particular, to take care of themselves to the best of their ability so they can do the same for others. It is only fair that we treat ourselves in the same way we plan to treat others.
