Running head: SELF-ASSESSMENT OF REASONING

Self-Assessment of Reasoning Jennifer Edson Ferris State University

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF REASONING Self-Assessment of Reasoning

During the course Population Based Health Promotion, NURS310, my nursing skills, and critical thinking skills have developed further. The information learned during this course taught me how much more my skills can exceed my current knowledge and skills. With furthering my education and critical thinking skills, I will be able to enhance patient safety and become a better person and nurse. Significant Content The content throughout this semester was very intriguing and eye opening. The first posting was in regards to our own definition of health. After reading the chapter in regards to defining health, it was interesting to see how many of our definitions of health had changed per the discussion boards of this topic. Throughout the semester we continued to learn about health promoting topics such as our own health beliefs, and beneficial topics such as rest and sleep in week ten, stress in week eleven, nutrition in week twelve, and physical activity and exercise in week fourteen. The additional information and critical thinking regarding these topics helped me explore these topics into further detail and to broaden my knowledge and critical thinking regarding these subjects. Thoughts and Feelings Initial Pre-Assignment When working on the first assignment in regards to defining my own definition of health, I thought, thats easy, what a silly question, everyone knows what the definition of health is. Little did I realize how complex this question would turn out to be. My first paper was the Health Promotion Plan. I was excited to read about stress, sleep and exercise. Although, everyday I attempt to remove stress from my life, I never seem to have

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF REASONING it figured out. I was really excited to read about those chapters, discuss and write a plan for my own personal benefit. Mid-Assignment Once I sat down to articulate my thoughts and to write out my definition of health, I realized it could mean more to me than just being healthy. There are several meanings to the word, and that the definition of health means different things to different people. They dedicated an entire chapter on defining health in the Pender text. Throughout the writing of my Health Promotion Plan paper, I kept reading about meditation and visualization. I knew if I could figure out how to lessen stress in my life, that it would benefit my sleeping pattern, and I would be more mindful of physical activity and vice versa. All these topics play a role and interconnect with each other to make an individual healthy, mentally and physically. Completed Assignment Upon completion of these assignments I was able to define a more detailed definition of health. I also understand now that different people view the term health in several different manners, some more narrow, some more broad. I broadened my own definition to include a physical and mental sense of well-being. With that, I also believe that health includes optimal well-being to a person regardless if they are stricken with illness or a terminal disease. With completing the Health Promotion Plan paper, I have since joined yoga and have been participating at least four times a week since signing up. I have noticed a sense of relaxation and a lower level of stress within myself. I have also helped reduce stress by

meditation and have started being more active and watching my consumption of processed foods

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF REASONING since then. Eventually, I believe sleep will follow. I feel that this paper was very beneficial to my well-being. Points of View or Assumptions Initially, my assumption of this course was that it was going to be just paper pushing, jumping though the hoops and participating in useless discussions. My basis of these thoughts stem from other courses that seem to do just that. I am sure that being required by my employer to get a Bachelors of Nursing degree hinders my desire because I often feel like I am just jumping through hoops. However, with that being said, once I learned about the topics, my interest peaked, and I suddenly thought that there was something I could get out of this class. Even the first assignment helped broaden my thinking skills. The Health Promotion Plan paper was eye opening and definitely had an impact on my well-being state of mind. I realized that there were definite improvements that could be made. My point of view in regards to health is a combination of definitions and does not necessarily mean free from illness as I initially defined it. I further expanded my definition to include hospice patients or patients who will never be free from pain or illness that are in optimum state of well being for their condition and for themselves.

When I initially started writing the Health Promotion Plan I thought that because I was an active person and that I like to run, that I had my physical activity and health under control. My assumptions were wrong because after taking a deeper look into this paper, I realized that how I dealt with stress was not healthy. I knew my sleeping patterns have always been dysfunctional, as they have been for years. However, being sleep deprived makes dealing with stress much more difficult. I went from assuming physical exercise was enough to keep myself in balance to believing that all these components we learned about play a part in the total picture. I found that

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF REASONING in order to have sleep/rest, good nutrition, exercise, and a stress free life that all these components must be in order. Otherwise, balance cannot be reached. I have found that yoga

was my missing piece that I needed to help tie all the components together. Its not perfect, but I have definitely improved my practices. The discussion in our group regarding stress was the selling point for signing up for yoga. Many of our group members used it as a stress relieve and as their form of exercise. It definitely increased my interest and made me want to try it. I did, and I love it. I believe this was definitely a beneficial aspect from this material and from this course. Analysis of Thinking I believe the topics in this course are beneficial and significant to my own life as well as beneficial for others. These topics such as nutrition, stress, sleep and exercise will continue to benefit me for the rest of my life. In order to be a good nurse, I must take care of myself first. I need to understand how to deal with stress. I need to learn to take care of myself before I can accurately take care of others. I have been able throughout this course identify my weaknesses and develop a plan to improve them. I have taken actions to improve my own health because of this course. In regards to grading, I believe this paper should be graded as a B. I feel that I have an open mind in regard to identified topics, I can think logically and am a work in progress in developing better ways to express those thoughts. This semester with all the writing that has been required, I have acknowledged to myself, that I need to work on expressing what I mean in a better and more detailed fashion. I believe my thoughts are well reasoned, and my thinking skills have grown throughout this semester and my problem solving skill are developing strongly.

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF REASONING Reference

Pender, N.J., Murdaugh, C.L. & Parsons, M.A. (2011) Health promotion in nursing practice (6th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall