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Running Head: TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE

Transition into Practice

Dixie State University

NURS 4700

Paige Price
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Running Head: TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE

During my time at Dixie State University, I have been surrounded by learning outcomes

and goals. Each class has different expectations during the duration of the semester. Being a

nursing student, those goals and outcomes are so perfectly tailored to what we will experience

and deal with once we are working. Reflecting on the journals I have written from clinical

experiences the past two years, I have been amazed by my growth and progression, and my detail

to what I can improve on, what new skills I want to learn and how I can better care for my

patients. One outstanding theme I recognized over all of the journals I’ve written is to not be

scared and show confidence. Each one of the BSN program learning outcomes: Patient Centered

Care, Clinical Judgement, Communication, Caring and Professional Behavior, each share the

commonality of being brave and being confident.

The first part of the nursing process is to assess. That is one of the very first things I

learned when I started the program and it has not gone away, nor will it ever. When we are being

taught to give patient centered care, we must first asses our patients in order to know what is

happening, the pathophysiology, the psychology, their emotions, their diagnosis, how they react

to drugs, etc. We must see and know a lot before we can act and provide care.

What distinguishes patient‐centered care in its fullest sense from beneficence or better

customer service is that it involves actions undertaken in collaboration with patients, not

just on their behalf. It requires clinicians to appropriately share power even when that

sharing feels uncomfortable. Good customer service is important, but insufficient to truly

providing PCC. (Fix, VanDeusen, Bolton, Hill, Mueller, LaVela, Bokhour, 2018, pg.

306)
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Running Head: TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE
As I have seen myself become better in my patient interactions, I have personally seen

how much better patients do if we collaborate with them, tell them what we notice and assess,

and how they can be a part of their own healthcare. Reading through my journals, I saw what

kind of assessments I was able to perform and be able to conduct and the following interventions

I could do solely as a nurse. As I transition into practice, making sure that I make my assessment

priority before anything else is going to be key. My weakness going forward is definitely going

to be coming up with nursing diagnoses to accommodate my patient directly while they’re under

my care.

Although I don’t plan on going into research, I have had many opportunities to do clinical

practice research while in the program. As nurses, we are constantly told to have critical thinking

skills and to use good judgement. Obviously, the judgement will come with time, but as we study

to take the NCLEX, as we read up on current nursing journals and conduct our own research, we

will be able to give better care via evidence-based practice. “Ebright called this complex

cognitive work, “stacking” which involves organizing, prioritizing, and decision‐making about

patient care delivery in the context in which that care is delivered while remaining open and

flexible to changes in the plan of care as needed (Manetti, 2018, pg. 102).”Nurses are flexible,

and I think that’s why one of the questions asked in the journal is ‘did everything go according to

plan?’, because people are unpredictable and we need to be fluid and move with what is going on

around us. I think that this is actually something I excel in because of my training in the

operating room. I have to be quick on my feet if there is something bleeding, or we switch from

laparoscopic to open, etc. I can use this quick prioritization skills I have learned and apply them

in the nursing world when I pay attention to the small changes in my patient’s conditions.
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Running Head: TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE
Communication was one of the easiest and hardest skills to participate in and master

while in clinicals. You have to think about how you’re going to talk to the patient, and then you

forget about the family in the room, and you have your speech prepared for your doctor and his

NP is answering for him, it’s never quite as simple as it seems. I think one of my biggest

weaknesses is knowing when to speak up and ask for help or if I have questions. I like to do

things on my own, and I learn by observing and listening, so I try to be quiet and do my own

thing when I work. “Patients’ perceptions of the quality of the healthcare they received are

highly dependent on the quality of their interactions with their healthcare clinician and team

(Impact of communication in healthcare, 2011).” This statement so perfectly describes why

communication is so important and is one of the core learning outcomes for nursing students. I

can be a more effective nurse as I transition into practice by bringing up concerns with members

of my healthcare team and advocating for my patient.

Caring as one of the core learning outcomes I think could be the core foundations of

being a nurse. I came into nursing knowing I had an altruistic personality and I have a love for

people, so growing upon that love during the program has been special for me. I know that my

issue going into nursing is that I am already jaded, having been in health care since I was 15. I

get in ruts when I feel like I’m not helping people and it’s hard for me to have sympathy when

people make mistakes or can’t seem to get healthy. However, creating an environment for my

patient where they feel treated with respect and love is the beginning stages of healing. “The

personal characteristics and professional experiences of clinicians may impact their ability to

engage in culturally sensitive communication, and can help them develop therapeutic

relationships with their patients (Matteliano & Street, 2012).” I can begin to build my character
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Running Head: TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE
as a nurse by allowing my knowledge and history of past experiences to impact how I can be

sensitive and care for my patients.

Professional behavior has been a part of me since I was little. My parents taught us all

how to be respectful communicators and be able to handle situations that are sometimes hard in a

professional way. I am forever grateful for it. During this program, I have had the opportunity to

take a few classes on professional development and how we as nurses strive to be an essential

part of the healthcare team to give the best patient focused care we can. Learning about the ANA

code of ethics has helped me realize what I need to do for my patients and what I need to do for

myself to protect me and my patients. I love that the purpose of the code of ethics is that, “It

binds nurses to support each other so that all nurses can fulfill their ethical and professional

obligations (Ethics, 2020).” Nursing is a very personal profession and we should stand together

to build our profession for the caring, strong, supportive nurses we are. My weaknesses as far as

professional development goes are that I need to know my code of ethics better and eventually

when I get a job, know my hospitals policies.

All of the learning outcomes that we have been mastering during the past two years have

and will intertwine when each of us goes out into practice. I know that just starting, I will have

many flaws and weaknesses, but as I work each day to better myself and use the abundant

resources around me, I know that I can be successful and one day, teach a new student the things

that I wish I had known.

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Running Head: TRANSITION INTO PRACTICE
References

“Ethics.” ANA, American Nurses Association, 2020, www.nursingworld.org/practice-

policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/.

Fix, G. M., VanDeusen L, C., Bolton, R. E., Hill, J. N., Mueller, N., LaVela, S. L., & Bokhour,
B. G. (2018). Patient-centred care is a way of doing things: How healthcare employees
conceptualize patient-centred care. Health expectations : an international journal of public
participation in health care and health policy, 21(1), 300–307.
https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12615

“Impact of communication in healthcare.” IHC, July 2011, healthcarecomm.org/about-us/impact-

of-communication-in-healthcare/.

Manetti, W. “Sound clinical judgment in nursing: A concept analysis.” Wiley Online Library,
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 31 Oct. 2018,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nuf.12303.

Matteliano, M,A., Street, D. “Nurse practitioners' contributions to cultural competence in

primary care settings.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 29 Mar. 2012,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1745-7599.2012.00701.x.