Practice Summary Paper

Nursing 403 – Transition to Baccalaureate Nursing Practice

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this paper is to guide you through a process of self-reflection and self-

evaluation to discover the scope of your personal and professional development while enrolled in

the RN>BSN nursing program at Old Dominion University.

The assignment is designed to help you prepare for your Portfolio. The Practice Summary

Paper is designed to demonstrate the attainment of the 8 core competencies in general. The

Portfolio demonstrates the achievement of the Core Competencies through the attainment of

Specific elements [the bullets] within the Core Competencies

Student Approach to Assignment

This paper summarized progression in my nursing career thus far. I approached this

paper using more of my experiences in my career rather than assignments I wrote. I believe that

an individual learns more through experience, so I decided to stick to that thought process.

I used the eight core competencies guideline sheet to help guide my stories from experiences.

It was then easy for me to start writing and gather some of my experiences on paper. The paper is

a great illustration of my personal progression as I finish my BSN program.

Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio

The reason for inclusion in my portfolio is the demonstration of learning through the

eight core competencies. This is a requirement for my portfolio to demonstrate that I have met

the fulfillment of the end program outcomes.

• Critical Thinking

o Used decision making skills in making clinical or professional judgement

In the paper I talked about an individual who was becoming more agitated due to

the lack of blood being delivered to her brain. My past experiences related to agitation

and hypoxia gave me the clinical judgment to call a rapid for assistance.

• Nursing Practice

o Applies appropriate knowledge of major health problems to guide nursing practice

In my paper I discussed a situation where I had an unstable patient with a low

blood pressure. ICU didn’t think it was necessary to transfer the patient because his blood

pressure is normally low. I felt it was unsafe for the patient to stay on my floor so escalated to

the attending. The patient eventually was transferred off my floor.

• Communication
 o Uses therapeutic communication within the nurse-patient relationship

I mentioned in my paper on how non-verbal cues are just as important as verbal

words. I used the example from the time when a patient preferred my care over another nurses

care because I smiled more. Smiling made me more inviting to the patient which made them

prefer my care.

• Teaching

o Provides teaching to patients and/or professionals about health care procedures and

technologies in preparation for and following nursing or medical interventions

I used the example in my paper about how I must teach includes which leg to lead first

during their first day post-operative. I was constantly teaching proper body movements so the

patient could use their new joint properly. If I wasn’t teaching about moving your joint, I was

teaching about medications, therapy, and discharge.

• Research

o Evaluates research that focuses on the efficacy and effectiveness of nursing

interventions

Mentioned in my paper, I did a project in Nursing Research 363 regarding EBP of

CLABSI. I gathered research to learn the effectiveness of CLABSI bundles in the hospital

setting. The nursing interventions to prevent CLABSI have proved to be effective in lowering the
incidences of infections.

• Leadership

o Assumes a leadership role within one’s scope of practice as a designer, manager, and

coordinator of health care to meet the needs of populations

As mentioned in my paper delegation is a big part of the nursing field. I would

have to delegate and coordinate who was getting ready in the morning to be in the chair. I would

delegate this task to a technician or coordinate time to assist with an individual who requires two

people to get them to the chair safely.

• Professionalism

o Differentiates between general, institutional, and specialty-specific standards of

practice to guide nursing care

As mentioned in my paper, each floor has certain protocols to follow. One policy we

followed on the orthopedic unit is that we must do dual sign-off for insulin. I follow policy to

ensure the correct dose is being administer to the patient.

• Culture

o Articulates an understanding of how human behavior is affected by culture, race,

religion, gender, lifestyle, and age

I had an assignment in Nursing 401, as mentioned in my paper this assignment gave me

an understanding of a culture other than my own. This assignment let me explore how they view

health, how is pregnancy handled, end-of-life care etc. This help me understand what differences

that may arise from caring for someone of Muslim faith.