Running head: PROGRAM GRADUATE COMPETENCIES… 1

Program Graduate Competencies Reflection

Amanda Smith

Delaware Technical Community College

4/20/19
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Abstract

This paper incorporates the program graduate competencies that have directly influenced the

course of my education while in the RN to BSN program. By determining strengths and

weaknesses at the beginning of this final course there was more opportunity to develop, meet,

and exceed the goals that were initially set. Practicum and classroom experiences were two

effective modalities for furthering education, and often complemented each other throughout the

course. This paper will address some examples from other courses in the program.
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Program Graduate Competencies Reflection

Introduction

The RN to BSN program at Delaware Technical Community College has, without a

doubt, positively affected my nursing practice and career. There were numerous skills I had not

developed during the fast-paced accelerated RN program, and the Bachelor’s education allowed

me to cultivate the skills I was lacking. There are certainly some skills and decisions I may not

have faced at this point in my nursing career, but I feel much more prepared when tasked with

practical, cultural, and ethical issues. The program graduate competencies are a guide to

complete the program, and are instrumental to continue gaining knowledge through reflection of

the coursework. I am very confident that I have met all the competencies throughout the

program.

SWOT Analysis

The first part of the nursing capstone course required me to formulate my own SWOT

(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to see what personal or professional areas

I needed to improve, what opportunities I needed to use to my advantage to begin improving, and

what threats might stop me from reaching my full potential. The SWOT analysis creation

determined some strengths of mine are confidence in my abilities I have already learned and

practiced, my ability to quickly and independently finish tasks, good communication skills with

other team members, and dedication. Weaknesses the SWOT analysis exposed are a reluctance

to accept criticism when stressed, not utilizing new nurse orientation teaching opportunities, and

inability to speak up when staffing is not appropriate. Learning opportunities that would

encourage growth would be participating in new-hire orientations, learning new teaching skills
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from preceptors, enhancing time-management strategies, developing techniques to reduce stress,

and having more communication with staff members and management about staffing needs. I

believe the greatest threat to my, and any persons, success is a lack of education or training. I

don’t necessarily think that means education through school, but rather an incomplete education

in school or work or experience. School is designed to create and develop successful traits, such

as time-management, observational and critical-thinking skills, independence, responsibility,

communication skills, and curiosity. Further schooling, like college, is used to hone those traits

toward a certain career path and help create more traits to be successful in that career. In the RN

program my traits were created and tested, and the ones that made me successful were solidified

and help me to this day. The BSN program, especially with the online component, needed a few

different traits and I can happily say that I have acquired those traits and abilities. I have been

able to manage my time, and communicate with preceptors and instructors, and critically think

about nursing issues to present solutions clearly.

Personal Learning Goals

At the beginning of this program I was not specifically focused on the program graduate

competencies. I was more invested in why I, personally, had decided to seek further education

and what parts of my practice I really wanted to change or improve. I set goals for the program

and many of them were dynamic and changed as I continued through the program. Some goals

were met quickly, others needed more time, and a couple are professional goals for after

finishing this program. A few of my overall goals were, 1) learn more about the national and

international role of nurses, 2) discover various nursing career opportunities I may otherwise be

unaware of, and 3) critically read and think about all discussion board posts from peers to better

understand their thoughts on nursing issues and learn something from those posts. I can now
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move on to my future goals of becoming a critical care nurse and continuing my education with a

Master’s and Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree.

Competency Reflection

I have certainly attained each program graduate competency at some point in this

program. The experience at my current job and the nursing program coursework has helped me

to achieve these competencies.

1. Integrate general education knowledge, skills, and aptitudes to advance nursing education and

growth in professional practice (Nursing, 2018, pg. 3). Enhancing the general knowledge I had at

the beginning of this program through advanced coursework has given me a greater ability to

communicate effectively with other staff, patients, and families. Knowledge about proper

grammar, spelling, and historical events contributes to the professionalism of my demeanor and

is an important characteristic that co-workers and patients appreciate.

2. Demonstrate leadership skills to promote patient safety and the delivery of high quality

healthcare (Nursing, 2018, pg. 3). I have approached leadership roles with confidence at my

current job because I feel like I have the skills from my nursing and general courses. Nursing

leadership was a course that really helped me expand my view of nurses and how they are the

best leaders in the hospital. I feel more confident to step up and be the go-to person for questions

and assistance.

3. Apply skills of inquiry, analysis, and information literacy to support evidence-based

professional nursing practice (Nursing, 2018, pg.3). This program has really taught me to never

stop learning. There are a ton of new ideas and studies that are waiting to be analyzed. When I

get report or I read a chart and wonder why the patient is being prescribed a certain treatment or
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medication I look up research articles about what I am questioning or interested in. After

completing nursing research I had even more knowledge to choose articles and research that was

better conducted and appropriate.

4. Integrate information management technology to improve patient outcomes (Nursing, 2018,

pg.3). The facility I work for currently has an information technology system in place. Since

beginning this program I have discussed areas with my supervisor that could potentially improve

the patient’s care and discharge. For example, the facility is for rehabilitation and provides PT

and OT services. I frequently have patients ask about the status of their therapy and what times

they will be doing therapy that day. It would be much more effective if the therapists wrote notes

that show up in the electronic record so nursing could relay the information to the patient from

the therapists note. This would also enhance nursing care because the nurses could utilize

therapy goals to expedite the patient’s rehabilitation.

5. Advocate for patients and the nursing profession with regard to healthcare policy at the local,

state, national, and global levels (Nursing, 2018, pg. 3). Upon completing the nursing policy

course I understand how nursing is so greatly affected by policies at an institutional, state, and

federal level. I do advocate for patients where I work now when it comes to insurance policy.

Some insurance providers do not allow enough rehabilitation time for certain conditions, and all

patients vary on how long it takes for them to be able to go home or to assisted living. I had a

patient that was coming to the end of his insurance but was not able to go home yet because he

hadn’t walked up any stairs in therapy and his home required multiple stairs. Social work,

nursing, and physical therapy was involved and we were able to extend his stay until he walked

up stairs confidently in therapy. During my practicum experience at AstraZeneca with an

occupational health nurse I was able to see the role this nurse has in incorporating OSHA
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guidelines for a safe workplace and reporting events to the U.S. Department of Labor for the

benefit of the employees.

6. Direct patient-centered care through advocacy, interprofessional communication,

collaboration, and delegation (Nursing, 2018, pg. 3). At my current job we have multiple floors

of residents (rehabilitation, long-term care, and dementia care) and many of those residents are

seen by one or two physicians. Those physicians are often not able to visit with all their patients

all the time like a hospital environment, but they can still become sick or injured. It is my job as

their nurse to watch my patients and alert the physician when something is not right. I contact the

physician and request diagnostic tools so we may treat the patient in-house before it becomes too

serious and requires transfer to a hospital. By advocating and directing the patient care early

enough I am able to decrease the term of potentially serious illness.

7. Integrate health promotion and disease prevention practices to positively impact the delivery

of healthcare to diverse population (Nursing, 2018, pg. 3). Health promotion and disease

prevention varies between different backgrounds and populations. Throughout this program,

especially in the global health course, I have become more aware of those differences and the

struggles that different populations may have for acquiring healthcare. I am more sensitive and

compassionate to those who don’t have access to quality healthcare, and I will not stop working

to make good healthcare more accessible for everyone. In my final practicum experience I was

able to shadow an occupational health nurse and much of that position is about conducting

screenings in the workplace for certain markers of health or disease. The role allows the nurse to

be familiar with fellow employees and assist them in reaching their health goals, much of which

is health promotion and disease prevention. For example, the nurse evaluates the gaits of other
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employees and make recommendations for proper footwear or insoles to prevent back pain from

standing and walking all day.

8. Practice professional nursing within an ethical framework (Nursing, 2018, pg. 3). Throughout

this program I have been able to reflect upon my nursing values and ethics and determined how I

can use those values as strength for my nursing practice. The ethical questions in healthcare often

do not have an obvious answer and it is important to choose and develop personal ethics to stand

by for this reason. As a professional nurse, I have developed personal and professional ethics

while being in this program. I also feel more prepared for the moment when my personal and

professional ethics may clash and what to do about that.

9. Demonstrate lifelong learning that empowers personal and professional growth (Nursing,

2018, pg. 3). I have enjoyed learning more about nursing and the profession I have chosen. I

want to be able to continue learning throughout my career. A career that doesn’t require learning

is a boring one, and partly why I chose nursing to begin with. There are so many branches of

nursing that you can learn about. Not only are their many new skills to learn, but old skills can be

developed and changed over time. There will always be room for growth in this career and I am

excited for that opportunity.

Personal Nursing Philosophy

I created a personal nursing philosophy when I started this program that included values,

beliefs, and my own personality which would shape my nursing practice. I feel prepared to argue

that my philosophy has remained mostly unchanged, overall, I feel I have identified what my

personal nursing philosophy is by examining who I am and who I want to be as a professional

nurse. My nursing philosophy is about advocating for patients and colleagues. My philosophy
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incorporates lifelong learning and using my skills to better my community, nation, and the world.

My philosophy encourages the use of nursing as an art by showing compassion and a

nonjudgmental approach to every single person I come in contact with. My philosophy has an

emphasis on my wellness and the wellness of my patients and colleagues. This nursing

philosophy will guide my role as a professional nurse and I am thankful to be using all of my

values and beliefs to create a nursing philosophy that feels right to me.

Conclusion

The knowledge, traits, and competencies I have reached in this program are because of

the quality information and thorough curriculum. I have reached a better understanding of

nursing and how I can contribute to the betterment of the practice. I examined the nurse’s role of

the patient health assessment and how to treat their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual

needs. I experienced the needs and cultural differences of patients in global health. Nursing

research taught me how to examine resources and conduct strong research. Community health

had a practicum requirement that I fulfilled with Delaware Hospice and I am able to use what I

learned from hospice nursing every day. Nursing leadership helped me see. I gained valuable

insight into the affects nurses and healthcare have on policy-making and the decisions of state

and federal governmental leaders. Nursing capstone had another practicum requirement that let

me see another type of nursing at AstraZeneca, and the course helped tie together everything I

had learned in the program. In this final course I realized my goals for the program were met, I

am prepared for my next step, and the program graduate competencies are a stepping stone that

will allow me to realize later goals and proficiencies.

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References

Nursing 460 Syllabus. (2018). Delaware Technical Community College. Program graduate

competencies. Retrieved from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w5lJscEzMhSk27wduPjfOWsGAWh3_O7T/view