Running Head: PROGRAM GRADUATE COMPETENCY REFLECTION

Program Graduate Competency Reflection

Delaware Technical & Community College

NUR 460 Nursing Capstone

Kei-Sha Dollard

December 5, 2020
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Program Graduate Competency Reflection

Becoming a Registered Nurse has been a great accomplishment in my career. I have

worked in the healthcare industry for nineteen years and have witnessed the changes in the

overall healthcare system. Registered nurses have maintained the #1 spot in Gallup’s annual

Most Honest and Ethical Professions Poll for 18 consecutive years (ANA, 2020). Making RNs

one of the most respected professions. I wanted to be a part of this prestigious group of

individuals. I obtained my Associate Degree in Nursing in 2018 from Delaware Technical &

Community College and decided to dive right into the RN to BSN-Bachelor of Science in

Nursing program to continue my education and gain knowledge to advance my RN career.

Throughout the program I have gained knowledge of advocacy, leadership, health promotion and

prevention, ethical principles, research, information technology, and policy to expand my role as

a professional nurse. In this paper, I will be reflecting on my journey through the RN to BSN

program explaining how I met the nine Program Graduate Competencies (PGCs).

NUR 300 RN to BSN Transition

The RN to BSN Transition is an introductory course that builds on prior education and

provides foundational knowledge on the role of a baccalaureate-prepared nurse. The emphasis is

placed on the expanded role of the professional nurse, including theoretical models, evidence-

based practices, and outcomes-driven healthcare (DTCC, 2018). In this course I was able to

achieve PGC # 1: Integrate general education knowledge, skills, and aptitudes to advance

nursing education and growth in professional practiced. This was accomplished by studying the

philosophies of nurses that have pioneered the nursing profession to create my own nursing

philosophy. A nursing philosophy reflects the values, beliefs, and care ethics of nursing practice.

I modeled my philosophy after Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. According to Jean
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Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, genuine caring relationships have a positive impact on a

patient’s health and can facilitate the healing process, putting caring at the core of nursing

(Trakalo, Horowitz, & McCulloch, 2015). My philosophy of nursing is to treat people as I

would like to be treated. As a nurse, I have the responsibility to provide culturally sensitive,

ethical, safe, quality, altruistic, holistic and competent care to my patients. Building trusting

relationships is the key to patient-centered care. My role as a nurse is to educate, advocate,

protect, and respect the individuals I care for, their families and the community.

NUR 310 Global Health

Global Health prepared me to explore global heath and healthcare issues. I learned about

global health disparities, social justice, health equality and an understanding of the nurse’s role in

advocating for health promotion globally. It has prepared me to deal with the current COVID-19

pandemic. I see how nations collaborate to deliver a global healthcare system. We share

information and technology to solve global health problems such as pandemics, health

disparities, water and sanitation issues, human trafficking, and societal development to name a

few. In this course I achieved PGC # 7: Integrate health promotion and disease prevention

practices to positively impact the delivery of healthcare to diverse populations. In my Health

Impact Research Paper, I discussed preventative measures to improve health and reduce the

burden of cardiovascular disease using the Health Impact Pyramid which includes

socioeconomic factors, changing the context to encourage healthy decisions, long-lasting

protective interventions, clinical interventions, as well as counseling and education components.

Nurses play a key role in improving health outcomes in every community and globally by

advocating for social justice and providing education to improve health literacy as well as
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making recommendations for future interventions for reducing the burden of cardiovascular

diseases.

NUR 320 Health Assessment

Health Assessment elaborated on my previous nursing education by providing a

foundation for a holistic approach to enhance my assessment skills. I created a plan of care for

an individual struggling with diabetes. The individual was noncompliant to her plan of care due

to lack of knowledge and understanding about the disease. I was able to assess her spiritual,

social, psychological and physical needs and delivery a comprehensive care plan that had a

positive impact on her health and well-being. I worked with her on her diet and exercise plans,

follow-up appointment schedules and arranged for her to have transportation to and from them. I

also educated her on the disease and printed out information that she could understand and

evaluated her understanding by using the teach-back assessment technique. In this course I

achieved PGC # 8: Practice professional nursing with an ethical framework.

NUR 330 Population and Community Health

Population and Community Health is a clinical course that prepared me to collaborate

with healthcare professionals and community member to plan, implement, and evaluate

interventions for population health. I chose to complete my Population/Community Health

practicum at Nurse Next Door, a home health agency in Dover, DE. I had the opportunity to

have Amy Clark, Clinical Director, as my preceptor. Amy began her career with Nurse Next

Door in 2014. She was a Licensed Practical Nurse and went to school to get her Bachelor’s

Degree in Nursing from Wesley College in 2018. She now manages the clinical staff and is

responsible for training, creating policies and procedures, as well as making sure that the agency

stays in compliance with Delaware’s Home Healthcare rules and regulations. Amy is also
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certified in Dementia care, so she created a training course for the nurses, CNAs, and health aids

to care for clients with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. I learned what Clinical Directors do

to manage home health care agencies and was able to visit a few clients’ homes to observe

nursing assessments, safety inspections, CNA follow ups, wound care, and care plan updates. I

was also able to see how clients are enrolled into the agency for care. I was able to shadow a

skills training class for new employees. I was able to be involved in creating a Pandemic

Preparedness Plan/Procedure for Covid-19. Nurse Next Door is an agency that is there to support

the community’s needs for home health care. The leadership staff is very nice and professional

and made me feel like part of the team. My experience made me look more into my future as a

home health care nurse. I liked serving as a resource for the community.

The class gave me a new insight into other opportunities available for nurses such as

public health and community nursing. The Covid-19 pandemic showed us how much public

health nurses are needed to educate and prepare for the current and future outbreaks. This

experience has made me want to help our growing elderly population to stay safe and healthy

during times like this. I am going to continue to learn more about home healthcare and maybe

open my own agency in the future to help the community care for our elderly population. In this

course I achieved PGC # 6: Direct patient-centered care through advocacy, interprofessional

communication, collaboration, and delegation.

NUR 340 Nursing Research

Nursing research introduces foundational concepts of nursing research and

information literacy to promote the development of student as a consumer of research. Emphasis

is placed on the critical evaluation and communication of nursing research from relevant sources

and its potential application to clinical practice (DTCC, 2018). Studying nursing research was
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interesting. I have learned that research is important to shape nursing practice. Nursing research

creates the foundation for evidence-based practice used in the improvement of clinical practice.

I have learned the differences between qualitative and quantitative research and how each is used

in nursing practice to improve health outcomes. This course has also taught me how to search

for relevant research articles related to my topic of study and analyze the information to improve

the quality of care provided to my patients. Through this course I completed a problem-based

research paper about Medical Marijuana. The problem is marijuana is classified as a Schedule I

Controlled Substance, therefore there is limited amounts of moderate-to-high-quality human

evidence regarding the effectiveness of marijuana for certain conditions, dosage, adverse effects,

or safety. Individuals are using medical marijuana more frequently, regardless of the limited

evidence, and nurses are left without evidence-based, clinical resources to care for them. The

PGC acquired in this course was # 3: Apply skills of inquiry, analysis, and information literacy

to support evidence-based professional nursing practice.

NUR 400 Nursing Leadership

Nursing Leadership prepares students to integrate leadership theories and principles into

nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on developing the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and

abilities of a nurse leader. Students examine leadership using the principles of advocacy,

interprofessional communication, collaboration, and delegation (DTCC, 2018). The course

allowed me to acquire PGC # 2: Demonstrate leadership skills to promote patient safety and the

delivery of high-quality healthcare. I adopted the Transformational Leadership Theory “The

style of leadership in which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the

change through inspiration, and executes the changes with the commitment of the members of

the group” (Renjith, G, & George, 2015). Nurse leaders are role models; they build trusting,
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interpersonal relationships with their followers, clients, and the community; they advocate for

improving the quality of care for clients as well as enhancing the satisfaction among their

followers and peers. As a nurse leader, I focus on empowering others by sharing my knowledge,

skills, and encouraging individuals to obtain new information through experiences and evidence-

based research.

NUR 410 Nursing Informatics

In this course I was introduced to nursing informatics and integrated the use of

technology into nursing practice. Nursing informatics is a specialty in nursing that integrates

nursing science with technology to improve patient outcomes and healthcare system policies and

procedures. This specialty was created to improve nursing practice. According to the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention, it has been estimated that up to 1,000,000 inpatient falls

occur annually in the United States (US) with associated direct medical cost greater than thirty

billion dollars. CMS categorizes falls as “preventable” hospital-acquired conditions that they

will no longer provide reimbursement for. This has made hospitals focus more on patient safety

by creating new fall prevention programs and policies. During this course I developed a new

policy and procedure to prevent falls on a Stroke Treatment and Recover Unit. I researched how

telemonitoring can reduce inpatient falls and increase the care teams productivity on the unit.

PGC # 4: Integrate information management technology to improve patient outcomes was

accomplished during this class.

NUR 420 Nursing Policy

The goal of this course was to examine the foundations of healthcare policy that impact

nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on the role of the nurse as an advocate in the legislative and

regulatory processes (DTCC, 2018). In this course I focused on how a bill becomes a law and
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how nursing can get involved in advocating for health reform by lobbing for changes in current

health care policies and encourage the creation of new policies. Nurses should be able to use

their expertise to influence the development and implementation of health policy to reflect the

needs of patients, families and communities worldwide. I focused on Delaware Senate Bill 230,

also known as Mental Health Parity (Delaware News, 2018). Delawareans were faced with not

having access to treatment for mental illness and substance abuse disorders due to lack of

insurance coverage. The Behavioral Health Consortium, led by Lt. Governor Hall-Long, Senator

Townsend, and Representative David Bentz introduced the bill to the Senate to eliminate

insurance coverage discrimination in Delaware and mandate certain reporting requirements that

will allow the state to determine if health insurance carriers and Medicaid managed care

organizations are applying treatment limitations which may prevent someone from accessing

care for their addiction or mental illness. Now that the Mental Health Parity has been signed into

law, more individuals suffering from mental illnesses and substance abuse orders will be covered

for treatment just the same as any other medical or surgical treatments. Nurses will be able to

improve the behavioral health conditions in Delaware by educating, advocating and treating

individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders. Nurses will be able to help them

navigate through behavioral health system to find resources in the community to prevent crises.

PGC # 5: Advocate for patients and the nursing profession with regard to healthcare policy at

the local, state, national, and global levels was accomplished during this course.

NUR 460 Nursing Capstone

Nursing Capstone prepares students to integrate their knowledge, skills, behaviors, and

abilities acquired in the RN to BSN program into nursing practice. Students demonstrate the

achievement of program competencies through a culminating clinical practicum experience and

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the presentation of a comprehensive professional e-portfolio. I had the opportunity to complete a

virtual practicum referencing the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and

developmental disabilities in Delaware. I also created a Lifelong Learning Plan to continue on

with my career path. The goal is to obtain a master’s degree in nursing that will allow me to

become a nurse entrepreneur in the community to help older adults age in place as well as

empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be a part of the

community. I plan on being an emerging nurse leader in the community.

Conclusion

My journey through the RN to BSN program has enlightened me to achieve success in

the nursing community. I have gained knowledge that will give me the opportunity to be an

effective nursing leader in the community to help clients and their families achieve health

promotion and disease prevention. I also have the confidence to continue my education to

further my nursing career. Nursing practice is always changing, and you have to stay current

with new technology and evidence-based practice to improve the quality of care you provide to

your clients.
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References

American Nurses Association (2020) ANA president proud of nurses for maintaining # 1 spot in

Gallup’s 2019 most honest and ethical professions poll. Retrieved from:

https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2020/american-nurses-association-

president-proud-of-nurses-for-maintaining-1-spot--in-gallups-2019-most-honest-and-

ethical-professions-poll/

Delaware Technical Community College (2018). Delaware Technical Community College RN to

BSN Handbook. Delaware. Delaware Technical Community College

Trakalo, K., Horowitz, L, & McCulloch, A., (Eds.) (2015). Nursing: A concept-based approach

To learning. (Vol. 2). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Delaware News (2018). Governor Carney signs “mental health parity” legislation.

Retrieved from: https://news.delaware.gov/2018/08/30/governor-carney-sign

Renjith, V. & G., R. (2015). Transformational leadership in nursing. International Journal of

Scientific Research and Management Studies 2(2), 112-118.

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