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Program Graduate Competency Reflection

Kayla Adkins

Delaware Technical Community College

Nursing 460 Nursing Capstone

Dr. Wagamon
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Program Graduate Competency Reflection

From the start of my nursing journey, I have learned so much and I owe most of that to the

classes that I have taken, especially the BSN courses. Growing up I always wanted to work with

people, and I thought that I was going to be a special education teacher until my grandfather

became sick with cancer. I would take my grandfather to his chemotherapy and radiation

appointments and the way that the nurses took care of him, I knew right then and there that is

what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. According to the University of St. Augustine for

Health Sciences (USAHS), 2020, part of being a great nurse is the ability to demonstrate

professionalism. A successful nurse is someone who exhibits compassion, empathy, and

commitment and who dedicates their career to personal growth and professional development.

USAHS (2020), also stated, “There are six ways to demonstrate professionalism in nursing

which include, putting patients first, effective communication, collaborate with and mentor

others, maintain a positive attitude, uphold the standard of care, and be accountable and honest”.

I believe that I display all of these professionalism characteristics because I always put

my patients first, advocate for them all the time, and always treat them with respect and

kindness. Effective communication needs to be displayed when dealing with patients and other

healthcare workers, including doctors. Maintaining a positive attitude may not be the easiest

thing to do, but it is crucial to help with the improvement of the patients and making them feel

more comfortable in your care. I also make sure that I am following all regulations and staying

up to date on my skills in order to effectively take care of my patients. Last but not least, being

honest and accountable is the biggest part of nursing professionalism in order to maintain their

integrity and holding yourself accountable for any mistakes that have been made. All of these
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things are something that I have improved on since starting the BSN program and something I

will continue until the day that I retire.

Creating a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis had opened

my eyes to what I should start improving at work, the things that may be affecting my work, and

what my strengths already consist of. My strengths as previously mentioned, consist of, working

well with others, effective communication with patients, being efficient in care, staying

organized, and displaying a good work ethic. My weaknesses consist of stress level being

increased due to the fact that I am currently trying to build a house, save money, my current

work environment with the lack of staffing, and not getting to apply all of the skills that I have

learned such as nasogastric tube insertions. Some opportunities that I have to build on in my

career are, promotions in my current position in hopes to eventually become a nursing

supervisor, learning new skills, and taking care of new patients, such as people who are sick with

COIVD 19. The threat that I have felt that has impacted my career are the current understaffing

issues in which I have seen on most of the floors where I work, and the lack of education that my

floor has received since transitioning into another floor.

Throughout this class I have been focusing on the nine program graduate competencies

(PGCs) and honing in on how I am able to integrate these into everyday nursing. PGC number

one focuses on general education knowledge, skills, and aptitudes to advance nursing education

and growth in professional practice. Continuing education during this program has helped with

expanding my general education, while continuing education classes offered at work are helping

me widen my skill range. My personal aptitude (natural ability to do something) has also

broadened during my time in this program. I have not only gained confidence in my nursing

career, but also in the background information allowing me to feel more comfortable teaching
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my patients and not second guessing myself. PCG number two focuses on demonstrating

leadership skills to promote patient safety and the delivery of high-quality healthcare. Leadership

skills are constantly used to promote patient safety and the delivery of high-quality healthcare as

you are constantly building rapport with patients and the constant education/teaching helps in

building that trusting relationship. Having good communication allows for better teamwork,

therefore improving/delivering high quality care to patients. I display solid leadership skills and

it can be seen during patient interaction because most of the time my patients are not afraid to

ask me questions or my opinion on their care.

PGC number three is about applying skills of inquiry, analysis, and information literacy

to support evidence-based professional nursing practice. Skills of inquiry supports evidence-

based professional nursing practice because it means asking questions and seeking out help.

Asking questions does not mean that you are incompetent, but it shows that you are not afraid to

ask questions and that you want to do everything you can to better your understanding. As a

nurse I am always analyzing practices to see if there is a better way to improve patient outcomes.

An example of this would be early ambulation in post-surgical patients to prevent things such as,

blood clots, lung issues, and infection. This method has been adopted on the current floor that I

work on. Finally, information literacy is crucial because it allows you to find research to support

these nursing practices. Also, continuing education helps nurses grow and its ever-changing

policies and practices. I have applied these in my career especially throughout the RN to BSN

program by staying up to date on current practices through research papers and applying them to

my career. PGC number four is to integrate information management technology to improve

patient outcomes. Information technology allows for improved patient outcomes because instead

of charting on paper, there are computers that allow for faster and more accurate documentation
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“charting in real time”. Some vital machines are even able to count respirations, along with

blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation which allows for a more accurate set of full

vital signs. My floor has implemented new protocols in regard to this by making sure that our

post-operative patients get a full set of vitals taken as ordered. We do not have “fancy” machines,

so to do this properly, we have to go into the patient’s room every fifteen minutes, four times,

then every thirty minutes, four times, every hour, four times, then every four hours which aides

in preventing any post op complications such as infection. PGC number five is advocating for

patients and the nursing profession, with regard to healthcare policy at the local, state, national,

and global levels. By making sure that current education and skills stay up to date, it will allow

you to advocate for your patients and also allow you to be more aware of the healthcare policies

at these levels. I believe TidalHealth Peninsula Regional does a great job proving their

employees with the skills and education that is needed to stay up to date with healthcare policies

at all levels. These policies also allow for anybody to receive healthcare from the hospital no

matter if they have insurance or money to pay for it.

PGC number six focuses on direct patient care through advocacy, interprofessional

communication, collaboration, and delegation. Advocating is one of the most important pieces of

nursing, especially to build a trusting relationship with patients. As previously explained, having

good communication skills with other healthcare workers allows for better outcomes for patients.

Being a nurse means having to delegate tasks to other healthcare workers such as certified

nursing assistances. By delegating tasks appropriately, it allows me to spend more time with my

patients that require more direct care. PGC number seven focuses on integrating health

promotion and disease prevention practices to positively impact the delivery of healthcare to

diverse populations. Health promotion and disease prevention such as washing your hands and
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wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) are just some of the small practices that

can not only help improve the diverse population, but also any population that we may come in

contact with; especially during times like today with COVID patients and the PPE that is needed

to care for them safely. PGC number eight focuses on practicing professional nursing within an

ethical framework. By practicing professional nursing, you will provide the same care to your

patients no matter their ethical background or beliefs. This means that you may believe in

something that your patient doesn’t, but you can’t refuse to take care of that patient. The same

thing goes as if the patient doesn’t have health insurance, you still have to take care of them with

the same quality of care as if your patient was the president of the hospital. Finally, PGC number

nine. PCG number nine is to demonstrate lifelong learning that empowers personal and

professional growth. Lifelong learning is so crucial in nursing because every day there is

something new to be learned. I have only been a nurse for two years now and there are things

that I am still learning to this day. I used to work with a nurse who had been on my floor for

forty years and she told me, that even to her last day there were things that constantly changed,

and she was always learning new things.

After reviewing the SWOT analysis and PGCs for this course there were gaps found in

relation to the PGCs and they were, demonstrating leadership and skills, and advocating for

patients and the nursing profession with regard to healthcare policy at the local, state, national,

and global levels. I would have loved to have been able to better understand and fulfill these gaps

in learning by completing practicum hours, however, I was unable to do so. Missing those hours

led me to focus on them more while I was at work. I had also developed five SMART goals to

work towards for this course but was only able to complete a few due to the circumstances I was

provided. My five goals consisted of, completing forty-five hours of practicum with the 5 East
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leader by week ten, instead I was able to complete the COVID practicum project by that time.

Goal number two was, by week ten I will be able to display leadership principles such as

advocating for patients and the nursing profession with regard to healthcare policy at the local,

state, national, and global levels. As stated above I was unable to complete this goal with my

preceptor, but I tried to stay up to date on information as much as I could during this time. I was

able to achieve goal number three which stated, by the end of this class I will be able to develop

a lifelong learning plan that incorporates my goals that better support my personal and

professional growth. I was unable to complete goal number four which was by the end of the

class I will be able to apply ethical principles to the nursing practice issues that I may find when

completing my 45 hours of practicum. Finally, I was able to achieve goal number five which

stated, by the end of the class I will be able to better display my nursing skills, better manage my

stress level, and constantly improve my nursing knowledge by continuing education. I am

constantly expanding my education and developing new skills at my current place of

employment, taking time for myself to de-stress after a long workday, and continuing to develop

knowledge by staying enrolled in classes with hopes to obtain a Doctorate of Nursing Practice

one day. I can’t wait to see where the next few years take me in my nursing career.
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Reference

University of St. Augustine for Health Science. (2020, July 27). The Importance of
Professionalism in Nursing. Retrieved from https://www.usa.edu/blog/professionalism-
in-nursing/