Journal Entry

Welcome to the last week of your practicum! As you have proceeded through the practicum experience, you have been regularly challenged to reflect on your growth and development as you made progress on your goals. Additionally, you have been evaluated by and gained feedback from your Preceptor. As you end this practicum, consider what you have gained from the experiences in your practicum setting. Did you meet your goals and objectives? What were the challenges, and how did you manage them? What were the successes, and what lessons can you take from those experiences and apply to future experiences? Use your reflections to seek opportunities for growth in the areas you found challenging, while simultaneously celebrating your successes.

This week, you complete a reflective journal on your practicum experience

Assignment: Journal Entry

Photo Credit: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Critical reflection on your growth and development during your practicum experience in a clinical setting helps you identify opportunities for improvement in your clinical skills, while also recognizing your strengths and successes.

Use this Journal to reflect on your clinical strengths and opportunities for improvement, the progress you made, and what insights you will carry forward into your next practicum.

To Prepare

• Refer to the “Population-Focused Nurse Practitioner Competencies” found in the Week 1 Learning Resources and consider the quality measures or indicators advanced nursing practice nurses must possess in your specialty of interest.
• Refer to your “Clinical Skills Self-Assessment Form” you submitted in Week 1 and consider your strengths and opportunities for improvement.
• Refer to your Patient Log in Meditrek and consider the patient activities you have experienced in your practicum experience and reflect on your observations and experiences.

In 450–500 words, address the following:

Learning From Experiences 

• Revisit the goals and objectives from your Practicum Experience Plan. Explain the degree to which you achieved each during the practicum experience.
• Reflect on the three most challenging patients you encountered during the practicum experience. What was most challenging about each?
• What did you learn from this experience?
• What resources were available?
• What evidence-based practice did you use for the patients?
• What would you do differently?
• How are you managing patient flow and volume?

Communicating and Feedback 

• Reflect on how you might improve your skills and knowledge and how to communicate those efforts to your Preceptor.
• Answer the questions: How am I doing? What is missing?
• Reflect on the formal and informal feedback you received from your Preceptor.

RUBRIC

Assimilation and Synthesis: Content Reflection: Reflection demonstrates a high level of critical thinking in applying and integrating key course concepts and theories from readings, lectures, and/or experiences. Insightful and relevant connections are made through contextual explanations and examples

Assimilation and Synthesis: Personal Growth Expresses solid evidence of reflection on own work. Demonstrates substantial personal growth and awareness of deeper meaning through inferences, well developed insights, and significant depth in awareness and challenges. Synthesizes current experience into future implications.

Written Expression and Formatting

Well written and clearly organized using standard English, characterized by elements of a strong writing style and basically free from grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling errors.

APA: Contains no APA errors.

PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING POINTS FOR THE ASSIGNMENT (REFLECTION WRITE UPS.)

Objective 1: I will be able to recognize specific signs and symptoms (associated with certain mental health issues by the end of this quarter

Planned Activities: I will observe and have my preceptor explain to me how the Patient’s potential diagnoses are chosen and concluded

2 Mode of Assessment: 1 Verification will be documented in Meditrek

PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed: I will be able to confidently put together a list of potential diagnoses for each patient seen by the end of the quarter. Also, I will be able to list up to 10 potential diagnoses with their reasons at the end of this quarter

Objective 2: My goal is to work with my preceptor and the rest of the treatment team for the best outcome for the Patient’s health this quarter by improving my Assessment skills

Planned Activities: I will assess the Patient’s reaction to therapy and appropriately choose how to adjust their care by using the pt’s both past and current information

2 Mode of Assessment: 1 Verification will be documented in Meditrek

PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed: I will assess and reassess the patients as needed and modify their treatment for a positive outcome and for the utmost result

·

Objective 3: My goal is to improve my communication skills, increase my attentiveness to the Patient’s concerns, and learn communication strategies by the end of the semester to facilitate the best outcome of the Patient’s care.

Planned Activities: I will watch my preceptor’s style of relating with the Patients. I will also ask my preceptor and the treatment team questions related to patients to enhance my learning. Finally, I will interact with the Patients on my clinical days as much as possible for detailed information and to improve my communication skill