Long Term Care Reflection

Words: 639
Pages: 3

With the clinical experience portion of the class approaching, I cannot help but find myself overwhelmed and anxious. Transferring knowledge and skills from a classroom setting to a health care setting can stand as an intimidating situation, as it expects students to not only retain confidence, but to also demonstrate their readiness to care. Although I do not feel completely equipped to take care of an actual patient, I plan on using my experiences from this course to aid in my care of an individual who lives in a Long Term Care Facility. One of the experiences I plan to heavily rely on during my clinical rotation to a Long Term Care Facility stands as concept mapping - goal setting. Concept maps exemplify organizational tools with distinct …show more content…
While I still reside as a nursing student, with a vast majority of skills and knowledge to learn, I can express the progress I personally completed. Through each module, or week, I notice the content encompassing more depth and detail. The competency skill become more challenging and at a higher quality than the week before, but that does not mean that these skills stand more important. Rather, I began with a basis of knowledge and then apply that knowledge to new skills. The content and skills continue to grow off of one another; I will never lose what I learn, as I continue to employ and build on the fundamentals. The first week, the content focused on therapeutic communication and the introduction, later incorporating personal protecting equipment, vital signs, transfers, bathing, medication administration, glucose monitoring, and physical assessments. While demonstrating the diverse skills, I will grow in the three main categories of learning outcomes: critical thinker, evidence-based practitioner, and innovative professional. As a student nurse, my progress begins with myself, through clinical judgment and interpretation. After demonstrating my internal abilities to perform, my practice moves towards techniques and patient care. Through clinical judgment, I will demonstrate communication and techniques, while performing care. With a strong foundation in critical thinking, and evidence-based practice, my learning will shift towards the nursing profession. This shift includes ethical, moral, and legal conduct, the code of ethics, and interprofessional collaboration. To become a great nurse, I must begin with myself and expand my scope through demonstration and exposure. Although I still have over a year and a half of nursing school, my progress towards becoming a nurse stands