The course has been effective and enabled me to improve my knowledge, skills, and attitudes in many areas of my professional preparedness. Thus, I can demonstrate the professional standards of legal, ethical, and moral conduct. I have also had professionalism in nursing instilled in me, and I am ready for practice. Moreover, I am now a better patient advocate owing to the various tasks we have done in this class about client privacy and confidentiality. Lastly, I acknowledge the value of pursuing lifelong learning, practice excellence, and professional engagement because they are fundamental ways of fostering my professional growth and development. The purpose of this reflection is to demonstrate and elaborate on the extent to which I have achieved the core competencies acquired throughout the course and exhibit the new understanding I have gained.
Reflection
The course has enabled me to demonstrate the professional standards of legal, moral, and ethical conduct. Nursing is a sensitive profession, and it requires the practitioner to be at the forefront in ensuring to operate within the scope to avoid any legal and ethical ramifications, which may adversely affect one’s career (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2008). Responsible decision-making has become a part of me, and I now have a better understanding of my ethical obligations and duties as a nurse. I will always be ready and willing to report any deviations from the appropriate professional standards because this is one aspect we practiced in one of the discussion boards. Additionally, according to Murphy (2020), ethical values are essential for this profession, and since nurses are participants in ethical decision-making, having this knowledge will help me in my nursing practice. In ethical decision-making, the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and patient-centered care was emphasized. Therefore, the course has helped me understand how to uphold professional standards in ethical decision-making.
Next, the course has helped me better appreciate nursing professionalism and how to uphold the profession’s reputation. I understand that respect for patients is paramount, and I will take my time to listen to patients. In most cases, I will have enough information to convey to the clients and their families, and from this course, I have learned that I need to do this in a proactive, compassionate manner. I will also pay attention to my demeanor and appearance, as Huston (2020) notes. One of the discussion board posts was about how to model professional appearance in nursing. From this task, I learned how to care for my appearance because it is the first impression that will affect my patients and their families. In addition, to every shift, I will bring a positive attitude and an appropriate demeanor. Additionally, respect for self and others is an essential professional attribute. The course has imparted in me a better understanding of how to maintain a professional boundary with my colleague caregivers, and patients. Therefore, the course has enabled me to be more proficient in my nursing practice.
Moreover, I now understand my role as a patient advocate and protect patients’ privacy and confidentiality. As a nurse, it is my duty to maintain confidentiality regarding the patient’s clinical and personal information. The course has taught me fundamental ways to ensure confidentiality and privacy because one of the areas we covered was nursing law and ethics at the workplace. For example, I will adhere to the healthcare organization’s privacy and security policies concerning patient data. One thing I always try to do is to take part in the formulation of policies aimed at safeguarding patients’ information. Therefore, this course has been vital in helping me understand my role in protecting the privacy and confidentiality of patient information–clinical and personal.
Lastly, the nurse needs to be updated on the current information about technology, policies, and evidence-based practice. This knowledge can only be obtained by pursuing lifelong learning, performance excellence, and professional engagement to ensure career growth and development. Issues in nursing practice continue to evolve, and this implies that the knowledge the nurse acquired in training may be outdated or not better tuned to address the problems at hand ([AACN], 2008). Following these three essentials will give me problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities to address any issues I encounter when caring for patients because I will have the latest knowledge about new procedures, policies, and techniques. Therefore, this course has enabled me to appreciate the importance of pursuing continuous professional growth and development.
Conclusion
In summary, this paper has given me an opportunity to reflect upon the various selected RN-BSN competencies that I have acquired throughout the course. My knowledge regarding professionalism in nursing has improved in the areas of appearance, demeanor, and how to maintain a professional boundary when interacting with patients and their families and colleague caregivers. The course has also enabled me to understand the best practices in the ethical decision-making process and the need to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of the patients’ personal and clinical information. Moreover, the importance of lifelong learning in nursing cannot be overstated. Patients and their families continue to demand high-quality care while nursing issues continue to evolve, rendering the knowledge gained in the nursing school obsolete. These new challenges can only be addressed by pursuing practice excellence, professional engagement, and lifelong learning. Therefore, this course has enabled me to acquire the various RN-BSN competencies.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. AACN.
Huston, C. (2020). Professional issues in nursing: Challenges and opportunities. Wolters Kluwer.
Murphy, J. (2020). Transitions to professional nursing practice. Open SUNY.