BSN Reflective Essay
Yolanda Ally
Mercy College of Health Sciences
BSN Reflective Essay
BSN Reflective Essay I
1. Demonstrate caring relationships through the personal integration of the core values of
Mercy while performing the roles of leader/manager, teacher, professional and provider
of care.
I strive to provide the best individualized care to patients. I strongly believe nursing is
a caring profession. Nursing encompasses giving to others, promoting health, protecting,
enhancing, and teaching abilities to prevent illness. On the daily bases, I aim to demonstrate
mercy core values of knowledge, reverence, integrity, compassion, and excellence.
Integrating these values in nursing practice strengthens a positive behavior and constantly
empowers nursing guide and meaning to caring. Though these values, I can devote my
leadership role respectfully identify my patients’ values and their relation to their illness.
Having personal values to guide you through the nursing profession is an ideal promotion of
healing with dignity.
2. Accept each client as an individual, holistic being with an integrated body, mind, and spirit
possessing internal and external factors that affect health.
Holistic care is a nursing tradition approach, healing through body, mind, soul, entails
treating patients emotionally, psychologically, spiritually and, physically. I personally believe
holistic care is also an attitude and philosophy that I use in my practice. It requires me as a nurse
to integrate self-reflection and set my priorities and responsibilities straight during cares.
Through holistic care I can articulate and explore the patient’s needs, wants, belief, and goals. I
try to connect with my patients by asking more questions and listening and watching for the
verbal and non-verbal communication. Doing so helps identify a range of factors that could be
potential contributor to increased stress. I take advantage of this moment and build the trusting
and therapeutic relationship by genuinely showing interest and support and advocate for the
patients holistically. Holistic nursing care facilitates maximum healing to body, mind, and soul.
3. Apply theoretical knowledge and principles derived from nursing, liberal arts, and sciences
that serve as a foundation for providing therapeutic nursing interventions in the holistic are of
diverse clients.
Interpersonal theory by Peplau entails the roles and methods of building the therapeutic
relationships with patients. I chose Peplau’s theory because, I strongly believe in caring for my
patients showing respect, professional intimacy, empathy. As a nurse, I learned how therapeutic
listening and responding to patient’s emotion affect the patient to nurse relationship. I believe we
are responsible to build a respectful and trusting relationship with our patients. Trust is essential
in building therapeutic relationship. Trusting relationship increases the chances of participation.
Teamwork makes the dream work. Personal interaction with the patient encourages patient to be
more active on their own care and it fosters a constructive growth towards recovery.
Peplau suggest nurses to adopt roles to move the relationship forward. Nursing roles as a
teacher, resources, leader, counselor, surrogate and technical expert. As a leader, it is my
responsibility to guide and get them involve in their cares. I educate them to enhance their
knowledge, aiming for better outcomes. I continually serve my patients by being resourceful,
answering their questions and help them learn from their own experiences. The main goal is to
help the patients fulfill their needs. I use the surrogacy role to help my patients identify their
strengths to determine their independency to fulfill their goals.
4. Utilize communication skills effectively while implementing the roles of the professional
nurse.
Communication is of great importance in the healthcare profession. Effective
communication promotes continuity and clarity of patient care. Nurses are the central point of
contact and concerns. We work on bedside with the patients and we are responsible to exchange
and relay information, with other disciplinaries. SBAR Situation, Background, Assessment,
Recommendation) is a tool used by most nurses framing and outlining the important
information to share with the physician or collaborators. This facilitates prompt and appropriate
communication amongst healthcare providers. As nurses, are responsible to convey changes in
patient status, assessment findings, interventions performed, and patient and family concerns and
needs. Nurses share clear and concise communication during shift changes. It is important to
ensure the key information is precisely communicated. We also share information with the team
during huddles. This time nurses and management communicate and share the daily concerns,
changes, and clinical workload. Nurses get a chance to have a face to face communicate with the
team, sometimes including the doctors. The benefits of huddles are that we get immediate
response to address the concerns and better teamwork. Continuous communication promotes
great patient outcomes and patient safety.
5. Utilize a variety of processes when caring for the unique needs of diverse individuals to
promote, achieve, and/or maintain their optimal health and preserve dignity in the dying
process.
Nurses have the responsibility to provide cultural congruent care for our diverse patients.
As nurses, we need to understand the importance of using cultural knowledge to treat our
patients. It helps us learn the ways patients culture and beliefs shape their outlook on illness and
death. As a nurse, I care for a very diverse group of paints, some are actively dying patients.
Throughout my nursing experience, I learned that they all have unique wishes, belief, rituals they
abide by. Patients and families handle the process of dying and grieving differently and that is
okay. It is critical for me as the nurse to show genuine compassion, empathy, listen and find out
“How can I help to meet their needs”. The goal to support the patient and the family. At times
it’s it can be emotionally uncomfortable, we are not sure what to do or say to the family. Being
there for them and being supportive meeting, their needs is all they want.
6. Utilize leadership/management strategies to effect change for the improvement of nursing
care in structured and other settings.
Leadership and management strategies, I use to improve nursing care include mentoring,
coaching, listening to concerns and supporting employees to embody nursing vision. I strongly
believe in promoting teamwork. Leading by example is the key of becoming successful leader.
As a leader, it is importing to get to know your employees on a personal level to maximize their
strengths. Coach them and listen to their ideas and values. Support the new nurses and show
them future opportunities for growth. Create a positive supportive culture on the unit. Set your
profession expectations and celebrate and reward great performance. A leader should be willing
to go above and beyond to make sure the staff and patients are taken care of. Creating an
environment that s welcoming leads to successful teamwork.
7. Evaluate research for the applicability of finding to improve current and future nursing
practice.
Research is vital to the evolving nursing profession. It helps improve patient care, patient
safety and addresses the complex challenges the healthcare faces. The is a lot of information on
the internet about nursing, some resources are credible, and others are biased. Research aids the
healthcare professionals to search and study credible evidence based practice, journals, and
studies before implementing into nursing care. Research class has taught me approaches and
skills to be able to deploy studies in my professional life. As nurses, we use research daily to
shape policies and procedures in the hospitals. Nurses can come up with theories, collect studies
and evidence to improve patient care. Current nursing practice is greatly impacted by the
research transformation efforts.
8. Demonstrate accountability by incorporating ethical, social, legal, political, and economic
principles and professional standards into nursing practice decisions, with individuals,
groups, and communities.
As nurses, we are obligated, and duty bound to abide by the code of nursing ethics. In my
opinion, these are basic ethical principle that everyone should live by. All caregivers should be
morally accountable in everything they do. Protecting and maintaining patient ‘s confidentiality
and privacy is a law and healthcare provides are bound to respect it. It is mandatory for us
nurses to be aware and understand the ethical, social, legal, political and professional standards
to provide optimal care. We must be aware of the people we are serving and understand our
accountability in the process. Every community is faced with different issues. We as nurses are
to learn the law and the rules and restriction of the community we serve. For example, in our
community we have a severe need on mental health inpatient care. Most patients with mental
health struggling with range end up in the hospitals or in jail.
9. Value the need for life-long learning, service to the community and commitment to the
improvement of the profession and the health care system.
Continuing nursing education is encouraged, and is a requirement of the nursing
profession. Healthcare is forever evolving. To provide safe and improve quality of care nurses
must stay current. The interventions we provide need to be suitable to the population of patients
we are serving. Therefore, engaging and learning about the community we serve will serve the
purpose of improving their healthcare services. Getting the insight of the community needs will
help nurses meet the community needs. A lifelong learning helps us commit to the improvement
of the healthcare system and better patient care.
Nurses with BSN degree are more marketable because they have advanced knowledge on
management strategies, research, theories, critical thinking skills, and better communication
skill. There is a possibility they may offer better patient care with all the knowledge.
Furthermore, they are more likely to make major difference in nursing outcomes.
Summative Reflective part II
Educational Experience
It has been a great experience going through the BSN program with my peers. We shared
similar concerns and helped each other out. We became each other’s support system. The faculty
members are always available and willing to help.
The education experience gained through my BSN program has impacted my nursing
career in many ways. It has build my confidence with the knowledge acquired of f the curricula
in terms of nursing research, advanced assessment, and family and community health. I have a
deeper understanding of many skills, I feel I have better prepared to manage complex patients
with multiple needs. My decision-making skills have improved tremendously, while my
understanding of pollical, legal and caring for patient holistic. Liberal arts, sciences and
humanities have opened my eyes on a lot of things. I feel culturally competed and have a better
understanding of others need and family dynamics. The benefits are getting to be a well-rounded
nurse, I feel more connected with m patients.
Professional Growth
The image of nursing has slightly changed from my ASN education to my BSN education.
Advancing my nursing degree prepared me for the changing nursing world of possibilities. I
have a better understanding of various nursing carrier paths. As a nurse, I have a wider range of
healthcare opportunities. I can make a difference on our communities and environment.
My nursing skills and critical thinking skills has advanced. I am more confident in making
clinical decisions, better communication skills and leadership skills. I can handle high stressful
situations and look forward to embrace opportunities to learn new skills instead of freaking out.
My overall patient care techniques have advanced, including educating patients and their
families. Building the therapeutic trusting relationship with patient and families has become
natural part of my daily work day. I can see my future in nursing being presented as a wellrounded caring nurse.
Ethical decision Making
Ethical principle that I use to guide my ethical decision are mon-maleficence and respect
autonomy. My duty as a nurse is to provide quality care without compromising the patients and
their rights. Sometimes healthcare professional can get carried away into doing what they think
is right for the patiet. My duty is to advocate for the patient, help them take charge of their care.
My duty is to protect the patient’s safety and educate the sourdough and make sure the fully
understand situations when making. I normally put myself in their shoes. How would I feel if
someone was making decisions for me and careless with my cares? I also incorporate
Beneficence and just. Providing equal care for all patients and promote well being of all patients.
My educational experience has strengthened and advanced my ethical decision-making
skills. The depth of the knowledge has expanded my insight and perspective on ethics. I am now
very careful and evaluating my personal beliefs to make sure I don’t push my beliefs on others. I
believe Mercy college has imbedded the principles of ethics every semester to the point where it
became second nature to me.
The ethical predicament that I have experienced involved an elderly patient’s wishes not
being respected by their children (POA). Working on the heart failure unit, this patient had
multiple comorbidities and decided she did not want to go with aggressive treatment anymore,
but her children were not ready give up on the treatments. The patients kids insisted on taking all
possible measures to help their mother. They asked to have a private moment with their mother
and tried to talk her into the aggressive measure. I felt the need to consult the heat failure
specialist and the Chaplin for father education on the patient condition aI feltnd the Chaplin to
address their fears. I felt the patient had no autonomy and was being deprived of her rights. A
day later, the family came together and had a meeting with the mother and they all agreed to
granting their mother her wishes. My focus was to advocate for the patient and make sure the
family have a clear understanding and counseling they needed.
Service
During my ASN time I was privilege to be amongst the students who volunteered to assist
Dr. Hendrix on his health study on the effects of the call mines and mountain top removal in the
west Virginia mountain community. The experience was refreshing and eye opening, I really
enjoyed getting to mingle with the people from the community door to door and ask question. It
was exciting to gather health surveys, learn about the community’s lifestyle, and assess for the
impact of the coal mines on their health. I look forward to incorporating my BSN skills and serve
my community. With the advanced knowledge I gained, I feel I have the platform to make
positive health changes in our communities and make a difference. I currently volunteer with the
Youth Emergency Services and Shelter in Des Moines. It is rewarding to be able to help the
youth, they are the future.
Communication Ability
My communication ability has not been my strongest suit. With my BSN education I have
noticed some improvement. Writing has been my link, since English is my second language. I
struggle with professional writing. I tend to want to write as I speak, which is not appropriate. I
have learned to be more detailed and precise with documentation. Caring for different patients
daily have strengthened my verbal communication abilities. At the beginning was ashamed of
my accent, believed they will not understand me or bother to listen to me the minute I open my
mouth. I always practice and review the information before I go educate the patient and their
families. I learned that when you are knowledgeable and confident on the content patients
respect and listen to you, regardless of your accent. After all, all the presentations and public
speaking in front of my classmates was worth it. I presented a presentation about minority
representation. This was the pest presentation because the whole class learned the statistics of
minority representation in the healthcare and everyone brain stormed on ideas to bring change.
My most effective writing is from my leadership paper. I research the contributions of Leininger
decorated pioneer leadership in transcultural nursing. I admired and enjoyed learning about her
appreciation for culture and revolution of her theory. I could relate to her strong and courageous
ways, and vision.
Professional Goals for the Future
My plans for the immediate future are remaining at the tele/ heart failure unit for the next
6months. I love working with the cardiac patients. In the near future, I would like to apply for a
position at the Cardiac ICU. I love the challenge and believe it is time to put my critical thinking
skills at test with more challenging situations. Now that I have the experience with cardiac
patients and advanced my education, I feel ready to take the challenge.
In 5 years, I could see myself getting CRN certifications and maybe considering some
leadership /management position. The BSN education have provided me with the sills to achieve
these goals.
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