Reflective journals give learners an opportunity to think about what they have learned throughout the course and understand how they apply it to their professional practice. In this reflective journal, I will explain the personal knowledge and skills that I have gained in the course. I will also explain personal strengths and weaknesses in a number of areas and state additional resources that could be introduced to enhance the achievement of optimal outcomes. The journal will also contain a description of how I met the competencies aligned to the course.

1. New Practice Approaches

This week was spent sifting through the practice requirements for BSN graduates. There has also been some substantive dialog and planning with my preceptor to ensure that I understand how to apply evidence-based practice guidelines to nursing practice (Polit & Beck, 2017). This week focused on unit-based issues that could be improved upon in relation to nursing practice. We identified several areas that could be improved, then I spent significant time researching available evidence to utilize in my project. My strength lies in my ability to follow standard operating procedures in the organization. However, I have limited abilities in locating available evidence to inform practice with patients. I believe that working with senior nurses could have helped me to achieve optimal outcomes in this area. After obtaining guidance from my preceptor, I was able to meet the course competency related to utilizing current evidence-based practice (EBP) standards to streamline solutions and approaches for change in nursing practice.

2. Interprofessional Collaboration

This week was spent collaborating with the unit leadership, nursing staff, and ancillary staff to ensure that patients receive safe and quality health care. Bullying in nursing has many trickling effects which are best approached with unit cohesion (Hodgins et al., 2020). When implementing any type of change, enlisting staff’s opinions is key to success. Having staff buy-in on the changes that need to take place is essential for a smooth transition, this approach also allows staff to express themselves. During this collaboration, the staff offered incredible insight and suggestions for change (King, 2019). Initially, I lacked the confidence to approach my seniors for support. However, I can now work comfortably with interprofessional teams to ensure success. The course emphasized interprofessional collaboration competency which I have been able to meet. Nursing writing help

3. Health Care Delivery and Clinical Systems

I spent sufficient time with my preceptor discussing the status of today’s health care delivery and clinical systems and how they can be improved to ensure that patients receive optimal care. Delivering safe and effective healthcare starts with the nurse. Nurses must feel safe in their workplace in order to provide safe care to their patients. Bullying is associated with negative impacts on safety, nurses’ well-being, nurses’ performance, and patient outcomes (Hodgins et al., 2020). By completing the course requirements, I can now contribute to improving workplace safety through the creation of anti-bullying policies. However, I still need guidance on how to identify risk factors for bullying in the healthcare environment. I met the course competency in this area by participating in improving the effectiveness of the healthcare and clinical systems.

4. Ethical Considerations in Health Care

Ethical consideration in relation to my capstone project solely revolves around social ethics in the treatment of people. The project also revealed the importance of professional ethics and a demonstration of respectful behavior in the workplace. Working with my preceptor helped me to understand that bullying is a long-term problem in every aspect of our society and the nursing profession is not an exception (King, 2019). By completing course requirements, I have learned the role of nurses in promoting ethics in the healthcare environment. I can count my ability to identify unethical behavior as part of my strength. In an organization where bullying among nurses was evident, I believe that hiring a nurse educator to train the nurses on how to enhance civility could have influenced optimal outcomes. I met the course competency in this area by understanding ethical considerations that specifically apply to nursing practice.

5. Practices of Culturally Sensitive Care

My course extensively revolved around nursing practices that will ensure that nurses receive care that is culturally sensitive. Working with my preceptor throughout the capstone project help me to integrate this concept even better. During the course, I have learned that considering the population and cultural proclivities are essential when planning a capstone project (Michetti, 2020). By understanding the role of cultural sensitivity in nursing practice, I can now apply the knowledge to develop a plan that can be implemented with patients of diverse ethnic backgrounds. However, I still need to learn the cultural beliefs of some ethnic groups to be effective in my nursing role. Working with a translator could have influenced the achievement of optimal outcomes with patients who could not speak any other language apart from their local languages. I met the course competency in the area by learning how to provide culturally sensitive care.

6. Ensuring the Integrity of Human Dignity in the Care of all Patients

Ensuring the integrity of human dignity is at the core of my capstone project topic. New nurses’ dignity is often dragged through the mud by veteran nurses who are either burnt out or are just accustomed to bullying behavior. The perpetrators of bullying usually lack integrity because the practice is a violation of human dignity (Serafin & Czarkowska-Pączek, 2019). I have since learned that nurses are required to embrace human dignity in their interactions with their colleagues and when they are caring for their patients. My strength in this area lies in my ability to respect the dignity of my patients and that of my fellow nurses. However, my main area of weakness concerns my limited ability in identifying the most appropriate nursing theory to use to ensure that the integrity of human dignity is optimally observed during the process of care. Working with an experienced nurse could have facilitated the achievement of optimal outcomes in this area. I met the course competency by learning how to respect human dignity in the practice environment. best nursing essay writing service

7. Population Health Concerns

The capstone project aimed to address population health concerns specifically related to mental health. Toxic and abusive environments trigger previous psychological events and create new ones. My capstone is meant to specifically help elevate the stressors surrounding new graduates’ transition into care. It is a hard job, often thankless, and absorbing abuse from co-workers only exacerbates mental health concerns (Michetti, 2020). During the course, I discovered the nurse’s role in identifying and addressing population health concerns at the workplace. By completing course requirements, I can work with other nurses to identify and address health issues that are faced by patients and my colleagues at work. However, I still need guidance on how I can conduct risk assessments to be able to predict those concerns early before they can manifest. I met course competency in this area by learning how to identify and address the health concerns of nurses and patients.

8. The Role of Technology in Improving Health Care Outcomes

Technology though incredibly important does not play a huge role in my capstone project. I recognized, however, that technology could have helped me to pull significant data related to turnover rates of new graduate nurses in a specific unit or hospital. This data could help sway management to look at burning issues more closely.

9. Health Policy

             My capstone project extensively focused on the use of policy to address bullying among nurses. Other aspects of the course emphasized the role of the nurse in advocacy. My preceptor ensured that I could utilize policy to address issues that are affecting patient care in healthcare organizations (Milstead & Short, 2019). During the project, I spent a significant amount of time reviewing the literature to understand how other organizations have used a zero-tolerance policy to address workplace bullying. My main area of strength is my ability to propose policies that can be implemented to resolve organizational issues. My main area of weakness concerns influencing the implementation of health policy at the community level. An additional resource that could be implemented to enhance the achievement of successful outcomes is working with policymakers and regulators to ensure that the proposed policies are not only effective but also ethical. I met the course competency in this area by learning the role of the nurse in advocacy.

10. Leadership and Economic Models

The entire course revealed the leadership roles of BSN graduates. Numerous discussions have been held regarding how leadership principles can be applied to direct organizational activities and ensure that patients receive quality and safe care. I have worked with my preceptor throughout the course to ensure that I effectively understand how leadership models can be used to improve nursing practice (Ledlow & Stephens, 2018). However, there was not much discussion of economic models. My strength lies in my ability to utilize leadership principles to drive change. However, I have limited abilities in identifying the most appropriate leadership theories and models for different situations. I believe that working with successful leaders could have helped me to achieve optimal outcomes in this area. After obtaining guidance from my preceptor, I was able to meet the course competency related to utilizing leadership to drive organizational change.Reflective Journal: Bullying in Nursing

11. Health Disparities

During the course, I discovered the role of nurses in addressing health disparities. Such disparities were observed even in the way nurses were treated at the workplace. For example, veteran nurses constantly bullied new graduate nurses. The capstone project aimed to address the disparities faced by new graduate nurses in the practice environment. During the course, I also discovered health disparities that are faced by patients must be addressed to ensure equality in care. By completing course requirements, I have developed a strength in working with stakeholders to identify and address health disparities. However, I still need guidance on how I can obtain support to enhance healthcare equality for minority groups. I met course competency in this area by learning how to identify and address the health disparities faced by nurses and patients. Check out more Reflective journal ideas from a list of common nursing research topics online References Hodgins, M., Lewis, D., MacCurtain, S.,https://bestnursingwriters.com/ McNamara, P., Hogan, V., & Pursell, L. (2020). “ . . . A bit of a joke”: Policy and workplace bullying. SAGE Open, 10(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020934493. King, M. (2019). Strategies to identify and reduce workplace bullying to increase productivity. Walden University Dissertations. https://www03.core.ac.uk/download/pdf/226775577.pdf.