Each week contribute 150-200 words 1250-2,000 words total) to reflect and journal the professional practice, skills, and responses used in approaching or achieving the course objectives in the course syllabus and the AACN Essentials Doctoral Education of Advanced Practice (2006). Describe examples of your accomplishments or challenges experienced while taking the course.

Expert Answer and Explanation

Reflection

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) published the essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice last in 2006 (AACN, 2011). The essentials address the core foundational competencies in all ANP roles. However, the focus and depth of the essentials depend on the nursing role a student has partaken in. For instance, a student-focused on nursing leadership would improve their knowledge in systems and organizational leadership. DNP graduates should always reflect and document the essentials they have achieved in the course of their learning. The purpose of this assignment is to describe the essentials and reflect on how the course has helped achieve them.

Achievements and Challenges

I have achieved a lot since I started the course. One of the skills I have achieved in designing and evaluating quality improvement practices that can improve the target population’s health. Newman (2017) notes that the overall quality improvement in healthcare settings can improve the reliability and cost-effectiveness of healthcare delivery systems, thus enhancing patient outcomes. In my prospectus, I focused on improving the health of patients with diabetes and are obese.

A study by Ahmed et al. (2017) showed that the readmission rate is high among patients with diabetes and are obese. Hence, my program aimed to help the patients improve their body weight and reduce readmission rates and other comorbidities related to obesity. I also improved my leadership skills during the course. The skills helped me design and advocate for various policies that impact the health of patients. I improved my communication skills which can help me further advocate for care policies.

Thelen (2020) reports that communication is essential when it comes to policy advocacy. The author argues that nursing leaders should have proper communication skills to effectively communicate their policies to stakeholders.

Another accomplishment is using nursing theories in improving patient care. I have learned various nursing theories that have improved my theoretical knowledge in nursing care. I learned that environment is a vital aspect of nursing care, and thus nurses should always ensure that healthcare settings contribute to the betterment of the patient health. Lastly, I have also accomplished much when it comes to the development and evaluation of research methodologies.

I developed a research methodology for my DNP prospectus draft, which has improved my research methods knowledge. However, I also experienced challenges during the course. The main was analyzing data using SPSS. As a DNP graduate, I am supposed to know to analyze data using technological instruments. However, I found it so challenging to analyze data using SPSS. Another challenge was finding the right sources for my literature review.

Resources Discovered and New Abilities

I discovered various resources that I can use to improve patient care. One of the resources was the American Nursing Association. The ANA always publishes various resources that can be useful to nurses in the research and ANP sectors. The CDC is another vital resource I discovered in the course. It publishes resources about various diseases and innervations and can be vital for ANPs.

AACN Essentials for DNP

Essential 1: Scientific Underpinnings for Practice

According to AACN (2011), the DNP program should apply terminal academic activities to prepare students for nursing practice. After the program, a nurse should know the laws and principles governing the well-being, life process, and optimal functioning of a human being when sick or well. The nurse should also know the nursing processes or actions used to positively affect changes in their health status after completing the program. I achieved this essential by learning various nursing theories that I would use to explain the functioning of human beings in either a healthy or sick state.

One of the theories I have learned in the course is Environmental Theory by Florence Nightingale. According to Ribeiro et al. (2020), the theory argues that nurses can understand how to apply patient environment to help improve patient recovery. Another theory is the transpersonal theory