NSG 7220 Week 5 Project Midterm Evaluation of Clinical Logs

A student needs to reflect on activities undertaken during the practicum period as a way of learning and achieving the formulated goals and objectives. As such, it is important to reflect on various aspects such as clinical skills development, communication strategies with patients, clinical decision-making and critical thinking, and interprofessional collaboration practices, among others.

Consequently, the purpose of this assignment is to formulate a written narrative covering the scholarly activities, commentary, and evidence of progress toward achieving course objectives and a reflection.

Narrative and Reflection

Week One

The first week offered an opportunity to select a practicum topic of interest. The topic of interest was to be used as a guide throughout the practicum duration. As part of this week, various scholarly activities were accomplished, including

• A literature review was key to further exploring the topic of interest. The literature review played an essential role in enhancing an understanding of the current research findings and evidence-based practice regarding the topic of interest.
• Quality improvement initiative participation was also part of the scholarly activities as I was able to explore the existing quality improvement initiatives within the practicum settings and inquired about areas that require potential participation and collaboration.
• The other activity entails creating and collecting educational materials, which would be important during the practicum’s duration.
• Class discussions, peer engagement, and replies.

Two main objectives were formulated for week one. The first objective was to formulate a relevant practicum topic which could guide the practicum experience. The other learning objective for this week was to perform a comprehensive literature search and review of resources regarding the topic of interest.

Documenting the evidence of progress toward achieving the specific course objectives is important. The first objective regarding the practicum topic was accomplished through a comprehensive study and discussions regarding the steps involved in problem identification in the patient care settings and potential strategies that can be used in solving the identified problems (Dang et al.,2021).

The achievement of the second objective was accomplished by using various article databases to evaluate the identified problem, which was urinary infections and antibiotic stewardship. Therefore, the knowledge gained resource search was used to appropriately search for relevant information regarding the topic of interest. Meeting with the preceptor was also an important aspect during this week as there was a need to discuss which activities needed to be undertaken to achieve the formulated objectives for week one.

The meeting was particularly important in identifying the topic which should be used to guide the practicum experience. Therefore, from the meeting, it was agreed that the topic to guide the practicum should be urinary tract infections and antibiotic stewardship (Karam et al.,2019).

Week one’s practicum experience also advanced various aspects related to the South University pillar of nursing, which include professionalism, critical thinking, holism, communication, and caring. I feel that these pillars are important, and every student should undertake activities and experiences that will enhance the possibility of achieving them.

The experiences enhanced my professionalism as I was able to professionally relate with the preceptor and explore aspects that advance the nursing profession and aspects of patient care. Critical thinking was also required since I needed to identify the practicum project as the project should be within the scope, meet the set standards, and be within all the described confines (Shirazi & Haidari, 2019).

The communication aspect also formed an integral part of this week as I needed to effectively communicate with the preceptor to have a grasp of all the requirements and expectations and also communicate with the patients. In addition, the aspect of care was evident by the steps taken to identify a problem that could be investigated within the practicum settings to help improve patient outcomes.

Week Two

The second week of the practicum experience offered a good platform to continue exploring the topic of interest, entailing urinary tract infections and antibiotic stewardship. Therefore, I was able to explore various aspects, such as the extent to which the chosen topic is supported by best practices, the existing evidence regarding the topic, and how the topic aligns with nursing standards (Ho et al.,2019).

In addition, in week two, another question