Introduction

The NURS 2700 course has greatly influenced the semester’s experience and preparation towards being a nurse. The lessons, materials and experiences were instrumental in equipping potential nursing candidates with the knowledge and skills that they need o effectively serve their patients and excel in the field. The wide range of experiences which were part of the course, such as engaging in community-based learning, having interviews with experienced members of the profession, classroom experience, clinical experience, lab simulation and learning, and even having the opportunity to interact with members of the MNA and MN Board of Nursing played a critical role in providing a well-rounded learning experience. Each of these elements provided a unique learning experience for the nursing candidates and ensured they would be prepared for life as professional nurses. The goal of this scholarly paper is to reflect on the rich experience by engaging in a self-assessment while at the same time planning for professional development. Some of the issues it will focus on include the need for nurses to engage in lifelong learning, professional nurse practice focusing on values, attitudes, skills and knowledge, vulnerable populations and how values in the nursing practice influence them and finally, how spiritual beliefs serve to promote health.

Life Long Learning

Lifelong learning denotes one of the elements or traits that is expected in the life of a professional nurse and which ties to their performance and excellence in care delivery. Through lifelong learning, nurses can ensure that even as they continually serve their patients over the years, they are continually informed of the changes that are taking place in their field, and their skills remain excellent. It is, therefore, imperative that nurses continuously engage in learning and commit to the various strategies to keep learning and grow as competent professionals in the field as they offer patient services.

A reflection on the course experience shows that it puts a great premium on ensuring that nurses engage in life-long learning and keep their knowledge and skills current and in tandem with the changing trends. It was interesting that the MNA and MN Board of Nursing websites illustrated the need for continual learning. It showed that the nurses still need to take a test and get their license after graduation. Similarly, the license they get is periodically renewable, which requires that they stay informed on their regulations and professional knowledge so that they can be able to effectively pass their tests. Life-long learning requires that nurses continually engage in continuing professional development (CPD) to keep nursing skills and knowledge fresh and current (Mlambo et al., 2021),

Nurses can use diverse strategies to ensure that they are continually learning at a formal and informal level. Ernstmeyer and Christman (2022) argue that after graduating and successfully passing the NCLEX-RN, which allows nurses to gain a position in a professional setting, that is when the learning of these professionals begins. The experiential learning that nursing professionals get in their first years as professionals start off the lifelong learning process. Some of the other ways that nursing professionals can achieve lifelong learning range from obtaining an additional degree in nursing, getting various forms of certification, attending workshops and conferences, joining professional organizations and reading nursing literature and research which can serve to ensure that they stay informed and up-to-date on evidence-based practices. Qalehsari et al. (2017) provide further insight into strategies that nurses can use to ensure that they engage in continual learning and highlights the need to persist in learning, collaborate with peers, carry out research, practical and intellectual independence and so forth.

Nurses, therefore, have the mandate to identify the strategy that suits them best and then proceed to adopt it so that they can engage in lifelong learning. Nurses can also make use of mixed approaches in their learning, where they choose the most suitable learning approach based on their circumstances and their particular learning environment (Mlambo et al., 2021). Within the nursing profession, nurses are required to take care of patients who require diverse and comprehensive care needs. Therefore, they need to be able to offer effective care to their patients informed by the evidence-based research available. As such, lifelong learning ensures that they can be able to acquire the necessary knowledge needed to care for the diverse patient population. Nurses can opt to learn informally, where they learn experientially on the job, through reading journal articles, getting and giving feedback to their colleagues and self-reflection