PRAC 6565 Reassessment of Strengths and Opportunities
Reassessment of Strengths and Opportunities
To move from practicum experience into a professional career, the new professional must consider the experiences they have had while gaining clinical experience and determine what else they need to develop as a professional (Stanik-Hutt, 2023). The clinician’s strengths and opportunities will help them assess their growth and readiness to be independent. In this paper, I will provide my reassessment of my clinical skills, summarize the major areas of improvement, and discuss the degree to which I met my practicum goals.
Updated Self-Assessment of Clinical Skills
After completing my precepting experience, I did another self-assessment of my clinical confidence and overall growth as a professional. Compared to week one at the beginning of the practicum, I have improved significantly in patient assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and clinical decision-making. Due to multiple exposures to various patient cases, I have increased my confidence in conducting thorough assessments and creating appropriate treatment plans. I have also improved my communication skills, including patient education and interprofessional communication, which are critical components of providing holistic care (Henson et al., 2023). However, while I am pleased with my improvements, I do still need to refine my skills in more complex clinical situations—such as difficult or multiple chronic conditions and advanced differential diagnoses—for continued success.
Accomplished Goals
I succeeded in achieving several goals during the practicum, which had been outlined in the syllabus. One goal was to increase my ability to accurately assess and interpret patient assessments during thorough evaluations of patients’ health statuses. This objective has also been accomplished, as I have gained knowledge in the management of patients in primary care. In addition to these two goals being accomplished, I demonstrated an increase in my clinical confidence, particularly while interacting with patients and making clinical decisions based on physician supervision (Peacock et al., 2022). All of these accomplishments resulted from my hard work and dedication to pursuing clinical experience through the practical application of my theoretical knowledge.
Unmet Goals and Future Development
While I accomplished a number of milestones over this course, I only partially attained some goals and will need to continue to focus on those with ongoing efforts moving forward. For example, I wanted to develop better skills for managing complex geriatric conditions and enhancing my ability to accurately assess two similar diseases/states, but I still have challenges in each. As a result, I will continue to work towards meeting these goals by engaging in furthering my education, using clinical practice guidelines, and finding mentors in my field. Additionally, I will continue to do case-based learning routinely and participate in professional development events to improve my critical thinking skills and accuracy in making diagnoses (Stanik-Hutt, 2023). In addition to this, I will continue to reflect on my experiences and continue my education throughout my lifetime in order to meet all of these remaining goals.
Conclusion
Through the reassessment of my clinical strengths and opportunities, I gained insight into my professional development through the practicum experience. I have developed my clinical skill set, built confidence, and improved my ability to manage patients during this practicum and will continue to develop in these areas. With the assistance of past accomplishments and by focusing on those things that I need to address, I will be better prepared for advanced practice. Reflecting on this process has reinforced how crucial it is to continue to learn and to improve my overall level of patient care.
References
Henson, A., Peacock, A., Blakely, K., Maes, C., DiGiulio, M., & Henderson, M. (2023). Recognizing the role of the Adult-Gerontology NP. AJN American Journal of Nursing, 123(2), 13. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.naj.0000919660.95584.e2
Peacock, A., Blakely, K., Maes, C., Henson, A., DiGiulio, M., & Henderson, M. (2022). Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioners: A discussion of scope and expertise. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 18(10), 1037–1045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2022.07.017
Stanik-Hutt, J. (2023). Letter to the editor: “Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioners: A Discussion of Scope and Expertise.” The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 19(10), 104747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2023.104747
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Reassessment of Strengths and Opportunities
There is a saying that “people must look back in order to look forward.” As you transition out of this practicum, finish your program, and look forward to your career beyond the program, you must “look back” at all that you have accomplished, taking stock of your skill and confidence levels before moving on.
For this Assignment, you return to your Week 1 Self-Assessment to gain a new perspective on what you need to do moving forward.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
To prepare:
- Review your completed Clinical Skills and Procedures Self-Assessment Form from Week 1, as well as the record of procedures you have performed throughout the practicum.
Assignment (1 page)
- Perform a new self-assessment. Rate yourself on clinical skills, based on your experiences during this practicum. Summarize the results.
- Explain which goals you accomplished and which you did not. If you did not achieve a particular goal, explain how you could continue to work on it after you complete your program, as you advance and grow in your career.
By Day 7
Submit your completed Assignment.
submission information
Before submitting your final assignment, you can check your draft for authenticity. To check your draft, access the Turnitin Drafts from the Start Here area.
- To submit your completed assignment, save your Assignment as WK11Assgn_LastName_Firstinitial
- Then, click on Start Assignment near the top of the page.
- Next, click on Upload File and select Submit Assignment for review.
Rubric
PRAC_6565_Week11_Assignment_Rubric
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Perform a new self-assessment, rating yourself on clinical skills based on your experiences during this practicum. Summarize the results. | 45 to >40.0 pts Excellent The response provides an accurate, clear, and complete summary.
40 to >35.5 pts Good The response provides an accurate summary. 35.5 to >31.0 pts Fair The response provides a somewhat vague, inaccurate, or incomplete summary. 31 to >0 pts Poor The response provides a vague, inaccurate, or incomplete summary, or the summary is missing. |
45 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Explain which goals you accomplished and which you did not. If you did not achieve a particular goal, explain how you could continue to work on it after you complete your program, as you advance and grow in your career. | 40 to >35.0 pts Excellent The response accurately and thoroughly explains in detail which goals were accomplished and which were not. Full explanation is provided for how to continue working on goals.
35 to >31.0 pts Good The response accurately explains which goals were accomplished and which were not. Explanation is provided for how to continue working on goals. 31 to >27.0 pts Fair The response somewhat vaguely or inaccurately explains which goals were accomplished and which were not. Vague explanation is provided for how to continue working on goals. 27 to >0 pts Poor The response vaguely or inaccurately explains which goals were accomplished and which were not, or explanation is missing. Vague explanation is provided for how to continue working on goals, or explanation is missing. |
40 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Written Expression and Formatting—Paragraph Development and Organization: Paragraphs make clear points that support well-developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused—neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement and introduction is provided which delineates all required criteria. | 5 to >4.0 pts Excellent Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity. A clear and comprehensive purpose statement, introduction, and conclusion is provided which delineates all required criteria.
4 to >3.5 pts Good Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 80% of the time. Purpose, introduction, and conclusion of the assignment is stated, yet is brief and not descriptive. 3.5 to >3.0 pts Fair Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 60%–79% of the time. Purpose, introduction, and conclusion of the assignment is vague or off topic. 3 to >0 pts Poor Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity less than 60% of the time. No purpose statement, introduction, or conclusion was provided. |
5 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Written Expression and Formatting—English writing standards: Student uses correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation. | 5 to >4.0 pts Excellent Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation with no errors.
4 to >3.5 pts Good Contains one or two (1 or 2) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 3.5 to >3.0 pts Fair Contains several (3 or 4) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 3 to >0 pts Poor Contains many (≥ 5) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that interfere with the reader’s understanding. |
5 pts |
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Written Expression and Formatting: The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list. | 5 to >4.0 pts Excellent Uses correct APA format with no errors.
4 to >3.5 pts Good Contains a one or two (1 or 2) APA format errors. 3.5 to >3.0 pts Fair Contains several (3 or 4) APA format errors. 3 to >0 pts Poor Contains many (≥ 5) APA format errors. |
5 pts |
Total Points: 100