Toye Adefioye Analysis

Reflecting on the past seven weeks I have acquired countless knowledge, which I will use to further strengthen my profession as an Advanced Practice Nurse. The course allowed me to think beyond my current practice knowledge and acquired innovative ways to evaluate the situation at hand. The learning objective in program outcome four helps set standards that I will use to guide my clinical practice to meet various healthcare needs. Using the case studies has helped to further enhance my knowledge on disease physiological state, using differential diagnosis, disease manifestations, and clinical presentation. It has also taught me the skills on how to differentiate between similar diagnoses to properly identify the problem and treat the patients.

I began my undergraduate education at Colorado State University in 2004. I declared my major as Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. At this point in my life, I had no clue what I wanted to do for my career and thought this would be the best option and give me the most diversity of career options. Going into my sophomore year, I began a job in the emergency department at the hospital located in the college town. During my first day, I got to see a variety of emergent and non-emergent medical procedures. The level of care that the varying healthcare professionals provided to these patients was fascinating and became intrigued to a career path in the medical field. Over the next couple of years, I narrowed the possibility

I want to be a physician because I want people to grow old. At the age of 6, one of my closest friends was diagnosed with leukemia. By age 8, the disease claimed his life, robbing him of the opportunity to experience the privilege of growing old. Unfortunately, we live in a society of vanity. We see the process of aging and choose not to embrace it. As a physician, I would work with my patients so that they do not fear age, but rather welcome it. I want to effectively educate my patients so they may willingly choose to lead healthy lives and ultimately extend their days left in this world with their loved ones. I hope that as a caregiver, I am able to help my patients realize that a long, healthy life is far more fulfilling than a short, glamorous one.

When I was younger I was very ill and at that time it was not known whether I would survive. However, I was able to survive and exceed the expectation of the prognosis of the condition. Since then my family and I have always been grateful towards the medical profession and my experience drove me to volunteering as a H.E.L.P. Volunteer at Abington Memorial Hospital. Even though I only had brief conversations with each patient, I always met at least one person who would make me smile, give me something to reflect upon and touch my heart. Through volunteering, my passion for medicine grew and drove me to become a nursing assistant. As a nursing assistant I further developed the techniques for communicating and interacting

Over the past four months, this course has been one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had during my first year of college. Although I have always realized the importance of being culturally competent in daily life, specifically healthcare, I was unaware of the many ways that cultural competence can be obtained. This class gave me the opportunity to view situations from a different perspective, especially through the weekly discussion boards and peer responses. Learning from classmate can teach more valuable lessons than listening to boring lectures or reading hundreds of pages in a textbook because it is easier to relate to experience rather than hypothetical situations. For example, one of the discussion boards asked us to detail

While working several shifts in an Alzheimer's unit in a local care facility, I had the opportunity to meet a registered nurse named Sarah. Sarah had plenty of insight on what it is like being a nurse in a facility. During my observations of her duties I witnessed many things that opened my eyes as to what I want in my future career choices.

The feeling of being able to alleviate the suffering of an acutely ill patient is at once incredibly satisfying and immensely humbling. I am constantly in awe of the fact that by coming to work everyday, I have the privilege of helping others who cannot care for themselves. During my time in my Clinical Care Extender Internship, I developed a special interest in caring for the geriatric population and have had the opportunity of serving as a personal caregiver to an elderly woman with dementia. I do not take the trust and confidence that my patient places in me lightly and work hard to advocate and provide for her safety because she deserves no less. Thus, in the interest of patient advocacy, as a nurse in your facility, I will seek to improve the practices that will keep my patients safe and promote their healing. I aim to achieve this goal with the help of your institution by working hard, continually advancing my education, and using evidence-based findings to guide my

According to Julia Wood (2004), “communication is a systemic process in which individuals interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meanings. However, Sheppard (1993) suggests that, in the nurse–patient relationship, communication involves more than the transmission of information; it also involves transmitting feelings, recognizing these feelings and letting the patient know that their feelings have been recognized (M, 1993)”. It is a two way process. The patient conveys their fears and concerns to their nurse and helps them make a correct nursing diagnosis. An excellent communication skill between nurses and patients is essential for the successful outcome of individualized nursing care of each patient. The ability to communicate

Interpersonal skills and effective communication among healthcare professionals are at the core of quality patient care. Interpersonal skills are defined by Rungapadiachy (1999, p.193) as “those skills which one needs in order to communicate effectively with another person or a group of people”. It includes verbal communication, non-verbal communication, listening skills, negotiation, problem-solving, decision-making, and assertiveness (Skills You Need, n.d.). The National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities (1991) defined communication as, “Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person, information about that person 's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states.

T. S. Eliot (1943) once wrote, “We had the experience but missed the meaning”. We can have all the experiences in the world, but if we missed out on reflecting, how would we be able to find the meaning? In this reflection of an interview we were tasked to complete, I will be adopting Gibbs’ (1988) reflective cycle to help me in the describing, exploration of feelings, evaluating analysing, identifying implications, before concluding and writing the action plan.

Patient is our teacher. Patch Adams understands himself better after helping Rudy. There is always something to learn from each patient. Some patients with chronic disease know more about it than any practitioner because they live with the disease for decades. Each patient represents a specific case who has different background, personality, preference and conditions. Thus, it is important for practitioner to learn from each patient and document it for future reference.

This was where I first developed my multitasking skills to oversee and coordinate four clinical research studies. My strong communication and interpersonal skills enabled me to meet crucial deadlines and work efficiently with physicians, nurses, pharmaceutical sponsors, and study monitors. I strive not only to be a great employee and team player but also to serve and positively impact my community, especially the medically underserved. For more than five years, I have volunteered over 1,000 hours, and most recently, I serve through the Lestonnac Free Clinic and Access OC organization as a Spanish interpreter. As a bilingual Spanish-speaking nurse, I hope to help my community by breaking down the language barrier between patients and the healthcare team in order to ensure the accurate continuity of care.

During my visit to Oak Crest Village, I had the pleasure of interviewing a retired nurse. To avoid releasing too much personal information, I will refer to my interviewee as Mrs. B. Mrs. B is a 76 years old female born in 1939 right here in the state of Maryland. She started her nursing education through a diploma program at Mercy Hospital. Mrs. B stated that her nursing program was on the job training. She spent little time in the classroom and the rest was all hands on training completed during patient care. After completion of her nursing diploma, Mrs. B attended University of Nursing Baltimore County (UMBC) to complete her Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Her class in 1966 was the first class to attend UMBC. Following completion

We also learn that Mr. Taylor trusts his clinic and they help improve his health care experience. A nurse who was assigned to him took one hundred percent care of him. She gave full attention to him and kept his mind away from the pain and got to know him personally. Thus this indepth communications and care is a great facilitator.

An event that was significant to me throughout clinical placement was when I forgot to introduce myself to a visually impaired client.