Once a week, at home on Moodle, students will be required to be reflective about their ability to align the care they provided with QSEN competencies and identify areas for improvement. Students will include new insights gained from the clinical experience and what they will review to be prepared for their next clinical experience. The SMART format is a good format to orient you to journaling for professional progress -(S) Specific; (M) Measurable; (A) Achievable; (R) Relevant; (T) Time-Bound. Instructors should review journal entries to familiarize themselves with their students’ goals, especially if they are with a new student assignment. Weekly Entries should include:
• Reflect on your clinical experience today and journal how you demonstrated the assigned QSEN domain. (20 points) • Describe ways you interacted with patients and staff to improve your collective ability to provide care that aligns with QSEN. (20 points) • Reflect on your personal strengths and areas of needed improvement suggested by your clinical instructor. (40 points) • Set at least one goal for your next clinical day using the SMART goal format. (20 points)
Assignment
1. Patient Centered Care: (Please focus on your patients you had at clinical and aspects of their care that could be improved. This could be nursing care, spiritual care, cultural care, etc.)
2. Teamwork & Collaboration: (Please focus on teamwork between yourself ad peers, staff members, members of the interdisciplinary team, etc. Talk about what you observed and what worked to benefit your patient or where there may have been missed opportunities for teamwork).
3. Evidenced Based Practice: (Please focus on experiences in your clinical day that inspired you to search scholarly articles or your textbook for additional information.) Informatics: (Please focus on how technological applications are used in your clinical site to provide safe patient care).
4. Safety: (Describe specific aspects of care that you provided to improve the safety of patients. Discuss specific examples of safety enhancing processes you observed during your clinical day. Include how you helped provide safety in the patient’s environment of care).
5. Quality Improvement: (Please focus on outcomes identified in the plan of care for your patients. Describe specifically how you contributed to your patients’ progression toward achievement of those outcomes. Identify and describe quality improvement processes in place at your clinical site. Describe how you would contribute toward these processes if you were part of the nursing team on staff at your clinical site).

 

Sample Answer

Sample Answer

 

Reflective Journaling for Professional Progress: Integrating QSEN Competencies

Introduction

Reflective journaling is an effective tool for nursing students to assess their ability to align the care they provide with Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies. This assignment aims to help students gain new insights from their clinical experiences, identify areas for improvement, and set goals for their next clinical day using the SMART goal format. Instructors should review journal entries to understand their students’ goals and provide guidance if necessary. This essay will provide guidance on how to approach each weekly entry, focusing on different QSEN domains.

Weekly Entry Format

Each weekly entry should address the following aspects:

Reflecting on Clinical Experience (20 points): Describe how you demonstrated the assigned QSEN domain during your clinical experience. Focus on patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, informatics, safety, or quality improvement.

Interaction with Patients and Staff (20 points): Explain how you interacted with patients and staff to improve collective care aligned with QSEN. Discuss examples of effective communication, collaboration, and patient engagement strategies.

Personal Strengths and Areas of Improvement (40 points): Reflect on the feedback provided by your clinical instructor. Identify your personal strengths and areas that need improvement. Consider skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to QSEN competencies.

Setting SMART Goals for Next Clinical Day (20 points): Set at least one goal for your next clinical day using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goal format. Focus on enhancing your performance in a specific QSEN domain.

Now let’s address each QSEN domain and provide guidance on what aspects to focus on for each entry:

1. Patient Centered Care

Reflect on your patients’ care during your clinical day and identify areas for improvement in delivering patient-centered care. This could include aspects such as nursing care, spiritual care, cultural care, or any other dimensions of care that could be enhanced to better meet patients’ needs.

2. Teamwork & Collaboration

Describe your experiences of working within a team during your clinical day. Discuss interactions with peers, staff members, and members of the interdisciplinary team. Reflect on what worked well in terms of teamwork and collaboration, as well as any missed opportunities for collaboration that could have benefited patients.

3. Evidenced Based Practice

Focus on experiences during your clinical day that inspired you to search for additional information in scholarly articles or your textbook. Explain how you integrated evidence-based practice into your care decisions and discuss the impact of evidence-based interventions on patient outcomes.

4. Informatics

Highlight how technological applications were used in your clinical site to provide safe patient care. Discuss specific examples of how technology enhanced communication, documentation, medication administration, or other aspects of care. Reflect on how you contributed to utilizing informatics tools effectively.

5. Safety

Describe specific aspects of care you provided to improve patient safety during your clinical day. Discuss examples of safety-enhancing processes you observed, such as medication reconciliation or fall prevention measures. Additionally, reflect on how you contributed to creating a safe environment for patients during their care.

6. Quality Improvement

Focus on the outcomes identified in the plan of care for your patients. Describe how you contributed to your patients’ progression toward achieving those outcomes through your nursing interventions. Identify and describe quality improvement processes in place at your clinical site and explain how you would contribute to these processes if you were part of the nursing team.

Conclusion

Reflective journaling is a valuable exercise for nursing students to assess their ability to align their care with QSEN competencies. By carefully considering the different QSEN domains and focusing on patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidenced-based practice, informatics, safety, and quality improvement in each weekly entry, students can gain a deeper understanding of their strengths, areas for improvement, and set goals for their professional development. This reflective process will enhance their ability to provide safe and quality care to patients while continuously improving their practice.

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