Free Custom «Clinical Rotation Reflection» Essay Paper

Learning is an essential developmental process in the nursing profession. It equips students with necessary skills that facilitate effective delivery of health services. Becoming a ‘nurse’ requires experiential learning with real patients or clients. Nurse practitioner students are among the key beneficiaries of clinical rotations. Clinical practicum provides them with an opportunity to use theoretical concepts in practice. This paper aims to share tips useful in a clinical setting and discuss interaction with the preceptor and other staff. Furthermore, it will explain the role change from an expert registered nurse to a novice nurse practitioner and describe exciting experience from the practicum at doctor’s office.

Resources Necessary in a Clinical Setting

Productive learning during the practicum demands particular resources in a clinical setting. Theoretical knowledge is a significant resource utilized in the patient care process (Billings & Halstead, 2015). At doctor’s office, a nursing student needs to operationalize such information and apply it to patients having diverse levels of health. Theoretical concepts can be utilized in patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and education. It acts as a basis for practical health care delivery. I further noticed that practical manuals, treatment guidelines, and drug index are indispensable resources that provide valuable information about patient care.

Collaboration with My Preceptor and Other Clinical Staff

The desired level of performance in practicum is achieved if there is good cooperation between a student nurse, mentor and other clinical staff (Haitana & Bland, 2011). Coordination, collaboration, and communication skills are essential strategies that can enable one to work in a multidisciplinary team in a bid to better clinical outcomes of clients. During practicum, my preceptor was a doctor, and it was important to establish an interactive relationship facilitating learning through effective communication and the utilization of interpersonal skills. The doctor created learner-friendly sessions, which enabled me to observe how assessment, diagnosis, and management of illnesses were carried out professionally. He gave me an opportunity to do procedures under guidance after observation. Collaboration was quite encouraging and enjoyable. There were no incidences of negative interaction. Furthermore, the doctor’s office did not work in isolation, and it was necessary to refer some clients to other departments for further assessment and management. Effective collaboration was an essential tool that facilitated a favorable transfer of clients to other clinical units.

Role Change from an Expert Registered Nurse to a Novice Nurse Practitioner

The transition from an expert registered nurse (RN) to a novice nurse practitioner (NP) is challenging. One may feel the sense of inadequacy in the provision of optimal patient care. However, the nurse practitioner role confers more autonomy than the one of the registered nurse. Hill and Sawatzky (2011) have observed that the transition from the latter to the former is a stressful process. Stress tends to arise from personal, professional and organization sources. Moreover, organizational expectations that demand nurse practitioners to provide health care service competently can be overwhelming (Hill and Sawatzky,2011).

Educational Experience from the Practicum

Clinical learning at doctor’s office was interesting. The practicum encouraged my critical thinking since I had more autonomy when working as a nurse practitioner. Working at doctor’s office was also challenging because clients with different conditions and levels of health needed assessment, diagnosis, treatment and education. The patient management process can be daunting if one is not adequately prepared to handle. I have learnt that it is important to have sufficient theoretical knowledge and critical thinking skills, which ensure effective service delivery.

Conclusion

Learning to work with actual patients is the core element of nursing professional growth. It can be referred to as a clinical practicum, representing a field experience. The student nurse ought to be armed with necessary clinical resources, as well as collaboration and communication skills, which ensure that optimal learning takes place. The practicum can be challenging, intensive, and interesting; it just depends on how the student nurse relates with the preceptor, other staff, and clients. Finally, it is vital for to correlate theoretical concepts with the actual practice.