Discussion: Practicum Professional Development

Objectives: Progress Appraisal

In Week 1, you developed your practicum professional development objectives. How have your experiences thus far in the practicum contributed to your growth as nurse leader-manager or nurse informaticist? What difficulties, if any, have you experienced, and how might this affect the achievement of your objectives?

In this Discussion, you assess your progress toward fulfilling your practicum professional development objectives and consider how you could enhance or alter your activities to achieve your aims.

To prepare:

Reflect on the practicum professional development objectives you developed and outlined in your Practicum Professional Experience Plan in Week 1.

Keeping in mind the practicum activities you have engaged in thus far, consider the following questions:

How have these activities helped to promote your professional development?

Are you satisfied with your progress toward meeting your objectives? If not, what will you do to ensure you achieve them before the end of your Practicum Experience? As a reminder, you must complete all of your practicum hours on or before Day 5 of Week 11.

What challenges or unexpected opportunities have arisen at your practicum site? How has this affected your professional development?

Think about the experiences you may have in the forthcoming weeks. Do you foresee any particular challenges on the horizon? If so, what is your plan for addressing those challenges?

Think about the time you have spent with your Preceptor. How has this time enhanced or changed your understanding of the role and functions of the nurse leader-manager or nurse informaticist?

Post an assessment of your progress toward achieving your practicum professional development objectives, including how your involvement in specific practicum activities has contributed to your development. Explain what you will do to ensure you achieve your objectives by the end of your practicum. Summarize challenges or unexpected opportunities that have arisen, as well as any challenges that you anticipate may arise. Explain how you will address those challenges. Finally, summarize what you have learned about the role and functions related to your specialization through time spent with your Preceptor.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days, using one or more of the following approaches:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

Required Readings

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Cipriano, P. F., & Murphy, J. (2011). The future of nursing and health IT: The quality elixir. Nursing Economic$, 29(5), 286–289.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

“Technology tools will continue to revolutionize how we plan, deliver, document, review, evaluate, and derive the evidence about care” (p. 289). This article examines how nurses can use information technology to transform nursing and redesign the health care system. It focuses on the use of technology to promote quality and notes that technology can also be used to address challenges in education, research, leadership, and policy.

McKimm, J., & Swanwick, T. (2009). Setting learning objectives. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 70(7), 406–409.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article clarifies the terminology associated with learning objectives and explains how learning objectives relate to professional development and the transformation from novice to expert. It also introduces common pitfalls when setting learning objectives and provides suggestions for avoiding them.

Murphy, J. (2011). The nursing informatics workforce: Who are they and what do they do? Nursing Economic$, 29(3), 150–153.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The author examines the nursing informatics workforce, explaining that professionals in this well-established specialty area can play an integral role in transforming health care.

Sørensen, E. E., Delmar, C., & Pedersen, B. D. (2011). Leading nurses in dire straits: Head nurses’ navigation between nursing and leadership roles. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(4), 421–430.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

“Successful nursing leaders navigate between nursing and leadership roles while nourishing a double identity” (p. 421). In this article, the authors examine how individuals in key professional roles negotiate between and apply nursing and leadership skills.

Warm, D., & Thomas, B. (2011). A review of the effectiveness of the clinical informaticist role. Nursing Standard, 25(44), 35–38.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The authors investigate the application of specialized knowledge and expertise to facilitate the appropriate use of emerging technologies in clinical settings. They argue for informaticists’ involvement in strategic development and delivery of information management and technology initiatives to promote patient-centered outcomes.

Wilkinson, J. E., Nutley, S. M., & Davies, H. T. O. (2011). An exploration of the roles of nurse managers in evidence-based practice implementation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 8(4), 236–246.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

In this article, the authors examine the role nurse managers should play in leading and facilitating evidence-based practice.

 Armstrong, P. (2013). Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/pedagogical/blooms-taxonomy/

Vanderbilt University provides this overview of Bloom’s taxonomy. This site also presents the original and updated versions of the taxonomy along with verb suggestions for each level.

 Clark, D. (2013). Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html 

This article addresses three domains of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

 University of Central Florida, Office of Experiential Learning (n.d.). Writing SMART learning objectives, Retrieved from http://explearning.ucf.edu/registered-students/tips-for-success/writing-smart-learning-objectives/195

This blog post focuses on the distinction between learning outcomes and objectives. Consider this information as you develop your practicum professional development objectives this week.

 The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Center for Teaching & Learning. (2013). Writing objectives using Bloom’s taxonomy. Retrieved from http://teaching.uncc.edu/articles-books/best-practice-articles/goals-objectives/writing-objectives-using-blooms-taxonomy

This resource outlines elements of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

 Document: Practicum Professional Experience Plan (Word Document)

Use this form to develop your Practicum Professional Experience Plan as outlined this week.

 Document: Practicum Professional Experience Plan (Word Document)

Use this form to develop your Practicum Professional Experience Plan as outlined this week.

 Document: Practicum Journal (Word Document)

During your Practicum Experience, you are  required to submit your time log and three journal entries. You will use this  form to complete your journal reflections.

 Document: School of Nursing Practicum Manual: Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): Quarter-Based Programs (PDF)

This comprehensive manual outlines all of the requirements for the Practicum Experience.

Clinical Resources

 Document: Introduction to Clinical Experiences (PowerPoint)

 Document: Practicum Manual (PDF)