Lessons I Learned During Practicum at Emanuel Medical Center

The new shift reporting method where nurses record patients’ information at the bedside has helped to promote the continuity of care during shifts and improve patient-nurse involvement. The paper discusses the various lessons I learned during that period. New Practice Approaches During my time at Emanuel Medical Center, I got an opportunity to develop new skills in the new bedside approach implemented at the hospital. I observed off-going nurses involve the patients, their families, and the on-coming nurses discussing medical treatment plans and other information to ensure continuity of care services. In the traditional method, nurses would record patients’ information in a private room where the on-coming nurse would collect the information to provide care. For instance, nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas regarding patient’s concerns which should be solved, as part of providing quality care.

I observed how they involved other health professionals in developing suitable solutions as a team. It helped to improve my communication and interaction skills with colleagues, which are crucial when working as a team to provide patient care. Ethical Considerations in Health Care The experience in Emanuel Medical Center enlightened me on some of the ethical concerns that arise when delivering bedside care. They include a lack of proper communication regarding the patient’s medications, concerns on decision making and patient’s concerns on the proposed medical plans. The Role of Technology in Improving Health Care Outcomes Bedside reporting involves the use of technologies such as electronic health records (EHR) and recording devices to collect verbal information. While undertaking my practicum at Emanuel Medical Center, I observed the processes followed when delivering a report to the oncoming nurses and the patient’s family.

The process involved using EHR to record the information and provide a verbal report in a language that was easy to understand. With the help of a nurse, I learned how to use EHR and its role in delivering bedside reports. Unlike in the traditional reporting where the out-going nurse would record the information in a sheet of paper, patient’s data was recording in real-time (Ghosh, Curl, Goodwin, Morrell & Guidroz, 2018). Health Policy During the practicum, there were some concerns that were raised regarding the violations of health policies. They included unknown visitors in the room, lack of privacy and instances where the patient was asleep or was unable to participate due to cognitive problems. Our supervisor helped us in identifying the health policies set by Emanuel Medical Center to prevent the violation of patients’ privacy.

For instance, the patient can decide whether or not information should be shared with family members. Besides family members visiting the patient are required to identify themselves to prevent unknown visitors from accessing the room. Health Disparities During the practicum, I identified the disparities among the population around the hospital. There was a racial and ethnic disparity, where more non-Hispanics whites accessed the facility compared to Hispanics and blacks. Also, most of the people living in poverty due to unemployment did not seek medical attention compared to those who had stable jobs. The practicum provided a perfect opportunity to learn and understand the concepts taught at school. It also enabled me enhance various skills such as leadership and communication skills. , Goodwin, M.

My mentor was such a great person and gave me every opportunity to learn from him, and at times he could assign me duties under his watch purposefully to gain practical skills in the field of nursing. Since there are numerous challenges and complexities associated with healthcare systems, my initial thought was that I was going to face frustrations due to lack of experience. However, this was not the case as my mentor supported me throughout the practicum and therefore acquired the confidence to apply my theoretical knowledge I learned in class into the real-world scenario without any fear. New practice approaches Nursing just as any other field has experienced several changes to the manner in which patients receive services. The most notable new practice approach that I learned during the practicum period at the Cardiac ICU was the use of evidence-based practice (EBD) that has proved to be very crucial in providing quality care to patients.

The concept of intraprofessional collaboration played a crucial role in ensuring better healthcare services to the clients at times. Ethical considerations in health care As a nurse, I learned a lot regarding the role of ethics in healthcare institutions. Some of the ethical practices that I observed at the cardiac ICU area include the provision of care that preserves and protect client dignity, demonstration of honesty and dignity, making the client the primary concern in the provision of nursing care and respect and appreciate the benefits of others opinions within the healthcare setup. Another critical ethical consideration that I learned was the protection of the client’s privacy and confidentiality. According to my observation, any occurrence of ethical problems called for consultations with ethical experts objectively to restore the lost ethics.

The technology enabled clinicians to compile and maintain the entire patient’s health information into a single easily accessible record thus reducing errors. Also to reduce medication errors, clinicians used the electronic prescription system to send prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy. I gained several knowledge and skills in the use of medical databases, online medical portals, and references. Health policy A high percentage of the health problems happening in the healthcare settings are as a result of health policy issues and therefore practicing nurses like me have a responsibility to provide policy leadership in the clinical environments. As a reflection, policies that allow free smoking led to high instances of asthma patients being admitted to the health clinics due to inhalation of contaminated air thus suffering from asthma and emphysema.

Conclusion The placement process gave me an excellent opportunity to improve my career pathway options. I learned several knowledge and skills throughout the practicum period as discussed above and got an opportunity to establish my strengths and weaknesses in the healthcare systems. I enjoyed the environment at the providence hospital as it allowed me to learn the practical part of my course having gained the theoretical knowledge in the classroom. I finally thank my mentor for being supportive and a learning resource throughout the period. References Adler, N. M. , Marmot, M. , & Wilkinson, R. Social determinants of health. The solid facts. M. , Wakefield, M. , & Kerfoot, K. Nursing and health policy. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 32(3), 307-315. E. , Baker, L. , Kulkarni, M. , & Travis, D.