Role of a Student Nurse in Higher Education and Future Healthcare - Essay Example

Role of a Nurse in Higher Education and Future Healthcare Practitioner Due paper Introduction The Health Care industry is in the need of reform. Patients are now demanding to be involved in their care. There is a consensus not only from the key stakeholders but also from the society regarding the need for reform. The transformation of the health care system demands a more competent body of nurses and a more practical approach towards nursing education in order to be able to meet the complexities and demands of care. The role of nurses in the health care sector is of huge significance because it directly affects the quality of care being provided to the patients. Therefore, it is the need of today to explore the field of nursing in more depth and its association with the demand of improvement in the quality of care in order to provide a better nursing care framework for the future nurses. In this article, I will utilise the Gibb’s reflective cycle to identify my role as a student in higher education and as a future health care practitioner. Nursing Practice in Healthcare There is a need to change the nursing practice in the transformation of the health care system. Nurses find themselves in providing care to people from diverse cultures. In addition, technological advancements in the medical field present new treatment approaches. According to Wilson et al., (2012) there is an aging population particularly in the developed countries coupled with an increase in chronic diseases and rising expenses. Researchers observe nurses can play a significant role in ensuring the safety and improved quality of care. According to the IOM report, there is a need to transform health care to utilise the unique skills and experience of the nurses (IOM 2011: 25). To meet the current and future demands of care, there is a need for transformation in the nursing practice. Resultantly, nurses need to advance in their education, their scope of practice, and they need to take up more leadership roles in the transformation of health care as stated by Wilson et al. (2012). Role of a Nurse as a Student Being a student in higher education demands loyalty, devotion, and focus. It is the responsibility of a nursing student to engage in continuous learning to understand the concepts and principles of the discipline. Balancing work, family life, and education is critical for every nursing student. Nurses and students in higher education are required to engage in the reflective practice. Callara (2008: 286) explains that the practice enables one to identify their strengths and weaknesses in their field and to identify the best course of action for their professional development. It is also a key role of the nursing students to engage in volunteer experiences during their higher education life in order to get a practical know how of providing effective care to the people in need. The Gibb’s reflective cycle requires nurses to describe a situation and the resultant feelings accrued to that situation (Callara 2008: 286). The most significant goal of a nursing student is to gain quality education in order to be able to utilize the knowledge and skills in providing efficient care to patients. Role of a Nurse as a Future Health Care Professional The current transformation of Health Care demands that nurses take up more roles and responsibilities in the society. For example, nurses are required to develop their leadership skills to advocate for improved services. Nurses are also required to collaborate with other medical practitioners in the provision of quality care (IOM 2011: 221). Currently, nurses have been engaged in many changes. For example in 2010, the NHS England engaged nurses and other practitioners in the development of a new approach to patient care. The collaboration involved 269 groups of nurses together with other practitioners, who provided recommendations on how to bring care closer to the people in the society according to NHS England (2015). The NHS England has recommended several approaches to care to bridge the gap between cheap and affordable care in the society. The Royal College of Nursing identifies six key values that are detrimental to my success as a nurse. The values include compassion, competence, care, communication, courage and commitment (RCN 2015). Nurses in their professional careers are required to be committed to their role in providing care and ensuring the well-being of patients. The value of competence requires professional nurses to be up to date with knowledge and understanding of the needs of the patients (RCN 2015). Future nurses also require assistance on the way to remain committed to the changes and complexities in care in order to guarantee that they deal with the patients with full care and devotion. In addition, professional nurses are expected to take up leadership roles, such as, advocating for the rights of patients. My Strengths and Weaknesses My strengths as a theorist include my demand for accurate information, personal effectiveness and my dedication to analyse and synthesise information. Resultantly, since I am against any concept that does not fit into my theoretical approach, I need to engage myself in long hours of study and research. My passion to provide efficient care to patients is also one of my strengths. Along with this, my some other strengths as a nursing student include devotion, eagerness to learn latest knowledge, innovative mindset, and collaborative working skills. An evaluation of Homey and Mumford’s questionnaires has enabled me to identify my learning style as a Theorist. Vivien (2010: 72) explains that a theorist prefers a logical approach and seeks a deeper understanding and clarification of concepts and principles. I have a strong preference for the theorist learning style, as I tend to seek a deeper understanding of the concepts and principles concerning a particular topic. I am thorough in that I need to be convinced that a project makes sense before I accept that it is accurate. I have identified that my main weakness as a student in higher education is my inability to manage my time. In a recent test, my rating scale on time management was 33. This scale is evidence that whereas I am managing my time fairly well, there is need for me to improve my time management. Time management is a challenge due to my personal responsibilities. I am unable to balance my work life, family and study life in a manner that will ensure my success and professional development. Therefore, there is need for me to come up with an effective strategy that will ensure that I can effectively manage my time to ensure that I do not fail in my studies or my role as a family man. My Skills that I need to focus in order to be successful in my higher education, as well as in my future nursing career include presentation skills, effective communication skills, and academic writing skills. I need to gain more confidence and public exposure to improve my presentation and public speaking skills. A nurse needs to be skilled in these two areas in order to become a successful nurse. Similarly, I also need to improve my academic writing skills because medical research documentation, making referrals, and note taking are some of the key responsibilities of a professional nurse. Moreover, I also need to improve my interpersonal communication skills in order to be effective in communicating with my colleagues and patients. Since English is my second language, I need to get admission into some English language learning course to improve my use of my words and accent. Conclusion The Gibbs reflective cycle is an effective tool that has enabled me to identify my strengths and my challenges. Some of my main strengths include honesty, dedication to work, commitment with my career, and an aim to help others in need. Whereas, some of the areas in which I find myself weak include time management, communication, presentation, and academic writing. I have poor time management skills as my main weakness that I need to overcome. I have identified my preferred learning style as a theorist. Lastly, I have recognised the need to identify a support system that will minimise the time pressures that I am currently facing. Recommendations for Practice My reflection has presented the main challenges that may inhibit my success in the field of nursing. First, I have observed that I lack good time management skills. Due to the demanding nature of higher education, I need to come up with an effective approach to time management. My main challenge is balancing my work, study and family life. Resultantly, to succeed in my studies, I need to find an appropriate management strategy that will ensure that I succeed in fulfilling my duties in my personal and study life without experiencing ‘burnout’. Learning how to manage my time will be a significant success in my career as a future nurse. Along with this, I also need to improve my presentation skills, effective communication skills, and academic writing style in order to be effective as a nurse in future. Presently, the transformation of the health care system requires nurses to take up more roles and responsibilities. The increasing pressures in care require nurses to be effective time managers and to possess skills, such as, devotion, healing care, competence, commitment, and a strong passion to help others. References Callara, L.E. Callara, L.R. (Eds.). (2008) Nursing education challenges in the 21st century, Nova Publishers, U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing (2011) The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. National Academies Press. U.S. Klainberg, M. Dirschel, K.M. (2010) Todays nursing leader: managing, succeeding, excelling, Jones & Bartlett Learning, U.S. NHS England (2015) Chapter three – What will the future look like? New models of care, viewed November 17, 2015 from . NHS England (2015) Five million patients to benefit from new era of patient care, viewed November 17, 2015 from . RCN (2015) The principles and the 6Cs, UK, viewed November 17, 2015 from . Vivien, M. (2010) Leading change in health and social care, Routledge, UK. Wilson, A. Whitaker, N. Whitford, D. (2012) Rising to the Challenge of Health Care Reform with Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Nursing Initiatives, The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 17(2), pp 1-11. Appendix Action Plan Students have to play a critical and engaging role in the field of nursing, which also requires them to allocate a considerable amount of time. Students are expected to participate in clinical hours, study time and class preparation. At the same time, I need time for my family, work and social life. Klainberg and Dirschel (2010: 137) observe that the key solution to time management is planning. I need to plan my time by identifying what needs to be done. I will also focus my attention on improve my presentation skills, effective communication skills, and academic writing style because a nurse needs to effective in these three domains in order to be successful in nursing career. In addition, I need to set my objectives to ensure my personal development. My objectives include allocating time for my studies, making an alignment between my personal and study life so that I can give time to both, identifying an appropriate learning approach, identifying a support system that will reduce the pressures and responsibilities of personal, and study time and identifying the time needed to tackle challenging topics. The role of nursing is an overwhelming task that requires effective time management. Furthermore, considering the demanding nature of the nursing job, it is of paramount importance that I learn how to manage my time. Read More