Course Project Reflection Paper (ANSWERED)

QUESTION

Purpose:

The purpose of this course project is for learners to explore how living nurses are making nursing history, apply lessons from nursing history, and analyze the impact of this project on nursing history today.

Course Outcomes:

This course project enables the student to meet the following course outcomes:

CO2: Apply lessons from nursing history to today’s professional nursing practice. (PO4)
CO4: Analyze the impact of nursing history on professional nursing roles today and in the future. (PO7)

Due Date for Phase 3:

Submit by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. MT at the end of Week 6.

Late Assignment Policy:

If the assignment is not submitted by due date, a late deduction will be applied. See rubric below.

Points Possible:

The entire project is worth 600 points. Course Project Phase 3: Reflection Paper is worth 225 points of this total.

Directions:

After completing the Phase 2: Conversation with the Selected Nurse in Week 3, you may begin working on the Phase 3: Reflection Paper. The Phase 3: Reflection Paper will be due by Sunday end of Week 6 by 11:59PM Mountain Time.
Download the Phase 3: Reflection Paper template below.
View the Phase 3: Reflection Paper Tutorial (Links to an external site.)
The Phase 3: Reflection Paper be a typed paper in APA format including:
1. Double-spaced, font and type size consistent with APA manual
2. Title Page adheres to Chamberlain and APA standards.
3. Content and headings as below and on the rubric:
  1. Introduction (include Introduction content, but no heading)
  2. Reflection on Learning from Nurse’s Answers
  3. Insight Gained from Conversation Regarding Leadership, Provision of Care, and/or Evidence-Based Practice
  4. Analysis of the Impact of Nursing History on Professional Practice Today and in the Future
  5. Conclusion
4. Length: Approximately 3 double-spaced pages excluding Title Page; 800-1000 words required in the body of the paper.
5. No outside sources will be used. No citations or references. No Reference page needed.
6. Excellent mechanics of scholarly writing including spelling, grammar, structure, paragraphing, and punctuation.
Submit Phase 3 assignment via Canvas by due date.

ANSWER

Reflection Paper

Nursing history helps nurses reflect on historical trends and appreciate their impact on the US healthcare system. Understanding the historical and societal factors that continue to influence the profession might also help nurses better prepare for their future. The purpose of this paper is three-fold: to analyze how living nurses are making nursing history, to provide insights gained from a nursing conversation regarding leadership, and to examine the impact of nursing history on professional practice today and in the future.

Reflection on Learning from Nurse’s Answers

Various challenges and problems have persisted despite the amazing advances that have revolutionized the industry. Nurse burnout, health inequity, health disparities, and infectious diseases are common problems that plague the healthcare system. Living nurses today are making history by addressing these challenges. They do this by guiding evidence-based practice change (EBP), advocating, disseminating information through scientific publications, and mentoring other nurses to become more skilled in their work.

For example, Nurse Kara’s advocacy efforts led to the construction of a mental health facility targeting men with alcohol and mental health problems. In part, the mental health disparities in her community were caused by a shortage of mental healthcare facilities. This gap inspired Kara and her colleagues to advocate for the construction of a new substance and mental treatment center. Thanks to their collective efforts, the Gratitude House residence was built. Today, community members can easily access treatment and seek help because these services are available within the community. Nurses today are making history by addressing the challenges their communities and patients face and making a difference in the healthcare system.

Insight Gained from Conversation Regarding Leadership, Provision of Care, and/or Evidence-Based Practice

The insight I gained from this conversation is that the face of nurse leadership is changing. Historically, nurses’ roles were restricted to the bedside, and these roles mainly entailed care provision. The healthcare system would create and impose policies on nurses, while nurse leaders focused on organizational-level system changes and improvements in patient care.

However, a close analysis of the interviewee’s responses reveals that nurse leadership has taken a new form. Modern-day nurse leadership requires active participation and engagement with politics. The traditional nurse leader focused on quality improvement, staff management, system changes, and other factors that would enhance patient care and health outcomes within their organizations. These roles are still part of nursing leadership, but modern-day nurse leaders are expected to engage directly with policymakers to bring change. Nurse Kara’s campaign for a new healthcare facility was not a micro-level initiative. It went beyond the walls of an organization: it was a meso-level initiative that involved much collaborative action.

Methods in which nurses can influence policy are many. They can contribute to these political processes by serving as active members on advisory committees and boards where policies are made. They can also create partnerships with other healthcare professionals, the public, businesses, elected officials, etc., to create awareness of various health issues. Alternatively, nurses can lend their voices and expertise to policymakers through their nursing or professional organizations.

Another lesson I inferred from Kara’s interview is that leadership is now a required competency, regardless of your position and education level. As a parting shot, Kara stated, “… learn to speak up if you want to make an actual impact in the profession.” She also indicated that her mentor always encouraged her to speak up for herself, her colleagues, and her patients. The importance of voicing our opinions cannot be overstated, given that Kara and her mentor share an opinion about it. Kara’s mentor encouraged her to speak up when Kara was still a novice nurse, and she (Kara) had the same message for me (a soon-to-be nurse). These messages demonstrate that even novice nurses are expected to speak up and bring change.

Kara also stated that we need to “learn to speak-up.” She noted that many nurses struggle with voicing their opinions, justifying the need for mastering this skill. Kara did not suggest how struggling nurses can improve this skill, but Lee et al.’s (2021) study provides a few suggestions. The authors indicate that nurses’ willingness to speak up is influenced by organizational, sociocultural, and personal attributes. Nurses who fear being shamed, criticized, or dismissed when voicing opinions must nurture assertiveness. A training program for assertive communication might be helpful for these nurses (Lee et al., 2021). Suppose a nurse is assertive, but the team, organizational culture, and organizational power hierarchies hinder nurse expression. In that case, they are responsible for breaking down these systems and building a collectivistic culture. This mandate underscores the importance of the leadership competency among all nurses.

Analysis of Impact of Nursing History on Professional Practice Today and in the Future

The historical reforms made by nurse leaders are still relevant today. The treatment methods and interventions of early nurses set standards for nursing practice. For example, Florence Nightingale highlighted the importance of evidence-based practice, compassionate care, advocacy, etc., during her Crimean War practice. These concepts are still relevant and considered core competencies of nursing practice today. The work of early nurses laid the foundation for contemporary nursing practice.

Nursing history also provides us with the knowledge to understand the profession and our past mistakes. Ogren (1994) indicates that modern nurses cannot effectively resolve issues affecting the current healthcare system without historical knowledge. According to the authors, learning about our history helps us appreciate our role in the healthcare system, giving us the political strength needed to address the system’s problems. Pioneer nurses such as Florence Nightingale shaped our professional identities as leaders. Thanks to their achievements, the public appreciates our roles as healthcare leaders and nurses.

From nursing history, we learn that the nursing profession is continuously evolving. The development of scientific and technological knowledge continues to advance. Technology has changed our practice today and will undoubtedly impact our future. Due to technology, institutional and brick-and-mortar workplace models will give way to fluid and mobile work models. As time goes by, nursing practice and health settings as we know them will continue to change. These dramatic shifts will mandate new nursing activities and therapies, meaning we will need new competencies and skills.

Conclusion

To sum up, modern nurses are making history by addressing challenges in the healthcare system. They are finding better and more ways of doing things, contributing to policy development through evidence-based research, and mentoring others. The form of nurse leadership is also changing. Gone are the days when nurse leaders focused on transforming organizations. Today, nurses are transforming systems at the meso-and macro level. Active participation and engagement in political processes are seemingly prerequisites for nurse leadership today. Speaking up does not come naturally to all nurses, but training programs in assertive communication may help.

References

Lee, S. E., Choi, J., Lee, H., Sang, S., Lee, H., & Hong, H. C. (2021). Factors Influencing Nurses’ Willingness to Speak Up Regarding Patient Safety in East Asia: A Systematic Review. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, Volume 14, 1053–1063. https://doi.org/10.2147/rmhp.s297349

Ogren, K. E. (1994). The risk of not understanding nursing history. Holistic Nursing Practice, 8(2), 8–14. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8263089/