Core Curriculum for Critical Care Nursing

Question: Discuss about the Core Curriculum for Critical Care Nursing. Answer: Introduction: The paper is an outcome of personal reflection as a part of learning and development in nursing practice. The reflection is based on evaluation of personal thoughts, own practice, feelings, experiences and actions. The model of reflection which I most commonly prefer are Gibbs Reflective cycle (1998) and Rolfes framework (Saunders et al. 2016). As a registered nurse my experience in the area of critical care so far have been exciting and interesting. Currently, I am highly competent in handling medical emergencies, preparing the patients for the procedures, assisting physicians, and administering treatment. I have always received appreciation from my peers and team leader for my good verbal communication skills and ability to make quick and sound decision for acute and critical care patients. These skills are the area of strength that makes me confident to handle difficulties. I remember an incident where I walked into the critical care unit and realised it is going to be a busy day. I have collected reports of Mrs. Luigi, 65 whom I was suppose to care that day. She was under incubation and was sedated after hip surgery. She was surrounded with equipments and tower of I.V. infusions pumps. I have finished quick assessment of her ensuing not to miss any details though I was busy. I found her stable. Next to it I was showered by lots of questions by her anxious family. I brought them to the bedside and considering them as my own patient I have answered all the questions and gave sufficient and relevant information related to Luigi. I reassured them while I continue to perform my assessment and care. To cater for their emotional and spiritual needs I have asked a chaplain to visit the family members. My assessment was crucial for the multidisciplinary team and the team was waiting for my feedback on Luigi. Later, I found that many of my suggestions were implemented and after 24 hours I could see her condition improving. While preparing reports I have felt a strong sense of achievement. However, my weakness includes lack of cross-cultural skills that is linguistic barrier when attending patients from CALD community. I am on way of improving this skills since last year. There are areas of improvement as per my mentors feedback and personal experiences with patients of different backgrounds. Although I am able to implement the evidence-based options and acknowledge positive decisions and actions of my senior nurses, I fail in certain areas. These include unable to communicate with the patients who are deaf and blind and unable to handle aggressive patients in ICU. There is a need of setting goals for improvement in these areas. According to Alspach (2013) having clear goals is vital for self-regulated learners. They are motivated towards accomplishing these goals. Revello and Fields (2015) describes that more the distance of an individual from his/her goals, the more is the investment of time and resources. Therefore, short term and long-term goals must be set to achieve the regular targets and progress towards the ultimate goal. As a registered nurse, I have identified a set of short-term goals in relation to areas of improvement identified which would be practical for me to achieve by the end of the end of Critical Care 2. In relation to the areas of improvement identified, I have set short-term goals which I aim to achieve by the end of critical care 2. These are- Short term goals Resources What to learn Learn non verbal skills particularly gesture and ESL Take assistance from senior nurse managers who are undertaking cases of deaf or blind patients in ICU and work with them for one month and work with interpreters (Chininthorn et al. 2016) how to perceive, comprehend and transmit messages when interactive with patient with sensory disability Learn ASL and gestures required for such patients Handle stress due to aggressive patients Attend workshops Help from colleagues Attend yoga and meditation classes after shift time daily for two months (Chang et al. 2016) how to report mentor when in emergency Develop mental resilience Act without taking personally Observation and build therapeutic connection with schizophrenic patients Handle abusive behaviour By the end of this course, I would like to demonstrate my improvement in the above mentioned in the area by up taking at least one case of mental health department for example schizophrenia. I would maintain portfolio of my personal improvements including evidence of my improvement. I would work with nurse manager for handling patients with visual impairment to improve my performance. I would like to develop transformational leadership skills as my mentor is expert in inspiring others and always have strong vision. She makes me feel passionate about success. Therefore, I am on way to cultivate this leadership trait to improve performance and reach managerial position in future as highlighted in Lin et al. (2015). References Alspach, J.G., 2013.Core curriculum for critical care nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences. Chang, S.J., Kwak, E.Y., Hahm, B.J., Seo, S.H., Lee, D.W. and Jang, S.J., 2016. Effects of a Meditation Program on Nurses Power and Quality of Life.Nursing science quarterly,29(3), pp.227-234. Chininthorn, P., Glaser, M., Tucker, W.D. and Diehl, J.C., 2016. Exploration of Deaf Peoples Health Information Sources and Techniques for Information Delivery in Cape Town: A Qualitative Study for the Design and Development of a Mobile Health App.JMIR Human Factors,3(2). Lin, P.Y., MacLennan, S., Hunt, N. and Cox, T., 2015. The influences of nursing transformational leadership style on the quality of nurses working lives in Taiwan: a cross-sectional quantitative study.BMC nursing,14(1), p.33. Revello, K. and Fields, W., 2015. An educational intervention to increase nurse adherence in eliciting patient daily goals.Rehabilitation Nursing,40(5), pp.320-326. Saunders, R., Singer, R., Dugmore, H., Seaman, K. and Lake, F., 2016. Nursing students reflections on an interprofessional placement in ambulatory care.Reflective Practice,17(4), pp.393-402.