The six learning objectives and related activities that will guide my practicum hours are as follows:
1. Develop skills in searching and applying research evidence into practice – activities will include familiarization with using search terms to locate relevant literature, assessing the literature for appropriateness, synthesizing evidence, and presenting them to stakeholders for consideration and informed decision-making. The organizational needs analysis and the collection of HRD data also fall under this objective.
2. Develop skills in collaborating with the nurse researcher, nurse educator, and senior nurses in project implementation - reading on the meaning of collaboration and the principles that guide effective collaboration will give me a background on the concept (Nancarrow et al., 2013) ensuring the application of the principles during meetings, in the practice of leadership, during project conceptualization, project team formation, policy and guideline development, and overall project management.
3. Gain first-hand knowledge and skills in project monitoring strategies including the use of feedback and objective data – again, reading on different ways that a project can be monitored will provide insights on which strategies may be employed. Related activities may include eliciting feedback from mentors through a monthly meeting held for this purpose (Gudyk, 2005). A mentees meeting is also necessary to obtain feedback from the side of the less experienced nurses. Besides formal meetings, informal conversations with mentors and mentees are also ways of knowing personal sentiments that individuals may not be comfortable communicating during meetings (Yoon et al., 2013). Knowledge of these will prompt the inclusion of the issues in the agenda of meetings.
4. Practice the prompt resolution of arising problems through mechanisms identified by the implementing team – brainstorming will include the identification of possible problems or risks that may arise so that anticipatory actions can be undertaken to prevent them. At the same time, there implementing team will agree during a meeting how problems will be addressed with emphasis on team responsibility and not a culture of blaming individuals for problems that develop during implementation (Overgaard, 2010). Other activities include initiating dialogues between the parties involved, practicing active listening, maintaining a nonjudgmental attitude, guaranteeing fairness in the resolution, and ensuring learning from the process through reflection (Johansen, 2012).
5. Develop skills in evaluating the process and outcome measures of a project – the evaluation plan including the outcome measures identified during the planning stage will be reviewed. Criteria for evaluating process outcomes will be developed by referring to the literature. In addition to the structured activities, the evaluation plan will also include obtaining general feedback on staff satisfaction with the conduct of the project and learning insights (Overgaard, 2010).
6. Develop skills in report writing and presentation to disseminate the results of the project – organized documentation of the project planning, implementation, and monitoring will be ensured so that there is sufficient data on the development of the project to base the evaluation on. Documentation will include the minutes of meetings and brainstorming sessions, results of data collection, and informal observations or communication. Referring to the literature for guidance on methods of dissemination will be done with outputs such as posters, presentations or manuscripts drafted and refined before they are made available to others (Forsyth et al., 2010).
My practicum hours will also be guided by a timeline as follows:
References
Forsyth, D.M., Wright, T.L., Scherb, C.A., & Gaspar, P.M. (2010). Disseminating evidence- based practice projects: Poster design and evaluation. Clinical Scholars Review, 3(1), 14-21. Retrieved from http://www.westernu.edu/bin/oir/assessment/additional_resources/poster_design_and_ evaluation.pdf
Gudyk, R. (2005). Establishing a student mentoring program. Retrieved from http://www.nsna.org/Portals/0/Skins/NSNA/pdf/Imprint_NovDec05_mentoring_progr am.pdf
Johansen, M.L. (2012). Keeping the peace: Conflict management strategies for nurse managers. Nursing Management, 43(2), 50-54. doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000410920.90831.96.
Nancarrow, S.A., Booth, A., Ariss, S., Smith, T., Enderby, P., & Roots, A. (2013). Ten principles of good interdisciplinary team work. Human Resources for Health, 11(19), 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662612/
Overgaard, P.M. (2010). Career scope: Get the keys to successful project management. Nursing Management, 41(6), 53-54. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/JournalArticle?Article_ID=1020508
Yoon, B., McIntosh, S.D., Rodriguez, L., Holley, A., Faselis, C.J., & Liappis, A.P. (2013). Changing behavior among nurses to track indwelling urinary catheters in hospitalized patients. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases, 2013, 405041, 1-4. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/405041.
