mklochack.weebly.com€¦ · Web viewUsing the American Nurses Association (ANA), (2004), Standards of Professional Nursing Performance, I will describe and analyze my current strengths

Running head: PROFESSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1

Professional Development Plan

Michelle R. Klochack

Ferris State University

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2

Abstract

My Professional Development Plan describes and analyzes my current professional behaviors,

illustrates my five and ten year goals, describes how I will meet these goals and provides a

method of evaluating progress toward my goals.


Professional Development Plan

Using the American Nurses Association (ANA), (2004), Standards of Professional

Nursing Performance, I will describe and analyze my current strengths and weaknesses while

identifying my professional goals.

Standards of Professional Performance

Standard 7: Quality of Practice

In the ANA (2004) Scope and Standards of Practice, Standard 7 states, “the registered

nurse systematically enhances the quality and effectiveness of nursing practice” (p.33). This is a

standard that I take pride in achieving daily. My daily practice is centered on this standard. My

documentation is the same with every patient. It is clear, concise, accurate and includes facts

only. When taking care of patients it is important to take certain factors into account. Age and

nerves are two of these. To make my patients comfortable is one of my first goals with care.

When taking care of children I go to their level and ask questions appropriate to their age. I

provide a hairnet for a stuffed animal or doll so they both wear one back to surgery. Sometimes

that makes it fun for them. If a patient is nervous I try to provide a relaxing atmosphere and give

any information I can to help alleviate any concerns.

I participate and am involved in the quality assurance committee. We have monthly

meetings at my employment. We address concerns that arise and continuously attempt to

improve the quality of care and service we provide.

I am the Education Coordinator at my facility. I have developed and initiated 45

competencies for employees to complete yearly. I re-evaluate these competencies throughout the

year to make changes necessary. The policies and procedures related to these competencies I am


also re-writing and re-evaluating with changes that occur. I am also required to choose ten

separate polices each year to address and change as necessary.

My biggest strength is that I love being a nurse and strive to give 110% at everything I

do. Some of the competencies and in-services I develop and provide I don’t have a lot of

knowledge about. I do a lot of research so that everything I develop is accurate and factual.

Standard 8: Education

“Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses…we must be learning all our lives”

(Florence Nightingale, 1910, p. 214). As a registered nurse we are required to earn and obtain

twenty five contact hours every two years. I have fulfilled this requirement and feel it is vital as

nurses to keep learning and keep up with changes. A large portion of these contact hours I focus

on the area of specialty that I am working. Each year I reflect on my strengths and weaknesses

so that I can identify what areas I need to increase my knowledge. This is done mostly through

articles and reading. Throughout my nine years of nursing, I have kept a copy of all contact

hours with my nursing license renewal. I am required with my position to maintain my Basic

Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Cardiac Life Support

(PALS) certifications. These are renewed every two years.

One of my goals that are listed in Appendix A is to join two professional organizations.

These will allow me access to journals, subscriptions, continuing education and discounts on

books and certifications. This will help me to continue my education along with my classes at

Ferris State University (FSU) to complete my Bachelor’s degree in nursing. It will also help me

to reach my professional and personal goals.


Standard 9: Professional Practice Evaluation

Standard 9 of the ANA (2004) Scope and Standards of Practice state “the registered

nurses practice reflects the application of knowledge of current practice standards, guidelines,

statutes, rules and regulating” (p.36). In my current full time position I work at an outpatient

surgical center where there is a lot of cultural diversity. Three years ago patients were allowed to

bring a relative to interpret for them. This was re-evaluated about one and half years ago. An

interpreter service is now used with any patient who does not speak English. This was changed

for patient safety and the facilities safety. Another part of my position is doing post-op calls for

patient satisfaction. This has been beneficial for the facility as well as individuals to improve in

patient care.

Personally I have only had two evaluations in the three and half years I have been

employed at the surgical center. Both of these were exceptional although I believe reviews need

to be completed more regularly. Peer reviews have not been initiated in this facility and would

also benefit in individual improvement. In the last four months I have done a lot of self

evaluation in my position and my professional practice. The first change I made was enrolling in

Ferris State University’s Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science of Nursing program. I realized

that I was not happy in my full time position. There is no room for advancement and the facility

I am employed and it does not meet my professional practice goals. I am also an occasional

employee at Spectrum Health Gerber Hospital. Included in my goals, as you will see in

Appendix A, is to obtain a full time position at Gerber Hospital. Spectrum Health has recently

taken over Gerber Hospital. This transition will open up many opportunities in the years to come

for this hospital and myself. It will help me to achieve my professional development goal of

obtaining a position as a nurse educator. Kearney-Nunnery (2008) says nurses are talented,


creative and visionary – when they allow themselves to be. I am at a point in my life where I

realize it is time to be and do more in my professional career. The ANA (2010) Nursing World’s

educator home page states, “Educators make the difference!!! ANA recognizes that you hold the

key to the nursing profession and the healthcare of this nation in your hands!! ANA wants to

help you do your work in educating the future of the profession.”

Standard 10: Collegiality


nurse interacts with and contributes to the professional development of peers and colleagues”

(p.37). As the Education Coordinator at Walker Surgical Center it helps me to achieve this

standard. The competencies I require each employee to complete each year I correct and review

with each individual. This is done to improve each individual’s knowledge. After each in-

service I provide an evaluation form for each to complete. We then set a meeting to review each

of the comments made. This is done to improve future in-services and to help me provide better

information to my co-workers for learning purposes.

I recently presented a mock code. The code was performed, evaluations were completed

and then we had a meeting for discussion. I first led the discussion with ways I could have

improved the code with presentation. Then it was open discussion for anyone to voice opinions.

I then had to inform my colleagues and peers feedback on their roles and performances or lack

of. Each step was necessary to improve in this area and ensure patient safety in this facility. My

biggest struggle was not getting upset and showing my complete disappointment in my co-

workers. I have managed to provide the education needed for the facility and maintain friendly

and caring relationships with my colleagues and peers. This is something that I will

continuously have to work at.


Standard 11: Collaboration

I believe standard 11 of the ANA (2004) Scope and Standard of Practice is one of the

most important aspects of providing complete nursing care. Communicating with my patients

and their families is one of my favorite parts of my job. I enjoy people and believe that talking

and relating with them only makes them more comfortable. Communicating and collaborating

with my colleagues, other nurses and physicians is something I do daily. I have realized how

important it is to document all communication and collaboration and have improved over the

years with my documentation.

It is important in my daily practice to make patients as comfortable as possible and

ensure they have the best experience possible in their situation. I also express the importance of

continuity of care by providing verbal and written post operative appointment dates. The post

operative calls I perform I again reiterate the importance to attend their follow up appointment

dates.

Standard 12: Ethics


nurse integrates ethical provisions in all areas of practice” (p.39). I grew up with a grandfather

and uncle who were racist. I had other influences in my lifetime who taught me that call people

were created equal. Regardless of the negative influences in my life I have always believed that

everyone is equal. When I first read The Code of Ethics for Nurses I realized it was a code that I

had always lived by and always would. The ANA (2001) Code of Ethics for Nurses states “it is

the profession’s nonnegotiable ethical standard”. This is a statement that I would wish all people

would live by but unfortunately that is not the case. As nurses it is important for delivery of

care.


Providing confidentiality is an area that I have to be aware of daily. It is easy to discuss a

patient with another colleague but where that discussion takes place is something that I have to

make myself aware of continuously to ensure patient confidentiality.

Being a patient advocate can be a struggle at time with some physicians. I have

experienced a couple of incidences where the physician was not happy with me but I stood my

ground and being my patients advocate was my first priority. The patient gained respect for me

as a nurse and I believe the physician did as well.

I believe that I have maintained a professional and therapeutic relationship with my

patients in my daily standard of care. I have never participated in an ethical committee or had it

available to participate in, although I think it would be beneficial in the facility that I work full

time currently.

Standard 13: Research

Research is the basis of my position as Education Coordinator. Each of the competencies

that I have developed I researched individually through product manuals, online information and

policies and procedures. The in-services that I provide also require research through online

information, policies and procedures and collaboration with other facilities.

It is important to constantly re-evaluate the education provided for accuracy and changes.

Any new equipment may require a competency or in-service. New Occupational Safety &

Health Administration (OSHA) and state regulations are another aspect to keep informed of that

may change or update the education needed in the facility. This will be a constant challenge that

I will continue to strive to achieve.

Appendix A lists my goal of joining and participating in the education committee at

Gerber Hospital. This will not only get me involved in my area of interest but help me to


achieve one of my other goals of obtaining a nurse educator position at Gerber Hospital. Each of

my goals is like stepping stones. Each step is essential for proper growth. Each step is also

essential to achieve each goal. Every year I will re-evaluate my goals to access the need to set

new goals or revise my Professional Development Plan.

Standard 14: Resource Utilization

In my daily practice I evaluate safety in all my patients. Whether it is patient transfers,

call lights at reach or transport carts at lowest levels. To the best of my capability in my position

I recommend appropriate services to address health related needs. Unfortunately my positions

have not enabled me to do this very often. Recommendations to physicians and discharge

planners have been my extent.

Some nurses are more competent with children than others. It is important in my

facilities recovery room to provide the experienced competent registered nurses to providing the

care for children. I am one of the nurses utilized in this area. Keeping my Pediatric Advanced

Life Support (PALS) certification up to date is a requirement personally of mine to ensure

continued competence.

Through out my career I have had several patients that did not feel they were informed

properly. In each of these cases I have assisted them to the proper channels to be completely

informed before going further with their care or treatment. This is an essential part of quality of

care.

Standard 15: Leadership

Standard 15 of the ANA (2004) Scope and Standard of Practice states, “the registered

nurse provides leadership in the professional practice setting and the profession” (p. 44). Being a

team player I believe is essential to be a good leader. Part of my daily practice is working as a


team with my colleagues. Working together improves patient satisfaction, quality of care and

results in effective staff communication and satisfaction. Most of the staff that I work with daily

are friendly and enjoy their jobs. Working together has a team helps to achieve that.

As Education Coordinator I continuously remind my colleagues to inform me if they see

a mistake or contradiction to any education I provide. It is an important part of being a team

player in a leadership role.

Education is what I love. Being an educator is a leadership role that I plan to continue to

grow in. I strive to be better at my job every day. I will continue to find ways to improve my

professional development.

Conclusion

Creating my Professional Development Plan has given me the focus needed to move

forward in my professional career. My goals that I have listed in Appendix A are specific and

measurable. I have already taken steps to achieve these goals and with my continued

perseverance I will meet them. Each year I will re-evaluate my goals and add more as necessary

to succeed in my Professional Development Plan.


References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2004). Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice. Silver

Spring, Maryland.

Nightingale, F. (1910). The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review. New York. Lakeside

Publishing Company, 45, p.214.

Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2008). Advancing Your Career: Concepts of Professional Nursing (4 th

Ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company, 23, p 427.

The American Nurses Association. (2001). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive

Statements.

The American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing World. Educators, home page. Retrieved

from http://www.nursingworld.org/especiallyforyou/educators.aspx#below.


Appendix A

5 Year and 10 Year Goals including completion and re-evaluation dates

5 Year Goals Completion Date Re-Evaluation Date

Join the Education Committee at Gerber Hospital 03/01/11 10/01/11

Join two professional organizations – AORN & ANA 10/01/11 10/01/11

Obtain a full time position at Gerber Hospital Surgical

Services Dept.

10/01/11 10/01/11

Complete Bachelor’s Degree at FSU 12/31/12 10/01/11 & 10/01/12

Obtain a Nurse Educator position at Gerber Hospital 08/01/14 10/01/11, 10/01/12,

10/01/13 & 10/01/14

10 Year Goals

Complete Masters Degree at FSU 12/31/17 10/01/11 and each

year after

Obtain certification of Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) 12/31/20 10/01/11 and each

year after


CHECKLIST FOR SUBMITTING PAPERS

CHECK

DATE, TIME, & INITIAL

PROOFREAD FOR: APA ISSUES

1. Page Numbers: Did you number your pages using the automatic functions of your Word program? [p. 230 and example on p. 40)]

2. Running head: Does the Running head: have a small “h”? Is it on every page? Is it less than 50 spaces total? Is the title of the Running head in all caps? Is it 1/2” from the top of your title page? (Should be a few words from the title of your paper). [p. 229 and example on p. 40]

3. Abstract: Make sure your abstract begins on a new page. Is there a label of Abstract and it is centered at the top of the page? Is it a single paragraph? Is the paragraph flush with the margin without an indentation? Is your abstract a summary of your entire paper? Remember it is not an introduction to your paper. Someone should be able to read the abstract and know what to find in your paper. [p. 25 and example on p. 41]

4. Introduction: Did you repeat the title of your paper on your first page of content? Do not use ‘Introduction’ as a heading following the title. The first paragraph clearly implies the introduction and no heading is needed. [p. 27 and example on p. 42]

5. Margins: Did you leave 1” on all sides? [p. 229]

6. Double-spacing: Did you double-space throughout? No triple or extra spaces between sections or paragraphs except in special circumstances. This includes the reference page. [p. 229 and example on p. 40-59]

7. Line Length and Alignment: Did you use the flush-left style, and leave the right margin uneven, or ragged? [p. 229]

8. Paragraphs and Indentation: Did you indent the first line of every paragraph? See P. 229 for exceptions.

9. Spacing After Punctuation Marks: Did you space once at the end of separate parts of a reference and initials in a person’s name? Do not space after periods in abbreviations. Space twice after punctuation marks at the end of a sentence. [p. 87-88]10. Typeface: Did you use Times Roman 12-point font? [p. 228]

11. Abbreviation: Did you explain each abbreviation the first time you used it? [p. 106-111]


12. Plagiarism: Cite all sources! If you say something that is not your original idea, it must be cited. You may be citing many times…this is what you are supposed to be doing! [p. 170]

13. Direct Quote: A direct quote is exact words taken from another. An example with citation would look like this:

“The variables that impact the etiology and the human response to various disease states will be explored” (Bell-Scriber, 2007, p. 1).

Please note where the quotation marks are placed, where the final period is placed, no first name of author, and inclusion of page number, etc. Do all direct quotes look like this? [p. 170-172]

14. Quotes Over 40 Words: Did you make block quotes out of any direct quotes that are 40 words or longer? [p. 170-172]

15. Paraphrase: A paraphrase citation would look like this:

Patients respond to illnesses in various ways depending on a number of factors that will be explored (Bell-Scriber, 2007).

It may also look like this: Bell-Scriber (2007) found that……

[p. 171 and multiple examples in text on p. 40-59]

For multiple references within the same paragraph see page 174.

16. Headings: Did you check your headings for proper levels? [p. 62-63].

17. General Guidelines for References:

A. Did you start the References on a new page? [p. 37]

B. Did you cut and paste references on your reference page? If so, check to make sure they are in correct APA format. Often they are not and must be adapted. Make sure all fonts are the same.

C. Is your reference list double spaced with hanging indents? [p. 37]

PROOFREAD FOR GRAMMAR, SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, & STRUCTURE

18. Did you follow the assignment rubric? Did you make headings that address each major section? (Required to point out where you addressed each section.)


19. Watch for run-on or long, cumbersome sentences. Read it out loud without pausing unless punctuation is present. If you become breathless or it doesn’t make sense, you need to rephrase or break the sentence into 2 or more smaller sentences. Did you do this?

20. Wordiness: check for the words “that”, and “the”. If not necessary, did you omit?

21. Conversational tone: Don’t write as if you are talking to someone in a casual way. For example, “Well so I couldn’t believe nurses did such things!” or “I was in total shock over that.” Did you stay in a formal/professional tone?

22. Avoid contractions. i.e. don’t, can’t, won’t, etc. Did you spell these out?

23. Did you check to make sure there are no hyphens and broken words in the right margin?

24. Do not use “etc.” or "i.e." in formal writing unless in parenthesis. Did you check for improper use of etc. & i.e.?

25. Stay in subject agreement. When referring to 1 nurse, don’t refer to the nurse as “they” or “them”. Also, in referring to a human, don’t refer to the person as “that”, but rather “who”. For example: The nurse that gave the injection….” Should be “The nurse who gave the injection…” Did you check for subject agreement?

26. Don’t refer to “us”, “we”, “our”, within the paper…this is not about you and me. Be clear in identifying. For example don’t say “Our profession uses empirical data to support ….” . Instead say “The nursing profession uses empirical data…..

27. Did you check your sentences to make sure you did not end them with a preposition? For example, “I witnessed activities that I was not happy with.” Instead, “I witnessed activities with which I was not happy.”

28. Did you run a Spellcheck? Did you proofread in addition to running the Spellcheck?

29. Did you have other people read your paper? Did they find any areas confusing?

30. Did you include a summary or conclusion heading and section to wrap up your paper?

31. Does your paper have sentence fragments? Do you have complete sentences?

32. Did you check apostrophes for correct possessive use. Don’t use apostrophes unless it is showing possession and then be sure it is in the correct location. The exception is with the word it. It’s = it is. Its is possessive.

Signing below indicates you have proofread your paper for the errors in the checklist:


_________Michelle Klochack________________________________________DATE:__9/29/10_______

A peer needs to proofread your paper checking for errors in the listed areas and sign below:

_________Judith from the FSU Writing Center_________________________DATE:___9/27/10_______

Revised Spring 2010/slc


Professional Development Plan Grading Rubric

Name: ___________________________________________

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF CURRENT BEHAVIORS (Citing the ANA Standards of Professional Performance)

POINTS POSSIBLE

POINTS AWARDED

Quality of Practice: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Education: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Professional Practice Evaluation: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Collegiality: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Collaboration: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Ethics: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Research: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Resource Utilization: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

Leadership: Description and Analysis of Current Strengths & Weaknesses

5

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

5 & 10 YEAR GOALS: Articulates clear & measurable professional goals for 5 and 10 within the profession which reflect the weakness identified in the behavior analysis above and/or plan to maintain compliance with Standards.

5

ACTION PLAN for 5 & 10 year goals; to include measurable actions and timelines that are consistent with the goal

5


statements

EVALUATION PLAN/TOOL to measure attainment of, progress toward or continuing suitability of both 5 & 10 year goals (Be specific!)

5

STANDARDS & APA CRITERIA

Critical Thinking/Writing:Analysis & Plan is presented with accuracy, precision, clarity, relevance, depth, breadth, logic and personal significance. Sentence structure, paragraphing, headings, spelling, typing, grammar, neatness

25

APA: title page, running head, headers, abstract, margins, font size, references: citations in text & reference page. APA Checklist Attached.

15

TOTAL POINTS 100

Documents

mklochack.weebly.com€¦ · Web viewUsing the American Nurses Association (ANA), (2004), Standards of Professional Nursing Performance, I will describe and analyze my current strengths