Practicum Journal: Example

Leadership Practicum Journal: Example

Name:

Weeks Covering: 10 & 11

Preceptor/Mentor:

Clinical/Practicum Site:

Hours Worked (past 2 weeks): 4 hours every Tuesday and Wednesday

Total Hours: _16_/150 total of all hours worked up to this point

 

Practicum Activities Reflection:

Over the past two weeks, we mainly focused on improving patient safety in the surgical unit. My preceptor reiterated that for the operating room to function adequately in promoting patient safety, all staff members must work as a team. Everyone including the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and surgical assistant in addition to nurses, must adopt appropriate competencies to promote shared decision making when working together. Consequently, my preceptor highlighted his role as a nurse leader, in ensuring that there is an adequate number of staff members assigned to each shift. During the second week, I was able to appreciate the role of surgical team debriefing before and after a surgical procedure in creating a culture of continuous improvement of patient safety (Teunissen et al., 2020). Effective communication to the staff members regarding the upcoming surgical procedure and what is required of them is crucial in preventing OR-related errors which undermine the patient’s safety, hence prolonging the duration of hospitalization. I also learned that routine usage of checklists and protocols in the operating room is also crucial in preventing medical errors, and automobile accidents which account for more deaths and prolonged recovery of the patient.

Application of Leadership:

            My preceptor utilized a servant leadership style to ensure efficient workflow among staff members in promoting organizational/personal goals and objectives. From this practicum experience, I was able to identify the most important personal values required in promoting good leadership in nursing. Such values, as depicted by my preceptor include courage, self-awareness, humility, democracy, respect, influence, and empathy (Dempsey & Assi, 2018). The servant leadership style requires the nurse leader to lead by example and provide his followers with guidance. The leader is also required to acknowledge the weaknesses of his followers and come up with strategies to overcome such challenges. Finally, a servant leader must always choose to remain humbled by serving others and demonstrate strength and resilience in overcoming unexpected challenges.

In my professional life, as a nurse leader, I have always incorporated other staff members in decision-making by conducting scheduled meetings and open discussions to promote the participation of team members in problem-solving. Consequently, as a nurse leader, I tend to always encourage other staff members to take an active role in different committee meetings to enhance their self-development (Best, 2020). A nurse leader must value their followers and understand that they are the most important resource of the healthcare organization. As such, a nurse leader must prioritize promoting a positive work culture and boosting the morale of staff members to optimize the provision of quality care services.

Practicum Project Preparation:

The evaluation and adjustment plan for this practicum experience will involve several steps, to ensure that all the stated goals and objectives have been achieved. For the evaluation process, the first step will involve counterchecking the stated goals and objectives to make sure that they are realistic and achievable (Usher et al., 2018). The second step will involve examining the weekly count log, to ensure that an adequate amount of time has been allocated to completing each task aimed at promoting the practical objectives. In the third step, I will assess the extent to which the practicum goals and objectives have been achieved. I will then identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in the fourth step based on the practicum outcome. At this point, I will come up with the adjustment plan, which will involve collecting feedback from my preceptor and making changes based on both the negative and positive feedback. I will then come up with the most appropriate strategies to build on my strength and opportunities to advance my knowledge and skills based on the achieved practicum objectives.

Leadership Video Reflection:

The “Servant Leadership – Issue of Example” video, mainly focuses on the need for leaders to serve their followers by example. From this video, it is clear that the servant leadership style is the most effective in nursing practice, as leaders are encouraged to serve their followers and not exhibit authority by controlling them. Through servant leadership, nurse leaders will be able to motivate team members by exhibiting a high level of professionalism in promoting quality of care, as they lead by example (Best, 2020). The other lesson learned from this video is that as a servant leader, one should encourage shared decision-making by promoting effective communication and engagement among team members. This video also brings out the need for servant leaders to respect all staff members and exhibit a high level of empathy, in identifying the weaknesses of staff members and encouraging them to engage in educational opportunities to promote their personal and professional development.

 

 

References

Best, C. (2020). Is there a place for servant leadership in nursing?. Practice Nursing, 31(3), 128-132.

Dempsey, C., & Assi, M. J. (2018). The impact of nurse engagement on quality, safety, and the experience of care: what nurse leaders should know. Nursing administration quarterly, 42(3), 278-283. DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000305

Teunissen, C., Burrell, B., & Maskill, V. (2020). Effective surgical teams: An integrative literature review. Western journal of nursing research, 42(1), 61-75.

Usher, R., Cronin, S. N., & York, N. L. (2018). Evaluating the influence of a standardized bedside handoff process in a medical-surgical unit. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 49(4), 157-163.