DNP 801 Reflect on your different experiences in this course, from learning new tools to having to think critically to learning how to accept feedback

The last eight weeks have been quite the journey. I appreciate all the topics discussed each week such as feedback, critically-thinking, and reflecting on ourselves and our points of view. There were challenges along the way, one of them being able to adjust and obtain a balance between school, life, and work. Being aligned with school requirements and expectations allows enables students to be successful in the program (Gonzalez &Finnell, 2020). I was able to acclimate to the program by aligning myself with school requirements and expectations, which help me prioritize school assignments, work tasks, and life matters. Another challenge I encountered was navigating through the DC Network and finding required documents. Knowing that I have been successful throughout the first class has been rewarding. Seeing the finish line and being able to finish the race, despite multiple hurdles, is indeed rewarding. I valued the feedback that I received during the class because it either validated my learning or pointed me in the correct direction. According to Cohen and Singh (2020), feedback is necessary for student success and constructive comments will help them learn from their mistakes and enhance their future work. Being a nurse leader, it is important to give feedback to staff and also received feedback from them. For instance, mentoring staff and giving them the appropriate feedback is necessary for their growth. In return, receiving feedback from my staff is also imperative to both my success and the success of the unit. As a nurse leader, I am very open to feedback as it notifies me of what works or if there are any processes that need to be changed. Ultimately, I’ve learned much valuable information from this class and look forward to applying it throughout the DNP program.

Reference:

Cohen, A., & Singh, D. (2020). Effective student feedback as a marker for student success. South African Journal of Higher

Education, 34(5),

151–165.https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.20853/34-5-4259

Gonzalez, Y., &Finnell, D. S. (2020). Promoting and supporting a doctor of nursing practice program of scholarship. Journal of

Nursing Education, 59(9),

526. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.3928/01484834-20200817-10

Response

Hello Audimar! Your reflection is detailed, clear, and interesting to read. Indeed, the last eight weeks have been extremely challenging. It was difficult to deal with challenges such as obtaining a balance between school, life, and work and navigating through the DC Network to find required documents. The length and intensity of completing a DNP program often lead to an unwelcome plunge in motivation, morale, and confidence (McNelis et al., 2019). This always happens after the initial pleasure of being a DNP student diminishes. The doctoral strategies that can help in navigating these new experiences successfully include remaining optimistic and talking to your peers and supervisor about your feelings. Strong support, motivation, and positive feedback are also crucial in navigating these experiences (Aslam & Khan, 2020). The other strategy is to take time and reorganize your schedule. It is important to make a clear plan with your project deadlines. Afterward, prioritize this plan to avoid feeling overwhelmed with many assignments simultaneously. Proper time management that dedicates an appropriate time for tasks undertaken is also crucial in navigating the challenges of a doctoral course (Ahmad et al., 2020).

References

Ahmad, S., Batool, A., & Ch, A. H. (2020). Path relationship of time management and academic achievement of students in distance learning institutions. Pakistan Journal of Distance and Online Learning, 5(2). http://journal.aiou.edu.pk/journal1/index.php/PJDOL/article/view/441

Aslam, R., & Khan, N. (2020). Constructive feedback and Students’ academic achievement: a theoretical framework. New Horizons, 14(2), 175-198. http://greenwichjournals.com/index.php/NH/article/view/440

McNelis, A. M., Dreifuerst, K. T., & Schwindt, R. (2019). Doctoral education and preparation for nursing faculty roles. Nurse educator, 44(4), 202-206. DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000597

Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our Verified MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS DNP 801 Reflect on your different experiences in this course, from learning new tools to having to think critically to learning how to accept feedback:

As a DNP learner at GCU gave me an opportunity to integrate with my values as a Christian. Through this 8 week period I have learned to prepare myself to advance my practice in clinical role. Prioritizing what is important and what needs to be done. Making sure that I have time to self care and spend time with my family to keep me insane and not be stressed out all the time. Using critical thinking is important in our professional, we always make decisions that should always focus on patient safety. Assessing learning is essential for our professional development especially in addressing patient outcomes. Nursing Professional Development Practitioners (NPDPs) have the opportunity to help learners identify individual learning style preferences, design educational initiatives in a way that supports various learning style preferences and provide opportunities for learning to occur in a way that matches preferred learning styles (Hawkes & Hendricks- Jackson, 2017). Using a correct research will help identify good resource on what to use for evidence-practiced and making sure that it will improve clinical outcome. Learned also that understanding bias is important and that we should always try to avoid it and plagiarism should not be applied at anytime at all.

DNP 801 Reflect on your different experiences in this course, from learning new tools to having to think critically to learning how to accept feedback

There are challenges that I encountered with my class but as time goes by I was able to resolve it by asking for help and guidance with our Professor. Some assignments I had a difficulty understanding and could not figure out how to proceed with it. I have to literally read it few times, search it online and ask so I can answer it correctly. Delaying in writing my assignment sometimes is a challenge to me too. But trying to self reflect and thinking that I should stay on track is important and I don’t want to be behind and that keeps me going. Staying engaged with the class is sometimes difficult but should be included if you want to succeed as a DNP learner. I realized that engaging with your classmates and professor can help both ways and it is beneficial to all. Supportive environment can provide encouragement and guidance to us learners and we can achieve our main goal. Reflection is important to because with this we get to improve ourselves and better our learning and education.

References

Hawkes, B., Hendricks-Jackson, L. Nursing professional development:review and resource manual. 4. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Credentialing Center/American Nurses Association; 2017.

Response

Hello Beverly! This is an outstanding reflection on your experiences in this DNP course. The past eight have been both challenging and promising for DNP students. As you have mentioned, the course was crucial in enhancing critical thinking, which is important in making sound decisions about patient care and safety (Norman et al., 2021). The critical thinking skills gained are also crucial for DNP learners in ensuring parity with other clinicians. Earning a DNP is vital in providing the learners with educational credentials akin to expert counterparts such as physicians. The program can also equip learners with skills and competencies to lead and contribute successfully to multidisciplinary teams (Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019). This program also enables the students to learn organizational and system leadership, which prepares the learners for premier ranks of organizational administration and leadership. The program emphasizes various foundational competencies, which are planned to improve the knowledge and leadership of learners to satisfy the fundamental objective of each nurse leader, which are enhancing nursing practice, healthcare delivery, and patient outcomes (Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019).

References

Norman, L., Wells, B., & Edwards, A. P. (2021). From policy to practice: A DNP student perspective. In Nursing Forum (Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 630-634). https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12582

Zaccagnini, M., & Pechacek, J. M. (2019). The doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

It’s hard to believe that this is the beginning of the last week of the first course. Time has flown by and so much information has been acquired. Although I am used to this format of learning, as I had just finished my master’s with GCU this past fall, this course showed me how much more the DNP path is going to take. But wow, has it been amazing!

One of the biggest challenges for me has been the use of the DC network. There is so much information and in so many places that I found myself just sitting and clicking through everything. I would find something interesting and helpful, then not be able to find it again. But at the same time, it has been an incredible resource with everything I could possibly need to put me on the right path to success.

One of the most helpful strategies in this course, for me, was that of reflective learning and constructive feedback. Many times, we find ourselves experiencing a situation and then moving on, never to think about it again. But there is so much to learn from all that we go through. In reflective learning, we look at how situations occurred, what we did, and the outcomes. From those, we can find ways to improve and change our habits. (Colomer et al., 2020) This might be one of the most important strategies in moving forward in both education and leadership.

A good transformational leader uses what they have learned and experienced to lead them in making changes and transforming their teams. They encourage and motivate those they work for creating a stronger bond and commitment. (Alzahrani& Hasan, 2019) To be a good leader though, you need to be able to reflect on where you have been and what you have done in order to learn from it. My goal as a leader is to be seen as someone that is not afraid to look back and learn from my mistakes. I want team members to see that I am all for learning and growing along with them and not putting my head in the sand and ignoring issues.

As a leader, I want to help create change. As a leader, I want the team I work for to know that there is not just “me” but rather a “we.” Together we will succeed in making the changes that will improve the outcomes for our patients and for our team.

References

Alzahrani, S., & Hasan, A. (2019). Transformational leadership style on nursing job satisfaction amongst nurses in hospital settings: Findings from systematic review. Global Journal of Health Science, 11(6), 25. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v11n6p25

Colomer, J., Serra, T., Cañabate, D., &Bubnys, R. (2020). Reflective learning in higher education: Active methodologies for transformative practices. Sustainability, 12(9), 3827. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093827

Response

Hello Julie! This is an exceptional experience in your experiences in this DNP program. Indeed, constructive feedback is an essential strategy in this course. Constructive feedback is a pillar of nursing education and enhances the clinical performance of students (Altmiller et al., 2018). Feedback should be given to enhance the performance of students and delivered in a way that enables the students to understand and accept it. Providing positive and constructive feedback is crucial in enhancing student learning because it engages the students in learning. However, inconsistent feedback is a great impediment to student teaching (Kourgiantakis et al., 2019). Positive and constructive feedback not only enables a student to determine what is appropriate and inappropriate but also enables recommendations on the strategies to approach the points raised (Aslam & Khan, 2020). Feedback is not meant to tell a student the exact thing to do; instead, it is about creating an atmosphere that enables them to think in a certain direction. When providing feedback, it is important to ensure the feedback is constructive to facilitate the flawless application of knowledge and skills in the clinical setting and avoid making feedback appear personal.

References

Altmiller, G., Deal, B., Ebersole, N., Flexner, R., Jordan, J., Jowell, V., & Walker, D. (2018). Constructive feedback teaching strategy: A multisite study of its effectiveness. Nursing education perspectives, 39(5), 291-296. DOI: 10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000385

Kourgiantakis, T., Sewell, K. M., & Bogo, M. (2019). The importance of feedback in preparing social work students for field education. Clinical Social Work Journal, 47(1), 124-133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-018-0671-8

DNP 801 Reflect on your different experiences in this course, from learning new tools to having to think critically to learning how to accept feedback