After taking the ICARE assessment, I think I have room for improvement in all areas. My biggest areas of concern would be communication and taking time for myself. I am not the best at saying or writing what I am trying to communicate or express. I struggle at times getting my point across making it difficult for others to understand without coming off too firm. I never did well in English class as a student, therefore I am going to focus on my writing skills and grammar. I plan to do this by as looking into all the resources that are offered to me, reading my books and acknowledging any constructive criticism given by my peers and from instructors. As The MA Nursing Core Competencies cited, “Understand the principles of effective communication, knowing grammar, spelling, and accept responsibility for communicating effectively utilizing a collegial tone and voice” (Massachusetts Department Of Higher Education Nursing Core Competencies, Revised 2016, p. 32).
Taking time for myself is also a struggle in my life. In my head I have everything timed and planned out, but it never works as planned. I work a lot and pick up extra shifts because we seem to be short-staffed at work lately. When I am not at work I am focusing on my kids and making sure my house stays clean. I have 4 kids all within a wide age range, so it can be very easy to fall behind on housework if not done daily. I need to enjoy my kids more and remind myself they are only little once, so who cares if the house is in disarray from time to time, family time is more important. Now, adding school to my life will be a challenge due to the high demand in all aspects of my life. Working at being successful at work, home, and school is my goal. I plan to focus on certain times of the day and dedicate specific time frames to each important area. Getting on an efficient routine and sticking to that routine will help me. Focusing on school at the end of the day while my kids are asleep will give me time to concentrate, being beneficial towards the success I will have as a student. “Enhancing self-esteem is a way to avoid burnout and promote well-being” (Hood, 2018, p. 204).
I would like to see instructors show that they care for students by reaching out if a student is struggling. Whether that is pointing students in a direction for help or showing them how they can succeed in the classroom. Responding promptly shows respect and that they care. Positive criticism gives students good feedback for areas of focus. My experience with Chamberlain has been very positive so far. Everyone has been very professional and helpful and reassuring that I can get through this program. I have had all my questions answered and responded very quickly.
References
Hood, L. J. (2018). Leddy & Pepper’s professional nursing ninth edition. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
Massachusetts Department Of Higher Education Nursing Core Competencies. (Revised 2016, March). Retrieved from http://www.mass.edu/nahi/documents/NOFRNCompetencies_updated_March2016.pdf
I also have a hard time making time for myself. I couldn’t agree more how we as women and mothers always put others before ourselves, and in the nursing profession, that is another contributing factor to make this occurrence a recurrence. Our mentality is to always provide for and care for those and we put ourselves last. I have only two children and know how busy our weeks get. I can only imagine how you get through it with four. Our department has been short as well and I pick up shifts too, so we have a lot of similarities in our time constraints. I started to recognize how important it is to take time for myself and I have to be better at it even though I plan to allot time, if schedules end up taking up that time, I have to make sure I get that “me time” in somewhere else. Maybe you can think about something small to do for yourself that you like to enjoy in a time of the day that you know wont conflict with other obligations (like taking a long relaxing bath or a late evening or early morning walk) and do it. I feel like if I do that small step, I will see how much it helps me in my week and put importance on that.
I think communication is also difficult especially for the reasons you stated in fear of making yourself seem to firm to those you are communicating with. I found an article in which it said good communication is not something we are born with, but it is a skill that we develop by working at it and working to improve it everyday. It also mentioned that being an effective communicator starts with thorough listening and having a mutual respect with those that we are communicating with (Whisenhunt, 2016). I agreed most about the working and practicing it everyday as I also feel that I could improve on communication. I think improved communication can help increase workflow and delivery of care to improve patient satisfaction.
Whisenhunt, Jannette. (2016). Working together as a team. RDH, (36)12, 24-25. https://web-a-ebscohost-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=b3ae58ea-66a5-4837-8bcc-1dde29e509c8%40sdc-v-sessmgr02
In taking the iCARE Self-Assessment, I came to recognize that I have area to improve in taking time to care for myself in the work, home and school settings. In nursing professionalism, it is on that individual to understand the duties and responsibilities that come with being a nurse and one of these duties is to understand and acknowledge the relationship between self-care and taking care of one’s self in order to be able to provide quality care consistently and at its best (Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies, 2016). A study was done which involved nursing students being tested to evaluate the correlation between having a developed self-care identity and level of care which they were providing. Conclusions to this study showed that nurses who valued their own health and met their self-care needs were 1, able to provide quality care to their patients on a consistent basis, and 2, were able to develop good coping skills or were less likely to develop negative coping skills when placed in stressful situations (Meadows, 1998).
I will work to plan time management ahead versus week-by-week now that I have added school into the mix. I also think this week’s assignment on time management will help me see clearer my dedicated time for school and work that time into my work schedules, family’s schedules, and time I make for myself.
I would like my instructors to show they care by encouraging me, guiding me and always being available to help if needed or as suggested in our text, “caring as an interpersonal interaction” (Hood, p. 24). I already have consistently felt that that my instructors encourage me and give me positive feedback and respect my thoughts in discussion boards.
Massachusetts Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies: Registered Nurse. (Revised March 2016). Retrieved from https://www.mass.edu/nahi/documents/NOFRNCompetencies_updated_March2016.pdf
Meadows, Lois Casden. (May 1998). Integrating self-care into nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, Vol 37, 225-227. https://search-proquest-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/203939384?accountid=147674
Hood, Lucy. (2017). Leddy & Pepper’s Professional Nursing, 9th Edition. [Vitalsource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781496351388/cfi/6/24!/4/2/462/4/4@0:94.6
