Introduction
Every person has some form of attributes which are referred to as weaknesses and strengths. A person’s weaknesses and strengths can influence that person. As a nurse practitioner student, it is crucial that I look for my weaknesses and strengths. As a student nurse practitioner, I can rate myself as average regarding my confidence level. In this regard, the paper seeks to address my weaknesses and strengths and three objectives and goals for my practicum experience.
Strengths
Moreover, I tend to have various strengths in my area of expertise. The first significant skill that I possess is effective communication skills. My exceptional strength is conversing effectively with my colleagues, patients, and their families. According to (Seidel et al., 2019), the establishment of optimistic patient affiliation begins with the conversation, which is built on comfort, courtesy, confirmation, and connection. Secondly, I tend to possess a professional skill characterized by communicating professionally or collegially, accepting constructive feedback positively, talking, and dressing professionally. I always urge my preceptor to correct me in case I make a mistake during clinical rotations.
Weaknesses
On the other hand, my main weakness is that I usually miss my differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis is achieved by getting thorough objective and subjective data focused on detailed patient history and focused examination. What I fear most is prescribing medication to a pediatrician population. To become a nice nurse practitioner, my goal is to collaborate with my supervising doctor whenever I am double-minded about prescribing medication and downloading helpful apps like Epocrates (Buppert, 2018). Lastly, I have a great weakness of lacking the courage to say no either to the management team or supervising physician. I find it hard to say no, even to offers out of our permissible scope of practice. However, I am looking forward to seeking advice from an alternative physician to turn down some offers.
Clinical skills
Additionally, the most common clinical skills I possess are suturing and cervical dilation. During clinical rotations, I have explored stitching. However, I tend to feel that I require to work on my tying techniques. I already informed my preceptor that I would want some assistance if we receive a patient who requires suturing. Further, I have been applying the tissue model to get more experience in suturing skills (Nurses Services Organization, 2017). Similarly, I have completed several vaginal examinations on good visits during clinical rotations. However, the biggest challenge has been checking cervical dilation on pregnant women. My preceptor is understanding and has permitted me to carry out cervical dilation while supervising me. Every time an expectant lady visits the clinic, my physician and I would seek her permission to check cervical dilation (Schulling & Likis, 2017). My three major SMART objectives include: First, I will articulate a diagnosis for each patient as well as seek a quick response from the preceptor. Secondly, I will ensure that I will consider the preceptors’ responses next time while developing my diagnosis. Lastly, I require minimum to zero support by the end of the semester. Further, my objectives will be measured by the compliment I will get from my preceptors and other colleagues.
Conclusion
In conclusion, all people have different weaknesses and strengths, and being a student nurse practitioner; I am not an exception. Some of my strengths include excellent communication skills and professional skills. On the other hand, my weaknesses include problems in medication prescribing and differential services. Other skills include clinical skills such as suturing and cervical dilation.
References
Buppert, C. (2018). Nurse practitioner’s business practice and legal guide. (6th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Bartlett & Jones Learning.
Nurses Services Organization. (2017). Risk Control Self Assessment Checklist for Nurse Practitioners. Web.
Schulling, K. D., & Likis, F. E. (2017). Women’s gynecologic health (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination (8th ed.).