Self-Assessment
Exploring one’s potential for professional growth is essential to further career development and the general ability to learn more and become a better expert. Therefore, tools such as the Professional Competency Self-Assessment Form and especially the PMHNP Pre-Test (Diagnostic Readiness Test, or DRT) give ample opportunities for defining one’s strengths and weaknesses, thus outlining a strategy for improving my nursing skills (Hopkins, Lyle, Ralston, Bego, & Hieb, 2018). According to the current test results, I will need to make a significant effort to become proficient in the selected areas of study, which means that a personal development plan will be required.
Due to the low scores in theoretical knowledge, management of the needs of suicidal patients, addressing violence, and several other areas, it will be needed to build a strategy for acquiring crucial knowledge fast and gain an in-depth insight into the identified domains of nursing. By introducing a framework that will allow me to connect theory and practice, simultaneously exploring the specified areas of nursing and determining the strategies for addressing public health issues, I will be able to improve my skills and acquire new competencies.
The process will also require learning how health policies and changes implemented in multiple healthcare disciplines affect people’s well-being. At present, I must learn about the connection between different domains of nursing, as well as the nursing theory and its application to practical health concerns. Thus, I will have a chance to complete the gaps in my current knowledge comparatively fast and, which is even more important, explore different areas of nursing as integral parts of a single system. Thus, I will create the basis for a future learning process that can become self-directed.
Plan
The process of learning will need to follow a clear and detailed outline with key milestones that will outline the stages of my progress. Therefore, a personal development plan is needed to create the framework for the continuous improvement that I will have to accept as a part of my professional philosophy and ethics (Darvill, Stephens, & Leigh, 2018). The plan will incorporate the steps such as outlining the key areas that will require my professional attention, locating the resources needed to master these areas, exploring the available tests for identifying the progress, and defining the further course of my development (see Table 1).
Table 1. Personal Development Plan.
The goals of the plan include acquiring the knowledge needed to advance in the areas of care such as addressing violence, suicide, substance-related disorders, crisis adjustment, serious mental illnesses, eating disorders, mood disorders, and personality and neurocognitive disorders. As shown in Table 1, the significance of making interdisciplinary connections between the areas of study is critical since it will introduce me to the concept of comprehensive nursing care and allow me to meet the needs of target population groups in my future nursing practice.
Addressing the time management issue is the key concern for me at present since I have been working full time, hence I need to prioritize my tasks and improve my schedule. By integrating all resources that I can find, including text, visual data, simulations, and research, I will be able to advance in nursing significantly and improve my current understanding of addressing health issues in patients.
References
Darvill, A., Stephens, M., & Leigh, J. (2018). Transition to nursing practice: From student to registered nurse. Learning Matters.
Hopkins, R. F., Lyle, K. B., Ralston, P. A., Bego, C. R., & Hieb, J. L. (2018). Board 121: Retrieval practice and spacing: Effects on long-term learning among engineering precalculus students. In 2018 ASEE annual conference & exposition (pp. 1-10).Syosset, NY: National Learning Corporation.