The Bachelor’s program has significantly enhanced my nursing skills beyond the clinical aspect of nursing. The clinical placement was in the community so it was a completely different experience that I was not used to, however, I was able to take away a lot of information. The service learning projects allowed me to use critical thinking skills in order to develop teaching methods that reached individuals who were of different cultures and spoke many different languages. It was very heart-warming when community members were showing me how thankful they were to learn about their health and services in the community that they were unaware of before. These moments made me very happy because teaching is such an important aspect of nursing and I was able to fulfill this role as a community nurse.
During the program, most of my classes were online-only or hybrid which taught me time-management skills. Discussions had to be submitted on time or points were deducted. Since there a lot of assignments due, I had to use my time efficiently to make sure everything was submitted on time and the work was substantial. I will be able to bring this skill with me to enhance my nursing skills because documentation is an important part of nursing that should be done in a timely fashion and correctly.
I especially enjoyed the Leadership course because I was able to see administrative work by shadowing a nurse manager. I was not able to experience the leadership role in the Associate’s program and I believe it is a very important aspect of nursing. I learned what it is to be a leader and that everyone on the interdisciplinary team should be a leader. I want to be a transformational leader who leads by example and inspires others to step up to the leadership role. When there is a transformational leader, the team is more cohesive and you can see the results in positive patient outcomes.
