Introduction

Hi my name is Jungmin Choi, and I am currently enrolled in baccalaureate degree of nursing at New York City College of Technology. During the Spring semester of 2016 I enrolled myself to Community Nursing. Out of all the clinical sites, I have picked Stein Senior Center with Professor Egues. I felt like this decision was one of my smartest decisions because I felt like Professor Egues gave us the proper guidance in terms of how to properly organize our materials and how to communicate with the seniors in Stein Center. I had a tremendous positive experience in Stein center because it showed me how beautiful the community is.

Objective 1: Demonstrates individual professionalism through personal behaviors and appearance.

During the time I have spent in Stein Center, I have maintained client confidentiality by receiving their information and keeping between myself and the client. I took responsibility in the thing I was assigned to such getting the appropriate music for the skits we were doing that morning. During the clinical period we prepared well to get all the member of the community to participate. There was a specific time frame we were to finish by and we have fulfilled that goal. If there was any misunderstanding in terms what were supposed to do, such as vital sign, exercise and serving food, we got the proper guidance from Professor Egues or the Director of the Facility.  In the clinical conference,  I participate in activity by dancing with the member of the community. I made an effort to come early for the clinical class and also be able to attend my community lecture class in school. The dress code for all my clinical class was to dress professional as if I was going on a interview.

Objective 2: Employ analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills when providing care to individuals and families

In Stein Senior Center, I asked the  seniors if they wanted to take their vital signs and most were willing to get their vital signs taken and they were also willing to discuss about their past medical history and current medical problems. This was my opportunity to receive as much information as possible so I can give me them proper teaching and referrals.  The groups of people we deal with are very diverse, so cultural, religion and spiritually definitely influence the client’s health status tremendously. In this situation your job is to properly assess and without insulting their beliefs, you have to obtain as much medical information as possible. Many seniors in the center had hypertension problems, so I asked as many questions as possible about their diet, daily activities, and other things that affect the heart. I properly assess their heart rate, blood pressure and show them their status. I also asked questions if they were taking their blood pressure medication. Some replied that they took in the morning but drank few cups of coffee, so I encouraged them to stop drinking the coffee because he can increase their blood pressure. Some also replied that they forgot to take their medications so I told them if it’s possible take their medication as soon as possible because without taking their medication can lead to dangerous condition.  During the center we weren’t equipped and weren’t assigned to administer medications. I always implement appropriate and safe intervention in a timely manner and utilize principles of personal safety when working in the community by adhering to the facility protocols.

OBJECTIVE 3: Effectively communicate with diverse groups and disciplines using a variety of strategies regarding the health needs of individuals and families in the community setting.

Communications is they key of nursing, without it, it can be very difficult for you get the proper information you need to give the care for the patients. In Stein center I communicated with my Professor, peers, and the faculty workers to give the proper care to the seniors in the center. When I was doing blood pressure in some days, I received readings above 160/90 so I notified my professor and my health care team to see what I can do for the senior. I appropriately documented on things I have assessed and made a proper intervention for the individual.

OBJECTIVE 4: Establish environment conducive to learning and use a plan for learner’s based on evidence base practice.

In Stein Senior Center one of the sections I like the most was that, they had a computer lab. In this lab we were allowed to use the computer for educational use. We created a teaching plan for the community members of how to take care of themselves. Some of the teachings were about, what contributes to diabetes, fire and fall safeties, and diet. I always made myself available for them.  Sometimes I asked the seniors to tell me to re-verbalize what I taught them, so I can see if they understood it.

OBJECTIVE 5: Utilize informational technology when managing individual and families in the community.

As technology grows, information can be easily accessible to many people. This can be a tremendous benefit in the medical field because it can help all health care members to be in sync to properly give the best care as possible for the patient. Even though there are upside of medical informatics but one thing we have understood is patient confidentiality. During the time I was in in Stein center I maintain patient confidentiality by taking their blood pressure and putting their record in a different paper so other seniors would not be able to see other senior’s vital signs.

OBJECTIVE 6: Demonstrate a commitment to professional development.

I took responsibility for lifelong learning by taking the time to learn about community nursing. There was many writing assignments due such as, blogs about the experience I had as a nursing student. As a community nurse it is important be very open minded because you will face different types of culture, religion and other beliefs people have. It is important for use to interact with clients and their families as well.

OBJECTIVE 7: Incorporate professional nursing standards and accountability into practice.

I follow the American Nursing Association standards of care to collect data and to develop teaching plans that addresses my client’s needs. I complied with agency standards of practice. I was held accountable for my actions in the clinical areas. I support the agency’s missions.

OBJECTIVE 8: Collaborates with clients, significant support persons and members of the healthcare team.

I collaborated with my health care team to address client problems. Some of the problems were high blood pressure. I notified my clinical leader and instructor about considering blood pressure and we followed the policies and protocol on how to handle the situation. I assisted my clients in terms of educations of proper diet, exercises, smoking cessation, and many more about bettering their health overall. I gave them referrals of places to go if they were concern about their health.

OBJECTIVE 9 : Recognize the impact of economic, political, social and demographic forces that affect the delivery of health care services.

One thing I have noticed in this community is the increase pricing of housing. This brings a disadvantage in towards many other expense mainly on health care. Even though there are many problems in health care services, there is always ways to receive health  care  benefit if you give them proper education and guidance. I truly believe that if you actively participate in community as any health care provider you can make a tremendous change on how seniors citizen receive their medical benefit.

Conclusion

In overall I have learn tremendously with my classmates and especially learn a lot from my clinical instructor, Professor Egues. We worked as a team and made projects that change many people’s lives. I had a client who told me that she hasn’t danced in a long time and hwen she saw us dancing, she was encourage to come up in the stage to dance. This shows that even small projects like this can change people’s lives. Imagine what we can do if we created a big one.