Marie-Paule Pierre-Louis
Nursing in the community is because at any one time the nurse may be caring for client who are young and old, are sick or well, and are making different levels of progress on their path to health and wellness.( ANA,2010). I enjoyed the time spent at Our Lady of Refugee. My experience has emphasised the importance of team work , as it encouraged holistic care delivery that will impact the multiple health disparities in community.
Objective 1: Demonstrates individual professionalism through personal behaviors and appearance.
I was able to demonstrate professionalism with my Community outreach in Our Lady Of Refuge by dressing professionally, arriving on time, and providing health services according to practice guidelines. I maintained patient privacy according to HIPPA Standards and kept all information confidential. When giving results of diagnostic testing/ screenings, provided a quiet and personal environment. When referring to a client, I referred to him or her by their last name.
Objective 2: Employ analytical reasoning and critical thinking skills when providing care to individuals and families in the community setting.
At the community Outreach, there was an occasion where one of the client’s had an abnormally high blood pressure reading. The client appeared startled and I calmed him down and reasoned . I checked the cuff, and decided to give him another cuff that is better fitting to his large arm. The patient was very anxious, so I used my therapeutic communicating skills to calm him down and explain that we will repeat it and will see if it was an accurate reading. I repeated the blood pressure and it was normal. To confirm this I took one more blood pressure to assure its reliability. Using these skills i diffused the patient’s increased anxiety and got an accurate result.
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.
At Our Lady of Refuge, we provided education and health screening services to a diverse group of people comprising of men and women, middle age to older adults and of mostly all races. Many individuals came from different cultural backgrounds. In addressing each client, we made aware to respect their cultural practices. For example, I minimized direct eye contact with Asian clients, spoke slowly and enunciated my words clearly so those with English as their second language could understand. I was also able to translate the education in Haitian/Creole for that particular population among the group.
Objective 4: Establish environment conducive to learning and use a plan for learners based on evidence-based practice.
Provided an educational symposium on proper nutrition, reading labels and healthy habits. The environment was secured and quiet. There were comfortable seating for all attendees. Educational pamphlets with descriptive illustrations were given to facilitate education and the pamphlets were in the client’s native or preferred language. Evidence shows that patient’s are more receptive when given information that reflects their native tongue.
Objective 5: Utilize informational technology when managing individual and families in the community.
In organizing the educational community outreach initiative in Our Lady of Refuge, we communicated through the CUNY blackboard intranet and discussed care related situations/ experiences on blackboard assuring no personal information was disclosed.
Objective 6. Demonstrate a commitment to professional development
Throughout this course, I have read numerous evidenced based literature that has helped me with my objectives and tasks. Particularly before providing education at Our Lady of Refuge, I did some literature review on how to approach these populations and what modalities works best in teaching them about nutrition and health. I also partake in CEUs (Continuing Education Units) and attend Nursing Conferences held by 1199.
Objective 7. Incorporate professional nursing standards and accountability into practice
The ANA’s definition of nursing was stated as, “the protection, promotion and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of
individuals, families, communities and populations” (ANA, 2010b). By capturing this definition and applying it to my work with the senior citizens at the wellness center, I can say that I have met this expected behavior of utilizing both the ANA and the agency’s standards of practice. I am compliant with my practice as a nurse by applying myself at Stein senior center in a professional manner and treat the older persons with compassion and respect, while building up mutual goals with the senior citizens for their health management.
Objective 8. Collaborate with clients, significant support persons and members of the health care team
I was able to communicate with the clients at Our Lady of Refuge and collaborate with them to formulate lifestyle changes that would improve their health. I was able to help clients choose meal options, exercise regimens and educate them on how to read the nutritional contents of a packaged item. I also collaborated with my health care team which was comprised of my fellow classmates, professors and volunteers to organize our day and execute our goals with the clients. If one of our classmates had a specific talent we would collaborate with them to ease the patient-provider relationship. For example, when the client was a Russian speaker, I would ask my classmate fluent in Russian for assistance in giving education.
Objective 9. Recognize the impact of economic, political, social and demographic forces that affect the delivery of health care services
Our Lady of Refuge Church is located in a predominately low-income immigrant neighborhood. Many of the people in the neighborhood do not receive regular medical attention and do no t have health insurance There is a lot of health disparities related to race, culture and economic hardships in this neighborhood. Since it is an area heavily populated by immigrants from the island of Haiti it was very necessary that we had resources in their language and had nurses who could communicate with them. Many of the individuals in this area did not have an educational background higher than elementary middle or high school, so it was necessary to converse with them in terms that were easy to comprehend and to limit medical terminology that was not necessary.
The multiple interactions that I experienced with the individual in the community had given me plenty of opportunities to reflect on my practice as a registered nurse, to identify my strength and my confidence issues . It was an exiting time for me, it allows me to build knowledge-based , to apply systematic problem solving, appropriate communication technique,and critical thinking.
Reference:
American Nurses Association (ANA) (2010). Nursing’s social policy statement: The essence of the profession. Silver Spring, MD: Author.
