The Baccalaureate nursing program at NYCCT has widened my knowledge as well as perception about nursing fields. This particular program also provides an essential understanding of nursing as a profession among other members of healthcare team. We are working with a collaborative manner to improve the quality of patient care. I have learned and developed critical thinking skills throughout the clinical rotations. I have a great opportunity to observe a nurse manager on a stroke unit at Maimonides Medical Center. Through observation, I have learned a nurse manager’s role and his or her responsibilities for interventions that affect patient outcomes. This is a new experience which doesn’t exist in the Associate degree in nursing.
In addition, I understand many ethical issues and problems that professional nurses are facing today such as BS in Ten, safe nurse-to-patient ratio, nursing stereotypes, and nursing shortage. The Baccalaureate nursing program helps me to understand the importance of leadership skills as well as communication skills. I also learn to integrate research into clinical settings. Thus, I have to keep my knowledge current by reading new articles about current practices. Nursing magazines are an excellent tool.
Healthcare system is changing every day. Caring for a diverse population may require huge efforts. Thus, continuing education is a possible solution for professional nurses. I believe that higher education improve patient outcomes as well as quality of care. The program reinforced and taught me new things about raising cultural awareness and developed cultural competence.
