1

Program Graduate Competency Reflections

Makenzie D. Helsel

Delaware Technical Community College

NUR 460-2W1: Nursing Capstone

Dr. Karen S. Wagamon

December 12, 2021

 2

Program Graduate Competency Reflection

Introduction

Program Graduate Competencies (PGC’s) are a set of essential competencies specific to a

chosen major. These are designed for students to achieve, further develop upon, and utilize

within their practice. As described by Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC), the

PGC’s “identify the major learning goals related to your specific program of study and identify

the knowledge and skills you will have when you graduate to be successful in your chosen field”

(DTCC, 2021).

This final capstone course of the RN to BSN program at DTCC focuses largely on what it

means for one to become a BSN prepared nurse. This includes topics of advocacy, leadership,

communication, and professional and ethical behavior. This course is designed to allow skills

acquired throughout the entire program to be integrated into students nursing practice. The goal

of this PGC reflection paper is to demonstrate how each of the nine PGC’s were met during the

BSN program, utilizing courses and practicum experiences. I will discuss the use of SWOT

analysis and SMART goals within this course, while indicating how each goal was met.

Furthermore, I will reflect on my personal and professional development within this program and

relate to how it has impacted my nursing philosophy.

 3

Nine Program Graduate Competencies

(Listed below are the nine PGC’s for the RN to BSN Degree at DTCC)

PGC #1: Integrate general education knowledge, skills, and aptitudes to advance nursing

education and growth in professional practice.

PGC #2: Demonstrate leadership skills to promote patient safety and the delivery of high quality

healthcare.

PGC #3: Apply skills of inquiry, analysis, and information literacy to support evidence-based

professional nursing practice.

PGC #4: Integrate information management technology to improve patient outcomes.

PGC #5: Advocate for patients and the nursing profession with regard to healthcare policy at the

local, state, national, and global levels.

PGC #6: Direct patient-centered care through advocacy, interprofessional communication,

collaboration, and delegation.

PGC #7: Integrate health promotion and disease prevention practices to positively impact the

delivery of healthcare to diverse populations.

PGC #8: Practice professional nursing within an ethical framework.

PGC #9: Demonstrate lifelong learning that empowers personal and professional growth.

(DTCC, 2021)
 4

Reflection

The goal of the BSN program is for each graduate to have mastered the nine PGC’s in

order to become successful within your field of nursing. Meeting each of the PGC’s comes from

a combination of prior knowledge and skills from general education courses, imperative nursing

specific knowledge acquired from the required nursing courses, and hands on learning from the

practicum experiences. Building upon gathered knowledge to meet the nine program

competencies during the BSN program is imperative in one’s step to become a BSN prepared

nurse.

The first PGC focuses on integrating general knowledge to advance your education and

growth within your nursing practice. I have demonstrated meeting this PGC through a number

of avenues. First, the general education courses required within this program have encouraged

utilization of general knowledge to build upon that of advanced nursing knowledge. Courses

such a Technical Writing (ENG 122) strengthened my professional writing and research skills.

Additionally, the course Disease Pathology (BIO 130) was a thorough anatomy and physiology

review for improving our prior knowledge on body systems and diseases. In addition to the

general education courses required, each specific nursing course and practicum experience

improved my knowledge of nursing and healthcare. Population and Community Health (NUR

330) allowed for me to visualize nursing outside of the hospital setting. Additionally, Nursing

Capstone (NUR 460) had practicum focused on nursing leadership. By completing these

practicum experiences, I was able to gain valuable information and insight regarding additional

avenues available within the nursing field and opportunities to continue my education.

The second PGC describes the development of leadership skills and their effect on patient

safety and outcomes. Throughout the BSN program, each nursing course has focused on
 5

leadership within the nursing field as an imperative skill to have. Therefore, I have met this PGC

as I have advanced through the required courses. As I have progressed through this program, I

have learned how to become a beneficial leader. In particular, the course Nursing Leadership

(NUR 400) taught me about the different styles of leadership and how they affect the desired

outcome. Furthermore, NUR 460 practicum focused on nursing leadership which allowed me to

follow a nurse educator through clinical experiences. As I have continued to grow within my

nursing career, I have strengthened my leadership skills while also noting this as an area for

continuous improvement.

The third PGC incorporates the ideas of evidence-based nursing practice. Throughout the

entire BSN program, the importance of evidence-based practice has been identified. As I

mastered each course, my research skills and data analysis were strengthened, therefore I have

met this PGC. Healthcare is built on evidenced-based practice as policies and procedures are

ever changing in order to stay current within the healthcare field to optimize patient outcomes.

Evidence-based practice policies are derived from research. The nursing courses within this

program have given us opportunities to research evidence-based practice regarding a wide range

of topics. Throughout this course some of the evidence-based research I have written about

includes early mobility in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and electronic health record (EHR)

interoperability. As I continue with furthering my nursing education, evidence-based practice

will remain a crucial aspect to my nursing practice.

The fourth PGC focuses on the integration of technology and how it improves patient

outcomes. Within this program we have chosen topics within healthcare that we felt were areas

for improvement, utilized evidence-based practices, and discussed plans for developing change

or improvements within nursing practice. By utilizing research and course materials, I have
 6

achieved this PGC. As mentioned previously I utilized evidence-based practice to write an

informatics paper on EHR Interoperability. Utilizing one standardized technology for patient

information and charting decreases risks for errors and mistakes to occur, thus improving patient

care. Another research paper that I developed was on the idea of ICU Telemedicine. This is a

program in which ICUs utilize telemedicine to improve patient outcomes and reduce sentinel

events. As healthcare expands and broadens, technology becomes more advanced, thus patient

safety and improved outcomes are resulted.

The fifth PGC discusses the topic of advocacy. According to the American Nurses

Association, advocacy can be defined as “the act or process of pleading for, supporting, or

recommending a cause or course of action” (ANA, 2015, p. 41). Advocacy in another vital

concept within healthcare. I have met this PGC as not only has it been stressed in each of our

nursing courses and practicum experiences, but it is also shown widely in all aspects of

healthcare and nursing practice. Patient advocacy is one of the most important concepts for a

nurse to withhold. Often times nurses are the only stop between a patient and harm. It is our

duty to advocate for decisions that we feel strongly benefit our patients, protect our patients’

rights, and promote a culture of safety. During this nursing capstone course, the topic of

advocacy was broadened. To further develop on this idea, we discussed advocacy as not only for

patients, but also for the profession of nursing. Advocating for the nursing profession can

include ideas such as safe staffing ratios, equal compensation, appropriate resources, etc.

The sixth PGC examines interprofessional communication and collaboration and its

effects on patient-centered care. As we have progressed through this program, we have learned

valuable techniques on communication with a collaborative healthcare team as well as with our

patients. I have met this PGC as evidence by my practicum experiences. Through our practicum
 7

experiences we have interacted with other healthcare professionals utilizing our communication

and collaboration techniques to gain valuable knowledge about nursing practice. Coming from

personal experience working in critical care, patient outcomes are strongly related to our

multidisciplinary teams that work together and communicate effectively to treat the patient

optimally.

The seventh PGC considers health promotion and disease prevention practices and how

they positively impact diverse populations. This specific PGC was met in the NUR 330 course,

which focused on healthcare disparities for public health in diverse populations. During the

practicum for this course, I followed a school nurse at a local high school. Through this

experience I collected data regarding identifiable health needs within this population to focus on

goals and interventions to promote optimal care. I discussed disparities with regards to racial

inequality, poverty, food insecurities, and lack of access to healthcare. In addition, this

practicum occurred during the peak of COVID which meant I was able to be apart of disease

promotion and prevention. This occurred through education, as well as preventative techniques

(handwashing, social distancing, contact tracing, etc.).

The eighth PGC applies the ideas of practicing nursing in an ethical framework. Ethics

includes “the study of how we make judgements in regard to right and wrong” (Edge & Groves,

2018, p. 6). The idea of ethics is widely discussed in healthcare. In particular the course Ethics

in Healthcare (SOC 213) helped me meet this PGC. This course discussed the topics of ethical

questions, misconduct, and theories about ethical dilemmas. This included hypothetical case

studies that could occur in our daily practice and allowed us to discover how to deal with these

ethical dilemmas.
 8

The ninth and final PGC focuses on lifelong learning and professional growth. I have

met this PGC throughout the entire BSN program as professional growth has been the focus

during this degree. Becoming a BSN prepared nurse is about professional development and

expanding your nursing practice. Within the NUR 460 course we developed a lifelong learning

plan to guide our future within our practice of nursing. This allowed us to analyze our current

standing within our careers and develop a plan on where we would like to end up.
 9

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a useful tool to assist personal growth and career development.

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Utilizing a SWOT analysis

encourages integration and evaluation of the nine PGC’s for the nursing capstone course. By

completing a personalized SWOT analysis, areas of the PGC’s were identified, such as advanced

nursing practice, continuing education and lifelong learning, professional growth and

development, leadership skills, information technology, and interprofessional communication.

The personal strengths that I identified are teamwork, organization, and time

management. Within my career as critical care nurse working in an Intensive Care Unit, my

strengths are imperative to optimizing patient outcomes. Teamwork is vital during management

of critical patients. However, it is even more crucial on nightshift, in which I work, where there

are limited resources and physician presence. The weaknesses I identified are controlling

emotions, high stress, and assertiveness. The weaknesses I recognized are areas that I feel I need

to improve on, in both my personal and professional life. I am definitely someone who is highly

empathetic and emotional. Sometimes I find that it is difficult for me to hide when I am upset or

bother with a situation. I allow what others think of me to really affect me. I chose this as a

weakness as I feel that I need to work on not allowing certain things to trouble me on a personal

level as much as I currently do. Similarly, I want to work on being assertive and standing up for

myself. I believe these are things that I need to consciously work on improving, which will

enhance my professional leadership skills as well. Although I think these often come with time,

age, and experience, I strongly believe willingly acknowledging these as weaknesses gives active

opportunity for improvement.

 10

Continuing with the second half of the SWOT analysis, the opportunities that I identified

were new technology, new career choices, and continuing education. Within healthcare,

innovative and advanced technology is continuously arising to optimize patient outcomes while

remaining current on best practices within healthcare. In the ICU where I currently work, they

are building a new Neurology Program. This comes with a great deal of new technology, such as

telemedicine, equipment, education, and a new specialty of patient care. In regards to a new

career choice, I had the opportunity to pursue a new career avenue which I will be starting in

January 2022. I have accepted a position teaching clinical for nursing students. While I am

nervous about the change, I am excited to see how this opportunity affects my future. As I

continue within the nursing career, I want to utilize myself as an asset to new nurses in order for

our profession to thrive. Threats are considered factors that we do not necessarily have control

over. The threats that are apparent in my career at this time is COVID-19 and our current

staffing crisis. Both of these produce obstacles. The nation-wide staffing shortage is leaving

nurses overworked, while the rise in COVID cases increases their workload and stress level. By

creating this SWOT analysis, it has helped me discover avenues in which I can positively

improve my professional and personal choices and behaviors, thus further meeting the course

PGC’s.
 11

SMART Goals

Utilizing the course goals and PGC’s within the nursing capstone course, the SWOT

analysis can utilize to formulate SMART goals. SMART goals stand for specific, measurable,

achievable, relevant, and time bound. SMART goals are developed from gaps in learning within

the program. In other words, these goals are ones in which you want to accomplish before the

completion of the course. The five specific SMART goals I developed within the course are

listed below:

1. I will complete 45 hours of practicum with nurse educator Dani Blankenship at Margaret

H. Rollins School of Nursing by week 13 of the NUR 460 course.

2. I will enhance my professional assertiveness by utilizing my role as Charge RN to

delegate tasks, communicate concerns, and value the needs of the unit during each of my

charge shifts by week 9 of the NUR 460 course.

3. I will develop a Life-long Learning Plan which will include career goals and leadership

strategies by week 12 of the NUR 460 course.

4. I will reflect on current issues in healthcare and their implications on nursing practice and

patient outcomes by collaborating with my classmates for the group project by week 7 of

the NUR 460 course.

5. I will complete my RN to BSN course with a satisfactory performance and apply for an

MSN program focusing on nursing education by the end of December 2021.

Within the nursing capstone course, I was able to achieve each of my SMART goals. The

first SMART goal focuses on my practicum experience for this course. With a focus on nursing

leadership, I chose to follow an MSN prepared nurse educator in the clinical setting during my

NUR 460 practicum. With my career goals including nursing education, this practicum
 12

experience allowed me to have an insightful look at the role of a nurse educator. I achieved this

goal by completing my required 45 hours of practicum prior to the scheduled due date. This

SMART goal correlates with the course PGC’s as this practicum experience enhanced my

leadership skills, while promoting advancement within nursing education. Within my SWOT

analysis, I identified a personal weakness of assertiveness within the leadership role. I developed

this goal in the hopes that after completing my practicum experience, I would gain insight, not

only on a new career path within nursing, but also on ways to achieve effective leadership within

the educator role.

The second SMART goal developed also relates to my SWOT analysis which identified a

personal and professional weakness with assertiveness within the leadership role. During this

course, we focused on improving professional and ethical behaviors within our nursing practice.

Additionally, through my practicum experience I was able to observe my preceptor within the

educator role while viewing her actions and behaviors. This allowed me to utilize some of these

examples in my own practice. I achieved this goal as I have been able to actively improve on my

communication, assertiveness, and delegation within my nursing practice, especially in the role

as charge RN. With the current staffing crisis, what used to be a free ICU charge nurse, now we

normally have a full patient assignment as well. This has forced me to delegate tasks as I am

accepting that I cannot always do everything. This SMART goal relates to the course PGC’s

which include improving on one’s leadership skills and professional nursing practice, while

integrating interprofessional collaboration.

The third identified SMART goal included creating a lifelong learning plan. I chose this

as one of my SMART goals as I believe that by creating this future plan it will support, inspire,

and guide me in my professional and personal growth. The lifelong learning plan will allow me
 13

to consider ideas regarding my career goals and future education plans, as well as how I plan to

achieve these ideas. I achieved this goal as I completed my lifelong learning plan in week 12 of

the nursing capstone course. This topic relates to my SWOT analysis as my identified

opportunities included continuing education and career opportunities, all of which I addressed

within my lifelong learning plan. This SMART goal relates to the course PGC’s as it includes

advancing nursing education and furthering nursing practice.

The fourth SMART goal incorporates ideas regarding trends and advancements within

healthcare. The SWOT analysis I created identified threats within healthcare, such as staffing. I

achieved this goal by collaborating with my fellow classmates and researching the effects of the

current staffing shortage within nursing that is affecting healthcare nation-wide and discovering

how it is affecting patient outcomes. This goal correlates with the course PGC’s as it includes

integrating new trends within healthcare practice to improve patient outcomes.

The final SMART goal that I developed was to complete the RN to BSN degree with a

satisfactory performance. I will have achieved this goal with the completion of this final nursing

course in December 2021. Additionally, I chose to include applying for my furthering education.

I have achieved this goal as I have officially been accepted to Wilmington University’s MSN in

Leadership program which I start classes in January 2022. This goal relates back to my SWOT

analysis as my identified opportunities included continuing my education. Each of the nine

PGC’s relates to this final goal as by completing this course, we are to have met each of the

program competencies.
 14

Lifelong Learning Plan

A lifelong learning plan is a tool to guide your nursing practice to support and assist in

achieving one’s goals and aspirations. It serves as a reflection of your personal and professional

growth, while guiding your future plans. Within the field on nursing, there are numerous

avenues available. Whether that be specializing within an area of interest or changing your field

all together, nursing is a large profession with endless opportunities. As it is always said,

healthcare is forever changing and evolving. Therefore, within nursing, you can explore many

different opportunities to further your nursing career and professional development.

As mentioned previously, I am currently working as a critical care nurse in an ICU in

Sussex County. Since graduating nursing school, I have been working towards the completion of

my bachelor’s in nursing, while staying current within my practice. Nearing the completion of

this program, my lifelong learning plan focuses on my goals for my future in the field of nursing

and primarily nursing education. Most importantly I plan to stay current within the field of

nursing. As noted previously, healthcare is forever changing to meet evidence-based practice

standards to optimize patient outcomes. I plan to continue my education, including maintaining

evidence-based practice research as a priority within my studies. Additionally, I plan to educate

not only myself, but others on new practices, policies, and technologies as they arise within the

field of nursing.

As my education within the nursing field continues as I pursue my master’s in nursing

leadership with a concentration in nursing education, I will be taking the next step in my nursing

career. Starting in January 2022 I will be a nursing clinical instructor for new nursing students. I

feel that this is a great step in achieving my long-term career goals. My future goals include

completing my MSN in nursing leadership and taking on a fulltime nurse educator role. I feel
 15

that my plans for my professional development strengthen the importance of the course PGC’s.

As described in the PGC’s, continuing education and a commitment to lifelong learning

advances one’s growth in their professional practice. Furthermore, supporting evidence-based

nursing practice demonstrates positively improving patient care.

 16

Nursing Philosophy

A nursing philosophy serves as a guide to ones’ professional nursing practice. My

personal nursing philosophy establishes values that I feel serve as imperative ideals for my

current and future practice within the field of nursing. These values include compassion,

empathy, kindness, continuing education, and patient advocacy. Furthermore, including the

nursing code of ethics acts as a guide to safe and trustworthy nursing practice, while optimizing

patient care and outcomes.

The topic of education is one of the most important aspects of my nursing philosophy.

As noted in the course PGC’s, continuing education and lifelong learning are imperative to

nursing practice. Part of your duty as a nurse is to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning and

becoming an expert within your field. Throughout this course I have gained insightful

knowledge about promoting education for not only yourself, but others. This course has

improved my leadership skills and professional communication and collaboration. As mentioned

previously, as I chose to progress throughout my nursing career into the role of nursing

leadership, I find that educating others is imperative to sustaining the field of nursing.

Continuing to reference the course PGC’s, advocacy for patients and the nursing

profession is essential. I include patient advocacy in my nursing philosophy as I believe that it is

our responsibility and duty as healthcare professionals to advocate for our patients to support

their decisions, while ensuring safety is maintained, and optimal outcomes are encouraged.

Advocacy includes preserving human dignity, promoting patient equality, and preventing patient

suffering (Loyola Chicago ABSN, 2018). Being a patient advocate encourages open

communication, optimizes patient outcomes, and produces an overall culture of safety.

 17

A nursing philosophy is not something that is unvarying; it can be altered and modified

throughout your career. This is a guide that will continue to follow you throughout your

professional development and nursing practice. It can be modified to fit your current beliefs and

values. After completing my BSN, utilizing what I have learned throughout this course, I have

included the ideals from the course PGC’s into my current nursing philosophy. As I continue my

career in nursing and further my nursing education, I will utilize my gained knowledge to build

upon my current nursing philosophy.

 18

Conclusion

Throughout the BSN course, nine Program Graduate Competencies (PGC’s) are utilized

as a goal for each graduate to achieve by the completion of their degree. Through the general

education and nursing courses, as well as practicum experience and individual nursing practice,

each of the nine PGC’s were obtained. By establishing each of the PGC’s, my role as a BSN

prepared nurse is optimized with focus on patient-centered care, evidence-based practice,

advocacy, interprofessional collaboration, and communication.

The range of knowledge I have gained throughout this program has affected my personal

views on nursing leadership and professionalism within healthcare. My knowledge regarding

leadership skills and types of leadership techniques have positively impacted the way I practice.

My idea of professionalism has improved my clinical performance and skills by positively

impacting patient care. “When nurses demonstrate professionalism, patients receive better care,

team communication is improved, there is increased accountability among all practitioners, and

the overall clinical environment is more positive” (USAHS, 2020). By optimizing professional

behavior were ensure the promotion of patient centered care, safety, optimal patient outcomes,

and professional and personal growth. Through meeting each of the nine PGC’s, I am confident

I will be a well-prepared BSN nurse. I am optimistic about my future endeavors in my nursing

career.
 19

References

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive

statements. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-

excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/coe-view-only/

Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC). (2021). Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

https://www.dtcc.edu/academics/programs-study/bsn

Edge, R. S. & Groves, J. R. (2018). Ethics of healthcare: A guide for clinical practice (4th ed.).

Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS). (2020). The importance of

professionalism in nursing. https://www.usa.edu/blog/professionalism-in-nursing/