Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

NUR 4140 – Synthesis Practicum

Professional Meeting Reflection

Professional nursing meeting experience (4 hours)

Students must attend 3 hours of professional nursing meetings related to Quality Improvement,
Leadership, or Population Health. Suggestions include an IRB meeting, EBP council, unit-based
practice meeting, or professional organization meeting focused on evidence-based care delivery.
Students may claim 4 hours on their NUR 4140 Practicum Log for the entire assignment.
Guide for Reflection Using Tanner’s (2006) Clinical Judgment Model
Introduction

What professional nursing meeting(s) did you attend and where was it located? If more than one meeting was
attended to complete 3 hours, list all meetings attended; the remainder of the questions can be answered focusing on
one meeting.
I had the opportunity to view multiple webinars through St. Marys. The webinars that I watched included
the Hospice Update (32 mins), Mortality (45 mins), SEPSIS (30 mins), Heart Failure (33 mins), and Structural Heart
Webinar (41 mins). These webinars ranged from 30 to 45 minutes long and covered many areas within the topic.
Three hours were spent watching and taking notes on the webinars mentioned above. I will be answering the
following questions based upon the SEPSIS webinar.
Background

Describe the purpose of this professional nursing meeting? Describe the agendas of the group and subgroup. What
type of issues did they address?

The purpose of this professional nursing meeting was to determine the influences on rates of sepsis in the
hospital and determine ways we can have an effect on lowering the rates of sepsis. The average length of stay for a
sepsis patient at SMH is 10 days which is longer than the market and ministry rates. The meeting targeted factors
that can be addressed to reduce the rates of sepsis. Some of these include placing orders and redrawing lactic acid
levels, charting notes related to other diagnoses that could be viewed as sepsis, and making sure to recognize
inpatient sepsis more efficiently. The goal mentioned in this meeting is to reach a mortality goal of 1.56 and SMH is
currently at a 1.09!

Noticing

What did you notice about the professional nursing meeting initially? Describe what you saw, heard and did during
the meeting?

It was hard to really notice anything unique from this meeting due to the fact that it was an online webinar,
but they were able to utilize more than one speaker on the topic compared to the other webinars that had one
speaker. There was a registered nurse and physician that shared information during this meeting. This allowed
viewpoints and insight from different areas in the healthcare system. These speakers were also reading off a
powerpoint that had many different graphs and statistics, allowing for emphasis in different areas.

Interpreting

Describe what you thought about the information being discussed. Have you been involved in similar discussion
during your previous student nurse experiences? Describe the similarities and/or differences to those encounters.

The information that was being discussed throughout the meeting was very familiar with me. Through
working as a PCT and hearing about it in morning huddle to discussing it as a student nurse, I know this information
is very important in regards to the care of our patients. As an immersion student in the hospital, I have had to draw
many repeat orders for lactic acid levels. I have also heard in huddles and meetings throughout the hospital the

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 importance of knowing the signs of sepsis and the next steps we need to take as nurses. Almost all of the information
that was discussed in the meeting was similar or identical to what I have learned about sepsis throughout my time as
a nursing student and PCT.

Responding

Discuss elements of quality improvement, service excellence, population health or leadership you noted as part of
the meeting focus.

Quality improvement and population health were utilized throughout this professional nursing meeting.
Discussing ways to decrease the rates of sepsis seen in the hospital were related to the quality improvement. Taking
note of the need for repeat lactic acids to be drawn, documenting other diagnoses that could cover up sepsis, and
noticing signs of inpatient sepsis will lead to quality improvement. This will, in turn, have an effect on the
population health by reducing the rates of sepsis seen throughout the hospital.

Reflection-in-Action

What role would you take if you were being assigned to represent your unit in this group? What subcommittee
would you like to participate with and why?

The best way to support this group on my unit would be an educator to other nurses and staff on the unit.
By doing this I would be able to get information from the larger group to everyone on my unit. I could also be in
charge of overseeing the data from my unit to ensure the nurses are utilizing the tools and information being
provided in order to reduce the rates of sepsis. The subcommittee I would like to participate with would be the
Antimicrobial Stewardship Subcommittee because they are focusing on the detection of asymptomatic bacteriuria
(ASB) in the urine that doesn’t present with signs or symptoms of a UTI. They are focused on breaking the cycle of
prescribing antibiotics for ASB and optimizing antimicrobial use.

Reflection-on-Action and Clinical Learning

What written evidence is available to support professional nursing groups and their impact on the development of
evidence-based practice and quality improvement related to patient outcomes? Cite/reference all journal articles that
contributed to the evidence.
The call for evidence-based quality improvement and healthcare transformation underscores the need for
redesigning care that is effective, safe, and efficient. “A recent survey of the state of EBP in nurses indicated that,
while nurses had positive attitudes toward EBP and wished to gain more knowledge and skills, they still faced
significant barriers in employing it in practice. One example of implementation of EBP points to the challenges of
change” (Stevens, 2013). A sophisticated implementation plan is required before an evidence-based intervention can
be adopted across an institution. It is the implementation and sustainment of change that remains as the challenge to
overcome. EBP can be move forward by redesigning the healthcare system through mastery of teamwork,
persistence in educating the future workforce, and incorporation of multiple perspectives for transforming
healthcare. This will support the change that is needed and support professional nursing groups related to patient
outcomes.

Reference:

Stevens, K. (2013). The Impact of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and the Next Big Ideas. The Online Journal
of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved March 31, 2023, from https://ojin.nursingworld.org/table-of-contents/
volume-18-2013/number-2-may-2013/impact-of-evidence-based-practice/

Nielsen, A., Stragnell, S., & Jester P (2007). Guide for reflection using the Clinical Judgment
Model. Journal of Nursing Education, 46(11), p. 513-516.

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