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Professional Activity Paper

Mekenna McFadden King

University of Arizona

NURS 479: Transition to the Professional Nursing Role

Professors Hoogasian and O’Connell

September 30, 2023

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Professional Activity Paper

Prior to the completion of this activity, I knew that continuing education was an

important factor in the career of each nurse; however, upon completing this activity I have an

entire new perspective. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the professional education

activities chosen, why they were chosen, present an overview of the experience, and reflect on

the value of the experience regarding future practice. The professional education activity I chose

to complete were eight hours of continued education selected from the learning catalog provided

by the American Heart Association (AHA). I decided to go participate in this activity because I

am preparing to start my preceptorship in the CVICU and wanted to expose myself to other

aspects of nursing surrounding the heart to best prepare for my preceptorship. The classes I

completed were The Role of Cardiovascular Health in Maternal Health, Hypertensive Disorders

in Pregnancy, Rhythm vs Rate Control in Atrial Fibrillation, Improving Atrial Fibrillation,

Addressing Health Disparities, and Guidelines for Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery.

As I first looked through the catalog, the classes on cardiovascular health in maternal

health immediately stood out to me. When I stared nursing school, I was convinced I would not

like anything except for the mother/baby floors, but seeing these classes showed me there was

more potential crossover then I originally thought. Both classes I took presented shocking

statistics, such as an 140% increase in pregnancy related deaths in the US in the last 3 decades

and that cardiovascular disease was the primary causative condition of these maternal

mortalities, but they also showed that there are things that can be done, such as improving the

follow-up process for women with pregnancy related complications. After completing these

classes, I was then able to take the class on health disparities because another statistic I learned in

the maternal classes was that non-Hispanic, Black, and Native American Women have an
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increased rate of mortality at every socioeconomic level. While I have had the opportunity to

focus on community health for the past month, it was interesting to then be able to take a class

through the AHA as it focused more on what we as healthcare workers can do and the process by

which change can happen from a provider perspective. The next classes taken were more

treatment focused, specifically on the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Those two classes gave me

the insight I was looking for as I was exposed to more treatments such as cardioversions and

catheter ablations. Lasty, I was able to learn about the guidelines for stroke rehabilitation and

learn the recent emphasis on optimal outcomes for stroke patients, especially in the first 2-5

weeks. When I started, I did not know where the learning would take me, but I learned a valuable

lesson in how nursing is not separated in the way I have experienced it thus far, but rather

completely intertwined in the way all the different “categories” of patients can experience. At the

end of the day, everyone has a heart; elderly patients, young patients, pregnant patients,

socioeconomically different patients, and everyone in between, and it will be my job as a nurse

to consistently expose myself to experiences where I can learn about these differences and how I

can implement them into my own practice.

Looking back, I have been able to see that participating in professional education

activities is truly a cornerstone of a nurse’s commitment to their profession and the communities

they serve. Having the opportunity to expose yourself to further education, like the classes

offered by the AHA, are invaluable for nurses to continually expand their knowledge and remain

at the forefront of healthcare practices. Ultimately, actively engaging in these lessons not only

increases my own understanding but will also contribute to the overall well-being of the patients

I serve, whether they are a “typical” cardiovascular patient or not, and ripple out far beyond the

walls of the healthcare facility.