Professional

Development
Emily Hall
Overview of Direct Patient Care
● Strengths
○ Adaptable, Compassionate, Strong work ethic
● Areas for Improvement
○ Confidence in my skills, juggling multiple tasks and incoming orders
● Short Term Goals
○ Within the first 6 months I hope to be confident in my ability to draw labs and cultures
○ Within the first 6 months I will improve my prioritization skills
● Long Term Goals
○ Within 3 years I hope to work with the nurses designated to treat burns
○ After the first 3 years I want to confidently care for patients receiving CRRT
● Integrative Modalities
○ Acupressure to help comfort my patients and keep them calm
○ Guided imagery to help manage patient anxiety
○ Remembering that humans are systems influenced by their environment

(Kreitzer, 2015)
Unit Leadership Abilities
● Strengths
○ Take responsibility for my actions, respect the members of my team
● Areas to Improve
○ Learning to say no if I am unable to help
○ Improving my communication with interdisciplinary team
● Short Term Goals
○ Within the first year I will transition from a passive communicator to an assertive
communicator
○ Within the first 6 months I will improve my time management skills
● Long Term Goals
○ Within 4 years I hope to be a preceptor on my unit and help teach nursing students
○ Within 3 years I will be confident in my ability to delegate tasks to my team
Professional Development
● Short Term Goals
○ Within the first two years after graduation I hope to be Ultrasound Certified
○ Within the first two years I hope to be certified in CRRT
● Long Term Goals
○ Within 5 years I hope to be looking into APRN programs
○ Within 3 years I want to begin attending conferences such as the Critical Care Exposition to
learn about new techniques and services being developed
Book Selection
● Book chosen - First Year Nurse Wisdom, Warnings, and What I Wish I’d Known My
First 100 Days on the Job by Barbara Arnoldussen RN, MBA
○ Most of my anxiety focuses on starting my career so I wanted to hear advice and
suggestions from actual nurses about the good, the bad, and how to navigate it
○ Easier to see myself in some of the advice since it comes from so many different
perspectives
● How the Book Complements My Strengths
○ Emphasizes adaptability and team work
○ Discussed the power of a positive attitude
● Areas for Improvement After Reading
○ Mentions the importance of confidence
○ Discusses taking things one at a time but also keeping in mind the big picture
● Impact on Professional Growth
○ Get involved in committees on the units
○ Attend conferences

(Arnoldussen, 2009)
Leadership Role Assignment
Role - Charge Nurse

● Why I Chose this Role

○ Possibly interested in becoming a charge nurse
○ Lack of familiarity with the role
○ Interested in day to day operations of the unit
● What I Learned
○ Importance of experience
○ They have responsibilities outside of their own unit
○ They help keep track of hospital census and determine staffing needs
■ Attended staffing meeting with house supervisor and other charge nurses
○ Provide support and resources for the nurses on the floor
■ Helped answer call lights if the nurse was busy
Professional Activity
● Completed The Healthcare Professional’s Core Resources on Alcohol: Knowledge,
Impacts, Strategies online module
○ Online module detailing the fundamental knowledge including the different servings of
alcohol and progresses through to its interaction with medications and behavioral health. It
rounds out the lessons with instruction on how to interview patients and assess for Alcohol
Use Disorder.
○ Each module had a lesson followed by a post-test in order to receive the credit for the
section
● Impact on Future Practice
○ How to ask patients about a potentially sensitive topic
○ What resources I can provide for my patients
○ Awareness of the stigma surrounding Alcohol Use Disorder
Higher Education
● Eventually I would like to return to school to become either…
○ APRN
○ Nursing School Instructor
○ Nurse Practitioner
● Potential Opportunity
○ Get my certification in Critical Care Nursing (CCRN)
● Short Term Goals
○ Within the first 2 years I will begin researching the 3 different potential careers and the
different requirements that I would need to satisfy
○ After the first 2 years I would apply for my CCRN
● Long Term Goals
○ Work in the ICU and evaluate after 3-5 years if I feel confident enough in my skills to
pursue higher education
○ After 3 years I will reach out to professors about their experience and learn any advice that
they have
Timeline
- improve prioritization - establish confident delegation
skills skills
- improve on my lab - work with burn nurses
draw skills - confidently treat patients on
- improve my time CRRT
management skills - reach out to professors about
- become an assertive becoming a nursing instructor - evaluate my
communicator - attend Critical Care Expo readiness for
higher education
Year 2 Year 4

Year 1 Year 3 Year 5

- CCRN certification
- become a
- Critical Care Exposition
preceptor for
- Ultrasound Certification
nursing students
- CRRT certification
- research higher education
opportunities
References
Arnoldussen, B. (2009). First Year Nurse: Wisdom, warnings, and what I wish I’d known my

first 100 days on the job. Kaplan Pub.

Kreitzer, M.J. (2015). Integrative nursing: application of principles across clinical settings.

Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 6(2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25973268/