As I come to the end of my DNP program, I strongly believe that I am going to step out a better medical practitioner than I was at the start of the program. As a soon to be DNP graduate, I have gained a lot of scientific-based knowledge and I am in a better position to translate the said knowledge in ways that will be beneficial to patients in the everyday practice environment. Through the 8 DNP essentials, I have been able to gain a better understanding of the nursing profession. Paying particular attention to the DNP essentials has allowed me to closely examine the different theories and philosophies that inform the nursing practice, a fact that has made it possible for me refine my own personal beliefs and philosophy. I have also improved on my leadership as well as advocacy skills.
Development and Evaluation of Care Delivery Approaches
One of the things that a DNP program prepares one to do is to come up with and make a followup with the approaches that are in line with both current and future demands of the patients (AACN, 2006). As I come to the end of the program, I think I have gained adequate knowledge and skills necessary to come up with effective care delivery approaches. I have been able to learn about the different care delivery approaches, their strengths and weaknesses, and the need for constant review of the delivery approaches due to the fact that patient needs keep changing. The DNP program has allowed me to get a better insight into the extent to which healthcare delivery, especially in the US, is a complex system characterized by a number of inefficiencies that often emerge as barriers to the delivery quality care. Through the program, I integrated physiological, psychological, biophysical as well as analytical sciences to improve my knowledge and understanding of the different care delivery approaches. To this end, I believe that I am in a very strong position to develop and evaluate care delivery approaches.
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Guaranteeing Responsibility for Quality of Healthcare and Patient Safety
A DNP program should also prepare one to make sure they are responsible for the quality of service and patient safety, not forgetting coworkers. This simply means that at the end of the course, one should be capable of delivering the best quality of healthcare services that takes into consideration the safety of patients. I feel that having completed the program, I know more about patient safety and how to be accountable to patients. The DNP program has also helped me improve on my communications skills. I believe that I am now well prepared as far as using cutting-edge communication strategies in leading quality enhancement and patient safety initiatives in healthcare organizations is concerned. Throughout the program, I have been able to interact with other nurses and learn about the communication strategies they utilize and how the said strategies translate into better quality of care and better patient outcomes. A DNP program is also meant to prepare one to be able to apply commercial values and health guidelines to come up with and put into practice workable strategies for practice-level and/or system-wide practices that will advance the quality of service. I have always had difficulties when it comes to understanding the principles of business, economics, and finance and their application in healthcare delivery. Having gone through the DNP program, I do not feel confident about my ability to employ these principles. I still feel like I have some work to do as far as being fully prepared to employ good business ethics, and health policy is goes.
Managing the Ethical Dilemmas Inherent in my Profession
Upon completing the DNP program, one is also supposed to be in a better position to formulate and appropriately measure the effectiveness of plans for managing the ethical dilemmas he or she may come across during patient care and the facility at large (AACN, 2006). Personally, I have learned a great deal about the ethics that govern the nursing profession and how to handle various situations that brings to question a nurse’s ethical preparedness. Through the different modules and lessons, I have been able to reflect on some of the ethical dilemmas I faced in the past and evaluate whether I would have acted differently or in a similar way had I been a DNP graduate. I strongly believe that having completed the DNP program, my ability to come up with effective strategies to be used during ethical dilemmas has significantly improved. Additionally, the DNP program has prepared me to effectively communicate and collaborate with the coworkers and other stakeholders to create and apply health policies, peer reviews, practice models, standards of care and practice guidelines among other products (AACN, 2006). As pointed out earlier, taking the program has also allowed me to interact with other nursing professionals, a fact that has played an important role in sharpening my communication and collaborative skills. I have also learned a great deal about different communication and collaborative skills, the demerits of poor communication and the strategies of ensuring effective communication. As such, I am very confident about my ability to employ effective communication and collaborative skills.
Leadership
Lastly, as a DNP graduate, am well prepared to lead in professional analysis of complex work and organizational opportunities and challenges (AACN, 2006). Through the DNP program, I have been able to learn about the complex organizational and practice issues that nurse leaders are likely to encounter and the strategies that can be used to address the said issues. I have gained a lot of knowledge about the importance of interprofessional teams in the delivery of care and how to work within the said teams. To this end, I believe I am very well prepared to be part of interprofessional teams and leading the said teams in examining complex organizational and even practice issues.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN]. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. Washington, DC: Author.
