NRS 465 Benchmark – Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal

Throughout my practicum and capstone project, I have had the opportunity to interact with my preceptor and discuss issues influencing patient care and outcomes. I have gained a deeper understanding of how policy, regulatory requirements and financial resources impact patient outcomes. I have also appreciated that these factors influence how healthcare settings implement practice change initiatives. This reflection presents the relationship between policy, regulatory requirements, and economics on care outcomes, how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact my project and the care that my practicum site will be able to provide, and provides an example of these relationships from my practicum site.

Policy, regulatory requirements and economics are closely related, since they influence how healthcare institutions operate, thus impacting how patient outcomes are achieved. For instance, policy establishes standards that should be kept in care delivery, and lays expectations for care (Hussain et al., 2024). Regulatory requirements, however, ensure care settings comply with set laws, accreditation standards, practices, and quality outcomes. Folland et al. (2024) note that economic factors influence the availability of resources needed to provide safe and effective care while meeting regulatory requirements, including staffing, technology, educational materials, medications, and other supplies.

Regulatory requirements and the availability of financial resources will significantly impact the success of my proposed project, which entails a structured asthma patient education program for both children and their caregivers. The healthcare institution is expected to meet established quality and safety standards related to patient education, documentation accuracy, and discharge planning. For instance, the nurses will be required to ensure the pediatric asthma patients and their caregivers understand inhaler techniques, medication use and adherence, and trigger avoidance before discharge. The availability of financial resources will also determine the project’s success. Implementing a structured asthma education program requires adequate staffing, educational materials, technological support, and time for nurses to provide individualized teaching. My practicum site strives to balance quality patient care with financial limitations. However, limited staffing and heavy workloads may make it difficult for nurses to spend additional time on comprehensive education, even when it is clinically necessary.

In addition, resources such as educational handouts, demonstration inhalers, interactive videos, mobile health applications, and electronic health record documentation tools are necessary to support effective implementation. However, with limited funds, the project may need to rely on low-cost strategies such as printed materials, teach-back methods, and existing technology already available within the organization. Despite these potential limitations, my preceptor noted that projects focused on prevention and reducing avoidable emergency visits are viewed positively by leadership because they support quality improvement goals and reduce healthcare utilization costs.

An example of the relationship between policy, regulatory requirements, and economics is the requirement for hospitals to provide standardized discharge education before discharge. Regulatory agencies and the organization’s policies require nurses to document caregiver education, medication instructions, and action plans to promote patient safety and reduce readmissions. However, a lack of these may lead to poor caregiver understanding, increased emergency room visits, poorer care outcomes, and increased care costs.

References

Folland, S., Goodman, A. C., Stano, M., & Danagoulian, S. (2024). The economics of health and health care. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003308409

Hussain, A., Umair, M., Khan, S., Alonazi, W. B., Almutairi, S. S., & Malik, A. (2024). Exploring sustainable healthcare: Innovations in health economics, social policy, and management. Heliyon, 10(13), e33186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33186

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NRS 465 Benchmark – Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflective Journal – Topic 7

Students are required to submit reflective journal entries at specific points throughout the course. These reflective narratives help students identify important learning events that happen throughout the course and the practicum.

Write a reflective journal (250-500 words) to outline how your experience at your practicum site related to the following reflective questions:

• You have developed a list of resources needed for your project implementation in Topic 6. To complete this reflective journal, discuss with your preceptor the relationship between policy, regulatory requirements, and economics on care outcomes. Discuss how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project. How do you think this will impact the care that your practicum site will be able to provide?
• Reflect on the relationship you discussed above as well as your practicum site experience. Provide an example from your practicum site of these relationships or discuss an example from your professional or personal experience.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:

RN-BSN

7.2: Incorporate consideration of cost-effectiveness of care.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education

This assignment aligns to AACN Core Competencies 7.2

Rubric Criteria

Criteria Description

Discuss how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project, including how it will impact the care that your practicum sight will be able to provide. (C7.2)

5. Target

7.5 points

A discussion of how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project, including how it will impact the care that your practicum sight will be able to provide, is thorough and accurate.

4. Acceptable

6.38 points

A discussion of how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project, including how it will impact the care that your practicum sight will be able to provide, is mostly detailed.

3. Approaching

5.63 points

A discussion of how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project, including how it will impact the care that your practicum sight will be able to provide, is present but lacks detail.

2. Insufficient

4.88 points

A discussion of how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project, including how it will impact the care that your practicum sight will be able to provide, is incomplete or inaccurate.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

A discussion of how regulatory requirements and financial resources available will impact your project, including how it will impact the care that your practicum sight will be able to provide, is missing.

Criteria Description

Provide an example from your practicum site of these relationships or discuss an example from your professional or personal experience.

5. Target

6 points

An example from your practicum site of these relationships or a discussion of an example from your professional or personal experience is thorough and accurate.

4. Acceptable

5.1 points

An example from your practicum site of these relationships or a discussion of an example from your professional or personal experience is mostly detailed.

3. Approaching

4.5 points

An example from your practicum site of these relationships or a discussion of an example from your professional or personal experience is present but lacks detail.

2. Insufficient

3.9 points

An example from your practicum site of these relationships or a discussion of an example from your professional or personal experience is incomplete or inaccurate.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

An example from your practicum site of these relationships or a discussion of an example from your professional or personal experience is missing.

Criteria Description

Includes spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, language use, sentence structure, etc.

5. Target

1.5 points

No mechanical errors are present. Appropriate language choice and sentence structure are used throughout.

4. Acceptable

1.28 points

Few mechanical errors are present. Suitable language choice and sentence structure are used.

3. Approaching

1.13 points

Occasional mechanical errors are present. Language choice is generally appropriate. Varied sentence structure is attempted.

2. Insufficient

0.98 points

Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors are present. Inconsistencies in language choice or sentence structure are recurrent.

1. Unsatisfactory

0 points

Errors in grammar or syntax are pervasive and impede meaning. Incorrect language choice or sentence structure errors are found throughout.