The East Orange General Hospital Clinic is my practicum site, and its massive beneficiaries are the impoverished population representatives. During the first three practice weeks, my preceptor identified that the follow-up attendance among them was progressively decreasing. The challenge is serious because skipped visits worsen the effectiveness of treatment, making additional financial burdens if the clients’ conditions worsen (Dantas et al., 2018). Consequently, the following four weeks were dedicated to exploring the problem, gathering evidence, and developing a plan to influence the population’s behavior.
Working with patients of lower socioeconomic status with chronic conditions such as diabetes or CAD enabled me to exercise the learning objective of noticing and analyzing the patterns of the client’s behaviors. For instance, assisting with blood sugar measuring and regulation helped me reveal how impoverished beneficiaries set their life priorities and underestimate the importance of their health (Dang et al., 2021). I also applied evidence-based decision-making, effective communication, and observation to identify the issue, analyze it, and develop a solution (Walden University, n. d.). These weeks of practicum revealed how collaborative teamwork is crucial in healthcare and how well-developed quality evaluation strategies can rapidly improve the services and patient outcomes (Hickey & Giardino, 2021). The need for working with a specific population required additional research in the non-healthcare literature, such as business and sociology, making me apply the information-gathering skills obtained throughout my education.
Working on addressing the problem of the impoverished population’s lack of follow-up visits and attendance requires multiple competencies to operate simultaneously. Indeed, through the fourth to sixth weeks of practicum, I trained my skills in population health, quality and safety, and informatics (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). With my preceptor’s assistance, the goals of raising awareness about the problem, gathering feedback, and involving more personnel to develop a solution were reached.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. Web.
Dang, D., Dearholt, S. L., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Whalen, M. (2021). Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice for nurses and healthcare professionals: Model and guidelines (4th ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International.
Dantas, L. F., Fleck, J. L., Oliveira, F. L. C., & Hamacher, S. (2018). No-shows in appointment scheduling–a systematic literature review. Health Policy, 122(4), 412-421. Web.
Hickey, J. V., & Giardino, E. R. (Eds.). (2021). Evaluation of quality in health care for DNPs (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing.
Walden University. (n. d.). DNP practicum manuals. Web.