APN Professional Development Plan
Nursing is a profession that is concerned with the provision of healthcare services to patients. For any discipline to run smoothly, it must have a set of rules which guide its operation. The APN professional development plan is a planning tool used to set achieve particular goals (Thomas, 2017).
The required skills, competency development, and leadership skills needed in the field are also stated. The APN is prepared to assume responsibility and accountability for all the health care activities revolving around the patients and health practitioners (Thomas, 2017). The general statement on the scope of practice states the nursing licensure laws and what clinicians do, and the responsibilities for which they are accounted for. This includes evaluating, diagnosing, interpreting of diagnostic tests, initiating and managing treatments, and prescription of medicines.
The competencies comprise the use of various skills, knowledge, attitudes, and abilities that each nurse must possess to perform their duties. A good attitude towards anything one does is needed to have passion for it. Nursing is a career where one cannot be forced to work, but rather the urge has to come naturally, failure to which the rights of the sick will be violated, worsening their conditions. The APN always expects that nurses assume leadership from the first day they registered into the career. Reasonable skills are essential as they ensure patients’ wellbeing is protected as the nurses improve their working experiences.
This paper aims to discuss the APN scope of practice, the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) core competencies, and the various leadership skills required to lead as a nurse practitioner (NP) within complex systems. The educational, licensure, and regulatory requirements for nursing practice are also reviewed.
Nurse Practice Act and Scope of Practice
The nurse practice act in Florida ensures that every clinician practicing in the state meets all the minimum requirements for safe practice. Any nurse who fails to qualify for the minimum competency is prohibited from the profession. The Florida Board of Nursing is a regulatory body that ensures individuals are qualified to practice nursing in the jurisdiction in several crucial ways, such as licensure, disciplines, education, and regulatory requirements (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2018). On the education scope, only individuals who hold valid certificates to practice as clinical nurse specialists are permitted to join the career.
Therefore, one must enroll themselves in any nursing practicing training program where medical professionals are responsible for the training. Basic skills such as taking blood pressure tests and heart rate, how to make a hospital bed, providing hygiene to a patient, and among other duties, are also taught. Licensure is a process in which a government-associated agency provides individuals the permission to practice any profession. Therefore, the person must meet the minimum competency set by the body as these are essential tools.
The home state license board gives qualified nurses licenses to start working. This is a personal document, and it is illegal to share such items with any other person. The permit authorizes the nurse to practice in all party states under a multistate licensure privilege (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2018). Initially, the Florida state had restricted nursing practice to be undertaken, but with the passing of the new law, qualified NPs can operate independently with full practice authority (NCSLSOP, 2021).
Moreover, currently, all nurse practitioners have prescriptive authorities, and a nurse is allowed to prescribe medications without consulting a qualified doctor. Therefore, this means that the nurse must know the various types of medicines and the proper doses as an overdose or under-dose can lead to more complications or death. The above occurrences may cause distress among patients as they might fear that the drugs may cause harm instead of curing them.
There are various regulatory requirements for a nurse in Florida. Firstly, caregivers must possess advanced nursing practices to be able to handle patients’ needs. Secondly, there should be a proper clinical preceptor, clinical simulation with pharmacology, skills, technology, and assessment to a clinical setup (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2018). Thirdly, clinical training programs where a nurse receives an opportunity to apply, integrate, and refine skills and abilities must also be available. Fourthly, a nurse must possess community-based and specialized nursing practice. This is because people who seek treatment come from various social setups with their cultures and beliefs (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2018). The cultural practices must be upheld, and if possible, the nurse can offer guidance concerning some critical issues.
Core Competencies
There are various nurse practitioner core competencies in the field of healthcare service provision. Patient care is a vital service in nursing as it involves considering all the needs of a patient and responding to them. These includes emotional support, physical comfort, respect for patient’s values, and preferences offering necessary patient education (Toney-Butler & Martin, 2018). Medical knowledge plays an essential role in ensuring that clients are given the proper medication and relevant diagnoses done. Leadership, research, consultation, collaboration, and communication skills such as turn-taking when interacting with patients are essential for a successful treatment process (Lamb et al., 2017).
Nurses should be polite and avoid use of vulgar language while talking to clients. Planning skills help in maintaining an orderly working system of the various activities revolving around the hospital. Above all, leadership roles must be known to give the nurses a sense of direction in operation. All relevant personnel must be led as per the accepted set protocols to avoid inconveniences.
My Strong Competency Areas
I have two personal strengths competencies which are quality and practice inquiry. The two involve using available resources to improve the quality of clinical practice (Thomas, 2017). I can easily access the relationship between the cost, safety, and access to healthcare. I can also apply new skills to promote excellence. The practice inquiry comprises the translation of new knowledge into the profession. I can easily use the knowledge learned in daily clinical activities when handling patients. Further, I can gain more understanding to improve my experience.
Competency Areas for Growth
Two areas where there is an opportunity for growth include leadership and technology. Students can be given options to demonstrate their innovations about technology, and their new ideas can lead to improvement.
Other digital innovation resources that enhance patients’ safety need to be improved, and clients should be educated on how they operate (Thomas, 2017). This will help in mitigating the ailing individuals’ fears when those tools are being used for treatment. Leadership is dynamic, and one must know how to handle people’s changing views. Improvement in stress management for the patient, family, and various workforce members needs some enhancement (Thomas, 2017). Students can be allowed to choose leaders among them so that they can practice leadership roles before working. Further, they can work in groups with the help of group leaders. This will create more leadership avenues.
My Scholarly Activities
The Discovery of new knowledge about medical practice is one of the scholarly activities that I would engage in. This is because the first-time experience in the field makes one anxious to know how things work and operate. It is also essential to understand the information on emerging diseases such as COVID-19 and how to curb the sicknesses and their prevention. In addition, it is necessary to participate in the development of a vaccine that can prevent people from contracting illnesses. Integration of new knowledge leading to new understanding is another activity. Everyday activity leads to further discovery and even other possible ways of handling the patients (Thomas, 2017). Interactions lead to sharing of knowledge with other experienced nurses hence gaining more competence.
Leadership Skills
Any leader must possess the required skills to govern people. Nursing leadership can influence others to improve the quality of care and any direct participation in clinical care. Decision-making skills are critical since it is a continuous activity in any career (Lamb et al., 2018). These abilities assist in weighing a problem and coming up with necessary solutions. Team building skills help in working together to achieve a particular goal.
In nursing, these skills motivate personnel, raise productivity, and become satisfied with the care they are given. Being politically aptitude is another skill that takes care of the interest of various stakeholders in any organization. This involves understanding people, having an interpersonal relationship, and strategies for handling multiple preferences in them. It also enables positive socialization with individuals from different backgrounds and races.
To develop the above skills, various strategies are put in place to make it a success. They include mentoring and developing confidence as a nurse leader. Mentorship programs lead to creating more knowledge on how to be a front-runner. This involves learning from the experience of others and the development of communication and personal skills. Personal confidence increases the sense of self-worth and more value. Self-esteem is also boosted, and one becomes happier with the person they are becoming. Thus, this enables clarity in interaction and hence career advancement. One should not feel apprehensive about being chosen to be a leader but take it as a challenge and work on it.
Conclusion
The APN professional development overviews everything essential on how nurses should conduct themselves in their workplace. The general statements on the scope of practice that allows clinicians to handle the sick have been discussed. The core competencies, which are patient care, medical knowledge leadership, research, consultation, collaboration, and communication skills, have also been reviewed. The various Nurse Practice Act and APN scope practice guidelines have also been explicitly highlighted in Florida state. The educational, licensure, and regulatory requirements were also identified, and so is the NP prescriptive authority.
Two competencies areas believed in personal strength are leadership and quality, whereas technology and information practice are areas with growth opportunities. The discovery and integration of new knowledge are the scholarly activities involved during the master’s program to help achieve nursing practitioner competencies. The essential leadership skills required within complex systems are political aptitude, team building, and decision making. To develop the skills, strategies such as attending mentorship programmers and developing of personal confidence as a nurse leader. A leader is an overall decision-maker, and any wrong decisions might affect the practice presently or in the future.
References
Lamb, A., Martin‐Misener, R., Bryant‐Lukosius, D., & Latimer, M. (2018). Describing the leadership capabilities of advanced practice nurses using a qualitative descriptive study. Nursing Open, 5(3), 400-413. Web.
NCSLSOP, (2021). Nurse Practitioners Overview – Scope of Practice Policy. Scope of Practice Policy. Web.
Thomas, A., Crabtree, M. K., Delaney, K., Dumas, M. A., Kleinpell, R., Marfell, J., & Wolf, A. (2017). Nurse practitioner core competencies content. The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. Web.
Toney-Butler, T. J., & Martin, R. L. (2018). Florida nursing laws and rules. Web.