Many graduates feel a significant difference between how they perceived the work of a nurse before starting their studies and what they saw in practice in the hospital. Throughout my journey to the profession, I never had any illusions about this. I was aware of the duties of a nurse and specifics of the work of different hospital departments and a polyclinic. Therefore, when I started working, I did not feel any disappointment. The area of my expertise primarily lies in working in long-term care. The professional experience obtained at a nursing home specializing in care for different types of patients, including those in rehab and those with dementia, helped me gain valuable skills and insights. I have built an understanding of a variety of nurses’ daily responsibilities, from administrative routine to interpersonal communication with people and psychological qualities required to be able to comfort patients and their families when needed.
It is not difficult for me to find contact with a person, and this is very important in my profession. People are different: sometimes it is enough to explain the course of the procedure once, sometimes a nurse needs to repeat instructions every time they enter the box or ward. Some people react to the illness of a loved one calmly; others are in shock or fall into hysterics at any manipulation – you need to be patient about this (Boswell & Cannon, 2018). All of the above did not frighten me when I finally chose a profession, and I have never regretted that I chose this path. Hence, I am used to working with diverse patient groups. This helped me learn to be flexible and adapt the nursing approach depending on a person’s age and personal characteristics.
I find it exceptionally interesting to work in bedside care as it gives a unique sense of care. This type of patient requires a special attitude that gives an opportunity to be one on one with patients and, thus, creates distinctive merit to nursing (Karaca & Durna, 2019). In particular, I enjoyed working in a medical surgery unit, as it involves a range of medical issues that add complexity along with a more significant leadership role of a nurse. Dealing with adults preparing for or recovering after an operation presents both a challenge and an excellent opportunity to learn to be more organized, disciplined, and attentive to patients and administrative procedures.
However, among other things, I had to deal with failures in the work of nurses. Such disruptions were due to unforeseen changes in the schedule or a sharp increase in the number of patients in the department. At such moments, I felt a lack of coherence and organization of the work process because even the most disciplined and stress-resistant staff is not able to see the full administrative picture.
There are different types of DNP projects that can be considered for choosing. Some of them are focused on translating research findings into practical application. Others involve community action projects or policy-related academic projects (Singleton, 2017). Moreover, DNP can address technologies integration into nurse care or evaluate certain methodologies, innovations, or techniques (Zaccagnini & Pechacek, 2019). In any way, the scope of projects has to be related to a students’ expertise and field of interests to ensure consistency of learning (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). In addition, the final derivative should focus on a change that could enhance healthcare through certain tools and provide a logical and comprehensive direction for further elaboration of the topic.
Based on my own experience and interests, I believe that the best matching DNP project is the one assessing streamlining of particular care procedures. I am seeking to improve the organization of nurses’ routine activities through an innovative approach. Thus, I am interested in evaluating the existing technologies and tools used in medical surgery units and proposing a continuous enhancement model. Such a DNP project would correspond to my education and the practical insights I have gained so far.
In general, a suitable DNP project for me involves examining evidence-based practice. It will be done on a microsystem level, scrutinizing the healthcare provision of a certain medical unit along with programs, services, and communication it implies. Hence, the outcome of the project will influence nurses and other medical staff as well as the experience of patients and their families. To make the research specific, I would take a medical surgery unit I worked in. Realizing that such a project also requires some managerial knowledge from me since it addresses quality improvement (QI), I believe any existing gaps can be covered with literature review, courses, and collaboration with other students.
References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). DNP Tool Kit. Web.
Boswell, C., & Cannon, S. (2018). Introduction to nursing research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Karaca, A., & Durna, Z. (2019). Patient satisfaction with the quality of nursing care. Nursing Open, 6(2), 535–545. Web.
Singleton, J. K. (2017). Evidence‐based practice beliefs and implementation in doctor of nursing practice students. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 14(5), 412-418.
Zaccagnini, M., & Pechacek, J. M. (2019). The doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.