Discussion: Reflection on Learning and Practice Readiness

Discussion: Reflection on Learning and Practice Readiness

Discussion: Reflection on Learning and Practice Readiness

DNP-prepared nurses are equipped to identify population health problems in their practice area, assess health policies affecting populations, and advocate for policies to improve and address population health issues. Learning reflection enables students to assess their learning goals, identify gaps, and expand their knowledge (Walsh et al., 2020). This discussion reflects on the lessons learned in the advocacy, health policy, and population health course, how the course has prepared me to practice as a DNP nurse, and how my thinking was challenged in this course.

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This course considerably challenged my thinking on advocacy for population health and health policy. I now appreciate that nurses, at all levels, are major stakeholders in healthcare policy, and they play a significant role in critically analyzing existing policies and advocating for changes to improve population health. According to Turale and Kunaviktikul (2019), nurses are instrumental in proposing health policy changes to address population health issues. The lessons learned in this course, including political competence and advocacy, have helped me identify and polish the skills needed to advocate for health policy and related changes. These skills include networking, effective communication, and persuasion.

Furthermore, I now appreciate the role of collaboration with policymakers and other individuals/organizations with a similar interest in health policy. Milward and Provan (2023) note that networking and collaboration form the backbone of policy change and advocacy. I have learned to use formal and informal interactions to form collaborative networks to enhance population health advocacy to policy change on policies affecting designated populations.

The knowledge gained in this course considerably prepared me to practice as a DNP nurse. I can now assess population health issues more extensively in the quest to work with other care providers and policymakers to address them. I am also equipped to use my political competence to propose health policy changes and communicate my case to policymakers for consideration. Additionally, I will employ my leadership skills to lead other healthcare providers in my practice setting in population health advocacy initiatives while collaborating with like-minded institutions and organizations.

The advocacy, health policy, and population health course has been one of the most essential courses in the DNP program. It has equipped me with the necessary skills and knowledge to play my advocacy role. In addition, my thinking on collaboration and networking was significantly challenged, as reflected above. 

References

Milward, H. B., & Provan, K. G. (2023). A manager’s guide to choosing and using collaborative networks. In Understanding Nonprofit Organizations (pp. 141-149). Routledge. https://www.doi.org/10.4324/9781003387800-17

Turale, S., & Kunaviktikul, W. (2019). The contribution of nurses to health policy and advocacy requires leaders to provide training and mentorship. International Nursing Review, 66(3), 302-304. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12550

Walsh, P., Owen, P. A., Mustafa, N., & Beech, R. (2020). Learning and teaching approaches promoting resilience in student nurses: An integrated review of the literature. Nurse Education in Practice, 45, 102748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102748

 

Week 8 Reflection on Learning and Practice Readiness

Discussion

Purpose

The purpose of this discussion is to reflect on your own readiness to practice as a DNP-prepared nurse and consider what you learned in this course and how this knowledge will impact your practice.

Instructions

Each week, you have been reminded that reflective inquiry allows for the expansion of self-awareness, identification of knowledge gaps, and assessment of learning goals. As you reflect on your own readiness to practice as a DNP-prepared nurse, it is important to consider what you learned in this course.

As you review the course outcomes and your experience in this course, address the following:

Analyze and evaluate how your thinking was challenged in this course related to (1) advocacy for population health, (2) disaster preparedness, and (3) health policy.

Considering this new knowledge, examine how this learning prepares you to practice as a DNP-prepared nurse.

Please click on the following link to review the DNP Discussion Guidelines on the Student Resource Center program page:

Link (webpage): DNP Discussion GuidelinesLinks to an external site.