Journal Entry assignment

 
Journal Entry assignment

Journal Entry (450–500 words)
Learning From Experiences

Revisit the goals and objectives from your Practicum Experience Plan. Explain the degree to which you achieved each during the practicum experience.
Reflect on the three (3) most challenging patients you encountered during the practicum experience. What was most challenging about each?
What did you learn from this experience?
What resources were available?
What evidence-based practice did you use for the patients?
What would you do differently?
How are you managing patient flow and volume?
How can you apply your growing skillset to be a social change agent within your community?
Communicating and Feedback

Reflect on how you might improve your skills and knowledge, and communicate those efforts to your Preceptor.
Answer the questions: How am I doing? What is missing?
Reflect on the formal and informal feedback you received from your Preceptor.

Journal Entry sample Paper  Approach

Degree of Achievement in Goals and Objectives

I was successful in reaching the first goal by doing in-depth evaluations on each and every client that I came into contact with. By gathering the client’s relevant family history and psychosocial history, the second goal was accomplished. It has been shown in a number of investigations that both heredity and environmental variables are contributors to psychiatric illnesses and that families do have a significant impact on such aspects (Baselmans et al., 2018). The third goal was successfully completed by implementing the proper screening procedures for clients. Psychiatric illnesses can be diagnosed more accurately, disease severity may be gauged, and treatment success can be assessed using screening tools. Clients’ diagnoses dictated the use of certain screening instruments.

Most Challenging Patients

My experience with challenging patients began with a Caucasian man who was 18 years old. This patient presented a number of challenges, the most significant of which were his auditory hallucinations and his refusal to take his medicine as prescribed. In addition to that, he was a marijuana addict. Because of this, maintaining his commitment to his drug regimen was challenging.

The second challenging patient I had to deal with was very belligerent and violent. Because she was also uncooperative, there were several obstacles to overcome in order to get pertinent information from her.

The third challenging client was brought to the facility by a law enforcement officer because he had threatened to harm both himself and his mother. His refusal to cooperate constituted the most difficult aspect of working with him. She walked out of the evaluation room early, contrary to what was agreed upon, and without gaining approval to do so.

Lesson from the Experience

One of the things that I have learned is how essential it is to establish a solid relationship with clients and to reassure them that they may obtain the aid that they are looking for. I also learned how to use screening tools for various illnesses.

Resources Available

The screening tools, such as the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) for Depression and the Generalized Anxiety Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), were easily accessible.

Evidence-based practice Used

The clients received psychoeducation as a major constituent of the evidence-based practice that I implemented for the management of their mental conditions. The use of psychoeducation leads to improvements in social functioning, as well as increases in medication compliance, ability to cope with the disease, and ability to cope as a family (Motlova et al., 2017).

New Skills

The two new skills I am developing are the capacity for critical thought and the resolution of complicated issues, as well as the capacity for making wise judgments under pressure.

What would you do differently?

In my next practicum or career, I will acknowledge the crucial role played by the family in psychiatric care. Families have a number of responsibilities they may play in the recovery process, one of the most crucial of which is keeping track of their loved one’s progress and keeping an eye out for warning signs of relapse (Dirik et al., 2017).

Managing Patient Flow and Volume

My method for managing the flow of patients and the number of patients is to ensure that I am sufficiently evaluating and recording patient information so that there is no need to go back and forth.

 

References

Baselmans, B., Willems, Y., Van Beijsterveldt, T., Ligthart, L., WIllemsen, G., Dolan, C. V., Boomsma, D., & Bartels, M. (2018). Unraveling the genetic and environmental relationship between well-being and depressive symptoms throughout the lifespan. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/r7uqv

Dirik, A., Sandhu, S., Giacco, D., Barrett, K., Bennison, G., Collinson, S., & Priebe, S. (2017). Why involve families in acute mental healthcare? A collaborative conceptual review. BMJ Open, 7(9), e017680. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017680

Motlova, L. B., Balon, R., Beresin, E. V., Brenner, A. M., Coverdale, J. H., Guerrero, A. P., Louie, A. K., & Roberts, L. W. (2017). Psychoeducation as an opportunity for patients, psychiatrists, and psychiatric educators: Why do we ignore it? Academic Psychiatry, 41(4), 447-451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-017-0728-y