DNP 820 Reflective Journal

Sample Answer

The following reflection essay recaps the nurse scholar’s experiences in acquiring course objectives of Grand Canyon University’s (GCU) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program for DNP 825A. The course prepares nurses to manage population health by exploring ideas that promote an understanding of aggregate, community, and cultural dimensions of health.

The reflections herein are a genuine assessment of personal experiences in accomplishing the course objectives aligned with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice (2022). From scientific underpinnings to advanced nursing practice, AACN Essentials outline the core competencies for nurses pursuing a DNP degree.

Reflection

DNP 825A prepares the nurse scholar to engage in population management through data analysis, evaluating clinical prevention and population health, and applying evidence-based recommendations for health promotion. The reflective journal highlights the crucial learning experiences integral to knowledge development and successful course completion. These experiences include weekly discussions, assignments, and the synthesis of the literature. The experiences and learning in this course involved the following essentials.

Essential I Scientific Underpinnings for Practice

The DNP nurse possesses diverse knowledge from nursing sciences, which should be translated to benefit patients and populations. DNP 825A obliges the nurse scholar to use science-based theories and concepts to enhance and evaluate health outcomes.

Nursing theories are vital in clinical practice and population health since they outline what nursing practice entails and how it should be implemented (Younas & Quennell, 2019; Mudd et al., 2020). Broadly, the weekly discussions and assignments ensured that the nurse scholar combined nursing science, knowledge, and theories to improve health.

Such assignments in the course include the population health paper exploring an at-risk population and proposing evidence-based interventions to improve its health and the emergency response presentation. Theories and program models for improving community health were also explored and helped the nurse scholar to combine science, knowledge, and theories to achieve better health outcomes.

Essential II Organizational and Systems Leadership for Quality Improvement and Systems Thinking Besides regular patient care, DNP-prepared nurses also focus on the needs of a target population, a set of populations, or a broad community (AACN, 2022). To meet Essential II, DNP 825A prepares the nurse scholar to develop and evaluate care delivery approaches that address the current and future needs of patient populations based on scientific findings.

For instance, the recommendations for interventions to address health problems for an at-risk population are based on scientific findings. Such findings entail an in-depth evaluation of the current literature to ensure health intervention proposals are evidence-based (Chien, 2019; Li et al., 2019). Besides, the weekly discussions on various aspects of population health and recommendations to achieve better outcomes are supported by scientific findings.

Essential III Clinical Scholarship and Analytical Methods for Evidence-Based Practice

DNP-prepared nurses should embrace the importance of scholarly nursing practice in discovering new phenomena and applying new discoveries in complex health situations. Under Essential III, the DNP program prepares nurses to use analytic methods to critically appraise evidence to determine and implement the best evidence for practice (AACN, 2022).

Such synthesis and knowledge application were evident in weekly discussions, assignments, and DPI-related activities that explored interventions for better health outcomes and backed them by evidence.

Conclusion

The purpose of this DNP 825A reflection was to describe the exemplars that were instrumental in fulfilling the course objectives and achieving AACN’s Essentials. The DNP nurse used the weekly discussions, assignments, and DPI-related activities to solidify AACN’s competencies and outcomes. Internet research, consulting class resources, PowerPoint presentation, and interacting with other students were integral to the achievement of learner competencies.

References

• AACN. (2022). DNP Essentials. https //www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf
  Chien, L. Y. (2019). Evidence-based practice and nursing research. The Journal of Nursing Research JNR, 27(4), e29. https //doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000346
  
• Li, S., Cao, M., & Zhu, X. (2019). Evidence-based practice Knowledge, attitudes, implementation, facilitators, and barriers among community nurses-systematic review. Medicine, 98(39), e17209. https //doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000017209
  
• Mudd, A., Feo, R., Conroy, T., & Kitson, A. (2020). Where and how does fundamental care fit within seminal nursing theories a narrative review and synthesis of key nursing concepts. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 29(19-20), 3652-3666. https //doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15420
  
• Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). Usefulness of nursing theory‐guided practice an integrative review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(3), 540-555. https //doi.org/10.1111/scs.12670