The nurses in this film all showed courage, confidence, kindness, patience, and perseverance. One skill that I want to work to develop more is confidence. I felt that I was able to develop more confidence throughout my preceptorship, and I will continue to build on that when I start to learn more during my first job. One location/population that I have not seen yet in my experience at UNE is rural home health nursing. It was very interesting to hear about the nurse’s experience who were treating Navajo people in their homes. One barrier to care that was seen here was the location and access to care. One of the nurses talked about how she might have to drive 2 hours to see one patient. These nurses showed cultural humility when caring for these patients to provide them the best care. One of the nurses talked about how it was very important for them to consider the Navajo people’s beliefs on medicine and incorporate that into their plan to provide them care that they were comfortable with. I would like to learn more about cultural considerations when going into practice to make sure I am providing care that makes patients feel comfortable and safe.
I will describe my strengths by drawing on my clinical experience and how those experiences have prepared me to be a good nurse. I would probably talk about my assessment skills, being able to work as an interprofessional team, and learning from the patients. I would also talk about my experience at my other jobs and how that relates to the nursing position I am applying for. For example, I have been a camp counselor for a few years so I would talk about how I was able to develop multitasking and prioritization skills, and quickly adapting to new situations with that job. One “challenge” I will address is that sometimes I take on too much at once. While I will most likely be very busy throughout my shift at my nursing job, it is important for me to work on prioritizing my care throughout my shift. One way I can work to do this is to plan out my shift at report and try to cluster my care, so I stay organized and don’t get overwhelmed.
Thank you, Amy, for sharing how the nurses in the movie have inspired you to reflect on our own practice and identify areas in which you already demonstrate strength as well as those where there is room for improvement – which is to be expected at this point in your career! As you’ve already noted throughout your clinical experiences, being a nurse is a great way to build more confidence! Not a day will go by that you won’t have to advocate for your patients, for yourself, for your teammates, or engage in difficult conversations. It sounds like you have a great game plan for your interviews, I wish you all the best during that exciting process. Great work!