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Learning Goal

Learning Activities

Timeline

Reflection

Improve my knowledge of cardiovascular diseases, different types, screening tools, and treatment interventions for each

I will use the APEA myQbank exam focused on cardiovascular and broaden my knowledge on the conditions and medications that I may see in my career as a FNP.

During clinical I will ask my preceptor to allow me to see patients with a history of cardiovascular disease in order to gain experience with such patients.

I will review the cardiovascular material in the certification review book.

I will attend the certification review course and pay close attention to the cardiovascular material.

I will complete the APEA myQbank exam by week 5 of this course to ensure I am prepared for the next predictor exam.

I will ask my preceptor beginning in week one to guide me with cardiovascular patient assessments and continue to see as many as possible until week 7 of this course.

I will review the cardiovascular material in the certification review book by week 7 so that I am prepared for the predictor exam.

I will attend the live, via web, certification review in week 7 of this class.

By gaining knowledge in cardiology, I will be able to recognize cardiologic conditions, gain knowledge in screening techniques, council patients I see with appropriate interventions and understand medications and side effects that may need managed in practice. Cardiovascular conditions are very common in the United States and I will likely experience many patients that have such conditions. Whether the patient is simply hypertensive or is experiencing more advanced symptoms such as shortness of breath, I will need to recognize signs and symptoms, assess possible causes and implement proper treatment interventions to ensure the patient’s cardiovascular health is monitored and treated accordingly. Many patients may not know they have a cardiovascular condition, so gaining knowledge of such conditions and treatments will also aid in early disease detection and intervention which is essential to the successful management of heart disease.

Improve my knowledge of gastroenterology conditions, screening tools, and treatment interventions.

I will practice test questions using the APEA myQbank focused on gastroenterology (GI) and broaden my knowledge on the subject.

I will ask my preceptor to involve and inform me of GI cases in clinical.

I will read evidence-based practice research articles to gain knowledge on different conditions seen in primary care setting.

I will practice test questions on gastroenterology health until achieve a score of 80% or greater

The GI myQbank questions/ exams will be completed with at least a 90% by the 7th week of class so that I can be well prepared for the live certification review and final APEA predictor exam.

The hour/ week of extra studying in GI health will be completed by week 7

I will review GI conditions topics in the certification review book by week 4.

I will attend the certification review course week 7 of this class.

By improving my knowledge in GI conditions, I will be able to assess, recognize those health issues and have a better understanding of conditions that may be seen in the primary care setting. I will also gain the knowledge on what conditions may tie in with different symptoms that the patient may be experiencing and can further help to diagnose the patient’s conditions. I will also gain a better understanding of treatment options for my patients in my future as a FNP, which will aid in helping me provide quality care to my patients. By learning and gaining a better knowledge base in GI disease, I will also gain confidence in an area I do not have much experience and can improve my performance on the APEA predictor exam and boards.

Improve my knowledge and experience in pregnancy and disorders that may be seen in the primary care setting

I will practice test questions related to the pregnant patient and repeat until 80% or greater is achieved.

I will read at least one case study involving issues that can arise during pregnancy a week to gain insight on conditions seen in primary care as well as treatment and prevention.

I will research on community-based programs available to increase my knowledge on the subject and share the information within the community I will serve.

I will research on effective strategies that can collaborate to improve pregnancy-related services to communities with a high risk of miscarriage.

I will begin this week by asking my preceptor to guide me find community-based programs for pregnant women and develop a list of community programs and services available in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

I will complete a pregnancy related practice exam by week 5 of this course

I will, beginning this week read a case study each week involving pregnancy, until week 7.

I will attend the web live certification review course during week 7 of this course.

By better preparing in pregnancy, I will gain a better understanding for conditions that will be likely seen in primary care and also recognize when treatment interventions, screenings and monitoring are necessary. Understanding the prevention measures for different mother-baby conditions is pertinent to determine the correct treatment plan for the specific problem. Understanding the different types of condition will narrow differential diagnosis that may present with similar signs and symptoms. Patient outcomes, therefore, can be improved by emphasizing the importance of preventive care, especially to high-risk population. Again, patients may not always collaborate, so understand the presentation of each condition is very important to ensure that the patient will receive the proper diagnosis and treatment. Doing these activities will also broaden my knowledge and prepare me for the APEA predictor and board exams.

Improve my knowledge of orthopedic conditions, screening tools, and treatment interventions.

I will review the different conditions seen in primary care pertaining to orthopedics and the treatments for most common acute conditions.

I will take the APEA myQbank exam questions until I score at least 80%.

I will review the questions pertaining to orthopedics in the certification review book.

I will attend the online certification review course and pay close attention to the information provided on orthopedics.

I will review the different orthopedic conditions and treatments by week 3 of this class to ensure that I have reviewed the information and can perform well during the APEA myQbank exam.

I will take the APEA myQbank exam by week 4 to ensure I am prepared for the predictor exam.

I will review orthopedics from the certification review book by week 3-4 of this course.

I will attend the live, via web, certification review course during week 7 of this course

Different orthopedic conditions are common complaints often seen in primary care due to its chronic nature. By improving my knowledge in orthopedic conditions I will be able to assess, recognize those health issues and have a better understanding of conditions that may be seen in the primary care setting. I will also gain the knowledge on what conditions may tie in with different symptoms that the patient may be experiencing and can further help to diagnose the patient’s conditions. I will also gain a better understanding of treatment options for my patients in my future as a FNP, which will aid in helping me provide quality care to my patients. By learning and gaining a better knowledge base in such common complaints such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, I will also gain confidence in an area I do not have much experience and can improve my performance on the APEA predictor exam and boards.

Improve my Evaluation skills when assessing the effectiveness of treatment interventions for patient conditions.

During clinical, I will follow up on patient outcomes and effectiveness of interventions. Side effects, patient response and patient condition will be thoroughly reviewed on patients seen to improve my evaluation skills.

I will ask my preceptor to question my evaluation skills on patient outcomes and assess whether I can correctly identify expected outcomes of treatments and common side effects of treatments.

I will review the evaluation section of APEA myQbank exams to ensure that my skills are improving throughout the course.

With each section studied, I will assess the expected outcomes and adverse reactions to ensure I have a thorough understanding of what to expect during patient cases. Areas that I am unsure of, I will make note and further study.

I will review case studies regarding patient outcomes and evaluation treatment interventions in each section to improve my knowledge on expected outcomes, side effects and patient responses to treatment interventions.

During the live certification review, I will pay close attention to evaluation techniques in each knowledge area and note expected and adverse findings that may be seen in primary care.

Beginning this week, I will begin following up on patients seen in the office to assess effectiveness of treatment interventions, side effects and outcomes. I will continue to do so until week 7.

Beginning this week, I will ask my preceptor to question my evaluation skills and assess my knowledge on expected outcomes of interventions and treatments and possible side effects and labs to follow up on. This will also continue until week 7.

I will review the evaluation section in my APEA myQbank exams by each test, weekly until all tests are completed. I will monitor weekly each section’s evaluation portion to ensure my scores are improving.

From weeks 1-7 of this course, I will review expected outcomes of treatments and possible side effects, labs to monitor, adverse effects and alternative therapies to direct patient cases, so that my knowledge can grow with each patient’s unique case.

Weeks 1-7 I will review case studies and note the patient outcomes, possible adverse reactions and rationale.

Week 7 I will attend the live certification review, via web, and note knowledge areas and the expected outcomes, monitoring needs, and common findings.

In primary care, one must first assess and implement treatment interventions that are unique and achievable for each patient. If the patient’s response, condition, and outcome are not followed up on, there is no identifiable means or proof that the patient’s health outcome will or has improve. By understanding each unique patient condition, interventions, signs and symptoms, adverse reactions, screening and laboratory values to monitor for each patient case, the response can be thoroughly evaluated and measured. If the patient does not respond well or has side effects and/or adverse reactions to the implemented plan of care, it is the duty of the nurse practitioner to recognize such and intervene when necessary. By utilizing the clinical experiences and following up with patient conditions, I can strengthen my evaluation skills as I continue in clinical. By having my preceptor test my knowledge on expected outcomes, side effects and areas to monitor with each case, it increases my ability to learn and understand what will be expected of me in the practice setting after certification. Each area of knowledge has different evaluation techniques that must be completed to ensure positive patient outcomes and by improving these skills, I can ensure that in my future as a practitioner, I will provide safe patient care. Understanding evaluation measures will also aid in the performance of my certification exam in evaluation areas

Improve my Assessment skills for conditions seen in primary care.

Spend one hour/ day reviewing assessment skills from different conditions, including appropriate questions to ask patients in order to narrow differential diagnosis to develop the correct treatment plan.

For each patient seen in clinical, I will be conducting 75% or greater of the assessment portion of the visit. I will be also assessing patient medication lists, narrow possible drug interactions, side effects, family, medical, and social history, allergies, and other critical patient information.

Assess patient work and home environment to perform a root cause analysis leading to the acute condition. Practice assessment questions for the most common acute and chronic conditions seen in the primary care setting.

Practice assessment skills weekly among family members and neighbors.

Beginning this week, I’ll be practicing my assessment skills for one hour a day with my family members and neighbors until week 7.

Beginning this week, all patient medications during clinical will be reviewed until week 7.

Beginning this week and again until week 7, patient conditions will be reviewed and standards for performing a correct assessment of patient’s present condition.

Practice questions related to assessment skills through APEA, and complete it by week 5 of this course.

Week 7, I will attend the live certification review via web, and note interventions for improve assessment skills.

Advanced Assessment is an area that not only involves the physical findings but also an investigative assessment of the cause of patient present condition. This particular area, investigative portion, I’m weak. In primary care as a nurse practitioner, it is vital to not only demonstrate competence on physical assessment skills, but identifying and interpreting pertinent patient data to accurately diagnose common conditions seen in primary care.

Each patient that presents to the office has unique conditions and clinical presentation, it is the duty of the nurse practitioner to perform a thoroughly assessment of patient condition in order to narrow differential diagnosis leading to a correct treatment plan to attain the desired patient outcomes. It is also vital that a practitioner understands what questions to ask; what question(s) will be detrimental in assist the NP to develop the correct treatment. If the investigative portion of the assessment is not obtained correctly, poor response to therapy , hoarsening of signs and symptoms, and even hospitalization, can occur to the patient. Each patient condition is also unique and actions of each drug must also be understood to ensure each condition is properly being treated. If this area is not well understood, and a practitioner does not ask the appropriate questions, it can result in adverse or poor outcomes to patients. By improving my knowledge and skills while assessing the patient, I can narrow my differential diagnosis, select the appropriate treatment plan to safely and effectively treat the patient. This is a very important section to improve on, it is an essential portion of effectively diagnosing a patient, so I will ensure to use extra time available and focus on improving my assessment skills.