Assignment 2: Practicum Experience Plan (PEP)

PRAC 6665/6675 Clinical Skills

Self-Assessment Form

Desired Clinical Skills

for Students to Achieve

Confident

(Can complete

independently)

Mostly

confident (Can

complete with

supervision)

Beginning

(Have

performed with

supervision or

needs

supervision to

feel confident)

New (Have

never

performed or

does not apply)

Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation skills in:

Recognizing clinical

signs and symptoms of

psychiatric illness across

the lifespan

confident

Differentiating between

pathophysiological and

psychopathological

conditions

Mostly

confident

Performing and

interpreting a

comprehensive and/or

interval history and

physical examination

(including laboratory and

diagnostic studies)

Mostly

confident

Performing and

interpreting a mental

status examination

Mostly

confident

Performing and

interpreting a

psychosocial assessment

and family psychiatric

history

Performing and

interpreting a functional

assessment (activities of

daily living,

occupational, social,

leisure, educational).

Mostly

confident

Diagnostic reasoning skill in:

Developing and

prioritizing a differential

diagnoses list

Mostly

confident

Formulating diagnoses

according to DSM 5-TR

based on assessment

data

Mostly

confident

Differentiating between

normal/abnormal age-

related physiological and

psychological

symptoms/changes

Mostly

confident

Pharmacotherapeutic skills in:

Selecting appropriate

evidence based clinical

practice guidelines for

medication plan (e.g.,

risk/benefit, patient

preference,

developmental

considerations, financial,

the process of informed

consent, symptom

management)

Beginning

Evaluating patient

response and modify plan

as necessary

Mostly

confident

Documenting (e.g.,

adverse reaction, the

patient response, changes

to the plan of care)

Mostly

confident

Psychotherapeutic Treatment Planning:

Recognizes concepts of

therapeutic modalities

across the lifespan

Beginning

Selecting appropriate

evidence based clinical

practice guidelines for

psychotherapeutic plan

(e.g., risk/benefit, patient

preference,

developmental

considerations, financial,

the process of informed

consent, symptom

management, modality

appropriate for situation)

Beginning

Applies age appropriate

psychotherapeutic

Mostly

confident

counseling techniques

with individuals and/or

any caregivers

Develop an age

appropriate

individualized plan of

care

Mostly

confident

Provide psychoeducation

to individuals and/or any

caregivers

Mostly

confident

Promote health and

disease prevention

techniques

Mostly

confident

Self-assessment skill:

Develop SMART goals

for practicum

experiences

Confident

Evaluating outcomes of

practicum goals and

modify plan as

necessary

Confident

Documenting and

reflecting on learning

experiences

Confident

Professional skills:

Maintains professional

boundaries and

therapeutic relationship

with clients and staff

Confident

Collaborate with multi-

disciplinary teams to

improve clinical practice

in mental health settings

Mostly

confident

Identifies ethical and

legal dilemmas with

possible resolutions

Mostly

confident

Demonstrates non-

judgmental practice

approach and empathy

Confident

Practices within scope of

practice

Mostly

confident

Selecting and implementing appropriate screening instrument(s), interpreting results, and

making recommendations and referrals:

Demonstrates selecting

the correct screening

Mostly

confident

instrument appropriate

for the clinical situation

Implements the screening

instrument efficiently

and effectively with the

clients

Mostly

confident

Interprets results for

screening instruments

accurately

Mostly

confident

Develops an appropriate

plan of care based upon

screening instruments

response

Mostly

confident

Identifies the need to

refer to another specialty

provider when applicable

Mostly

confident

Accurately documents

recommendations for

psychiatric consultations

when applicable

Confident

Summary of strengths:

My strengths as a nursing professional are built on my ability to identify signs and symptoms

of psychiatric conditions that patients might be suffering from. This is important because it

aids in the diagnostic process of the patient. The patients are able to get the right course of

treatment. It is important to possess ability to perform assessment of mental illnesses and give

interpretations based on assessment results (Wright et al., 2021). It is also important to

recognize my communication abilities that help in communication with the patient to

understand their signs and symptoms of an illness during assessments. Communication is also

important when conducting a mental health assessment because it aids in the evaluation of the

patient status of health. Communication also helps in the building the patient health history

which is important in fast tracking their past health procedures or underlying conditions they

might have, and may have significant importance in determining possible health problem that

the patient may be suffering from (Wright et al., 2021). For instance, when communicating

with a patient who is suffering from a mental health Illness I can identify related symptoms

such as hallucination, another related symptoms. When working in a healthcare setting, it is

important to collaborate with other healthcare professionals. This is made possible by the fact

that I regard professional relationships. This has been profoundly built on cultural

competencies that make it easier to work in a multicultural team. For instance, being

empathetic with patients and appreciating their cultural diversities has been significant

strength to work in a group with diverse patients and other healthcare professionals. I have

been able to interact with people with different beliefs without being judgmental (Wright et al.,

2021). This has enhanced the effectiveness of the diagnostic plans that I recommend to

patients.

Opportunities for growth:

Despite my strengths, there are areas that I need to make improvements so that that I can

continue providing services that are unmatched to patients. I have a record of providing quality

services to the patients, but I have realized the importance of seeking to improve these

services. One area that needs to be improved is using laboratory services to assess patients.

This is important because it would aid in not only identifying the condition but also

determining the seriousness of the condition under consideration. Another important

consideration is developing ethical guideline competencies, which is gaining important

considerations when dealing patients at the group level and with patients (Rief, 2021). Patient

privacy is primary importance and should be protected. During therapeutic process, a patient

may disclose information that is sensitive to their care givers because they trust them.

Therefore, they should be protected at all times by the care giver. I want to be honest and gain

trust from my patients, which is essential for essential treatment. I also need to improve my

development of treatment strategies for patients. This could be improved by comprehension of

patients being affected by diverse factors such as age and medical conditions (Rief, 2021).

Therefore, it is important to develop personalized treatment plans for patients. It is also

important to assess current treatment strategy and make modifications as appropriate. This

would be promoted by understanding treatment strategies for patients that differ based on

underlying conditions.

Now, write three to four (3–4) possible goals and objectives for this practicum experience.

Ensure that they follow the SMART Strategy, as described in the Learning Resources.

1. Goal: By day 5 I need to develop appropriate skills to help in the selection of

appropriate treatment plans for patients.

a. Objective: I will take an active role in the treatment processes to understand how

treatment plans are developed by my preceptor.

b. Objective: I will engage in an evaluation for different treatment approaches

available and the most reliable approach for patients.

c. Objective: develop assessment skills by actively being involved when assessments

are conducted by my preceptor.

2. Goal: understand assessment approaches demonstrating proper diagnosis skills by day

5 during the practicum.

a. Objective: Study patient history to understand their medical history and how

current treatment can be developed based on past medical history.

b. Objective: Understand probable diagnostics that the patient should be assessed for.

c. Objective: learn to use DSM-5 reference results in determining differential

diagnostics.

3. Goal: By week 4, develop clinical abilities to conduct and interpret clinical test results

for psychiatric tests more accurately.

a. Objective: Develop capabilities to differentiate ethical guidelines for

psychotherapeutic processes.

b. Objective: Gain skills to conduct psychosocial evaluation independently

c. Objective: Use assessment results to make diagnosis and recommend a treatment

strategy that suits the patient.

Signature: Ariel Cordova Lopez

Date: September 4, 2022

Course/Section: PRAC 6665: PMHNP Care Across the Lifespan I Practicum

References

Rief, W. (2021). Moving from tradition-based to competence-based psychotherapy. Evidence-

based mental health, 24(3), 115-120.

Wright, A. J., Chávez, L., Edelstein, B. A., Grus, C. L., Krishnamurthy, R., Lieb, R., ... &

Wilson, M. (2021). Education and training guidelines for psychological assessment in

health service psychology. American Psychologist, 76(5), 794.