Clinical Site Description
I will be conducting my clinical rotation at a clinic called Goodlife Medical Center. Goodlife Medical Center is Internal medicine, and it is a privately owned clinic. This clinic is located in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. The office is in a hospital building called Methodist south. Though not affiliated with the hospital, the clinic has access to the hospital amenities and services which the clinic cannot provide. The clinic has nurses, family nurse practitioners, radiology, certified nursing assistants, phlebotomy, weight management department and external case managers’ services. The clinic provides comprehensive health care for patients ranging from ages 16 to senior ages. This clinic focuses on disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases that affects adolescence, adults, and older adults including chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and many others. According to the American College of Physicians, (n.d.) general internist is furnished to tackle a broad and comprehensive range of illnesses that affect adults. They are also looked on as experts in the diagnosis, treatment of chronic illness and health promotion, and disease prevention. Furthermore, they are not limited to one type of medical problem or organ system.
Preceptor Information
For this clinical rotation, my main preceptor will be Dr. Lola Adebanjo. She is a DNP Family Nurse Practitioner. She sees a variety of patients in the clinic. She is experienced in providing care to patients with illnesses ranging from acute to chronic diseases. She is also an expert in preventive medicine. She has experience in working in collaboration with the attending physician on-site and with other members of the health care team. She has been a great asset to the surrounding community where she practices providing holistic care to her patients.
Specialty and Preparation
I have been practicing as a Family Nurse Practitioner now for over one year. Our practice sees patients across the lifespan. From conception to older adults. The majority of the patients I see come in for chronic illnesses management and preventive care. Their visit can range from annual physicals, immunization, and STD screening. We also see a lot of acutely ill patients, especially during the winter and spring seasons. Our clinic is big on preventive medicine and immunization. Given the Covid -19 pandemic my practice has a weekly briefing and update on the virus, vaccines, and on how to get patients vaccinated. The practicum site where I plan to do my clinical is located in a community where the majority of the population are minorities. They are skeptical about vaccines’ validity and reliability in spite of the evidence supporting their benefits against viral infections. In collaboration with my preceptor, I plan on understanding the reason why this population continuously refuses Covid-19 vaccination in spite of its proven record to be beneficial. Additionally, I plan on using the knowledge gained from my workplace to educate the patients about Covid-19 and the benefits of taking the vaccine. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2022) attest that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 can lower your risk of getting and spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. Vaccines can also help prevent serious illness and death.
Reference
The American College of Physicians (n.d.). About Internal Medicine
https://www.acponline.org/about-acp/about-internal-medicine
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (2022). Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/vaccines/vaccinebenefits.html?s_cid=10466:should%20i%20vaccinate:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY21
Hello no,
Thank you for this week’s blog post. I enjoyed reading from you. It is reassuring that you have access to hospital services and amenities that your clinical site cannot provide. Because your clinic facility has nurses, family nurse practitioners, radiologists, certified nursing assistants, phlebotomy, a weight management department, and external case managers, I am confident that this will be an excellent learning opportunity.
As a community health nurse, I have firsthand experience with higher vaccination non-compliance and resistance among minority patients than white patients. Despite evidence supporting vaccine benefits against COVID-19 infections, minority patients remain suspicious of vaccine validity and effectiveness. As Dr. Jennings correctly suggested in her feedback to you, I believe the Health Belief Model may help you design your project. Your goal for patient education is to encourage behavior changes (Clark, 2016). Teaching approaches are based on the health belief model. The model is based on four assumptions: that a patient is at risk of acquiring a specific health condition, that the problem might have serious repercussions, that the problem can be prevented by behavioral change, and that the hurdles to behavior change can be addressed and managed (Clark, 2016).
According to Kleinman et al. (1978), Culturally competent communication highlights that people’s perceptions of health may differ, influencing how they receive, process, and accept (or reject) information. Clinicians are urged to learn about their patient’s health beliefs by asking what they believe caused their illness? What do they think the sickness does? How does it work? What type of care do they believe they should receive? What outcomes do they expect to get from treatment? This cross-cultural exploration helps the clinician and patient achieve a consensus on the best course of action.
References
Clark, M. (2016). Population and community health nursing (6th ed.). Pearson.
Kleinman, A., Eisenberg, L., & Good, B. (1978). Culture, illness, and care: clinical
lessons from anthropologic and cross-cultural research. Annals of Internal Medicine, 88(2), 251–258. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-88-2-251
Introduce Clinical Site
Practicum Site
A practicum site is a setting that enables students to increase the depth of knowledge of the DNP roles directly related to the area of specialization. It is where students have applied practice experiences (no direct hands-on care) under the supervision of a preceptor, consistent with their education and training (Walden University Practicum Guidelines). IC health services is the clinical site where I will be doing my clinical. It is located at 104 Church Road, Suite 206, Pikesville, Maryland 20218. Mental and behavioral healthcare services offer personalized care to clients to meet their needs and conditions throughout their life span. They focus on providing care in a non-judgmental environment for various psychiatric disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
IC Health Services Inc. services include psychiatric consultations, psychotherapy, and medication management. The IC Health Services team offers access to mental health care for all by focusing on disadvantaged populations and providing telehealth services for patients who cannot visit in person. They aim to achieve balance in the overall health of patients and the broader community through their culturally competent and innovative services. They also collaborate with local hospitals and specialists to ensure patients receive continuity of care.
Preceptor
Preceptors are qualified individuals within a practicum site who are responsible for helping to shape students’ practicum experiences (Walden University Practicum Guidelines). The preceptor at IC health services is Dr. Chidinma Onyegwo, a doctor of nursing practice (DNP). She is a Walden alumnus who obtained her nurse partitioning certificate in psychiatric mental health and her DNP in family nurse practitioner. As a preceptor, she is a vital component of the clinical education process in creating a safe setting for the student to gain experience and develop clinical competency to effectively manage the population consistent with the role as appropriate across the life span management of patient’s care (AACN, 2022).
The preceptor will provide guidance relevant to students’ roles in their practicum sites, including ongoing feedback about their progress in meeting practicum goals. She can review the clinical course objectives and facilitate a learning environment that promotes critical thinking on the part of the student progress. The preceptor can provide direct supervision of advanced practice students during the educational experience and communicate with clinical faculty and student regarding the student’s progress. She should be able to complete and submit preceptor evaluations of a student (AACN, 2022).
Specialty and Preparation
My specialty is a psychiatric mental health practitioner, and I currently work in an outpatient mental health center taking care of psychiatric needs across the lifespan. I assess, diagnose and provide medication management for mental health needs. My desire for this clinical is to improve my skills and maintain my competencies as a psychiatric nurse practitioner to meet people’s needs. According to Kumar, Kearney, Hoskins, & Iyengar (2020), an NP should use the nursing framework and align with patient needs to design future systems. An NP should be able to position themselves as providers of a distinct domain of mental health care, delivering care based on the general mental health needs of the population. I plan to learn how to provide consultative psychiatric services to primary care settings that will take the form of telephonic or video consultation, education for providers, resource coordination, collaboration with providers, and in-person or virtual consultation (Kumar, Kearney, Hoskins, & Iyengar, 2020). I plan to be punctual, respectful, and professional at all times, arrive prepared for clinical with necessary equipment and resources, and document all clinical hours in Meditrek.
References
American association of college of nursing (2022). APRN Clinical preceptor resources guide. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Education-Resources/APRN-Education/APRN-Clinical-Preceptor-Resources-Guide
Kumar, A., Kearney, A., Hoskins, K., & Iyengar, A. (2020). The role of psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners in improving mental and behavioral health care delivery for children and adolescents in multiple settings. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 34(5), 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2020.07.022
Walden University Practicum Guidelines. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/DNP/Manuals
