Running head: PGC REFLECTION PAPER 1

Program Graduate Competencies (PGC’s): BSN Reflections

Christina M. Collins

Delaware Technical Community College - Terry Campus

NUR 460 Nursing Capstone

November 30, 2018

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As I reflect upon the last eight years, of my nursing journey, I am overwhelmed with a

great sense of accomplishment. It has been a long, arduous, but rewarding journey. During the

last eight years, I completed the LPN program, and the RN program at Delaware Technical

Community College (DTCC) – Terry Campus. When DTCC announced they would be

implementing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, I was excited to apply and become one

of the first graduates of the program, mainly because it was my alma mater.

Often I am asked the question, “Why did you choose a career in nursing?” My response

is always the same, “I didn’t choose to be a nurse, nursing chose me!” Why do I say that?

Initially, when starting the LPN program I had no desire to be a nurse, I was utilizing the

education and clinical background to further my career plans to become a Physician Assistant.

After passing the licensure exam for my LPN, I did not seek employment. After six months, a

fellow nurse reached out to me to ask if I would be interested in working at her facility. Initially,

I was apprehensive, but I did accept a position, and it was from this point on that I realized I was

meant to be a nurse.

Early on in the BSN program during the advanced level nursing classes we were required

to think about what is our nursing philosophy. My core values as a person are caring, kindness,

compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, and respect. The core components that drive my practice

in nursing are similar, kindness, caring, compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, safety, and

treating the patient as a whole, which includes mind, body, spirit, and family. I believe it is my

values that draw me to nursing. I have an innate need to make others feel important and to offer

people positive experiences even when their life’s circumstances may not.

My ultimate goal is to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. To

accomplish this goal of obtaining my BSN is necessary. Not only is my BSN necessary to
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progress in nursing and advance, but it is also important even if I do not continue my education.

The BSN program enhances the RN license because as an RN our education mainly focused on

the clinical aspect of nursing. The BSN program takes it a step farther and educates nurses for

an expanding role as a professional nurse, for example, a leader, a researcher, a community

nurse, and a nurse manager.

Program Graduate Competencies (PGCs)

Throughout the BSN program at DTCC, the education has been guided by nine Program

Graduate Competencies (PGCs). The nine PGCs are meant to build a foundation as a

professional nurse.

PGC 1 - Integrate general education knowledge, skills, and aptitudes to advance nursing

education and growth in professional practice.

The expectation is not only to receive an education tailored to nursing but to be well rounded

with a liberal education. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (2018) defines

liberal education as one that provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g.,

science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. The liberal

education is essential to healthcare delivery for many reasons. One of the most important

components of receiving a liberal education is learning how to communicate, both orally and

written. Nurses communicate with patients daily, and as a nurse transitions into a professional

nurse role, there may be research to be conducted, policy and procedures to be written, and many

other uses of communication.

Throughout the BSN program, there have been several research papers. Research is

important in nursing because it allows us to practice nursing using evidence-based practice.

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Evidenced-based practice is crucial to safe, positive outcomes in healthcare. Another important

aspect of a liberal education is cultural competency. Understanding our patient’s culture and

social norms is integral to positive outcomes. If every patient is addressed in the same way,

many patients will refuse care because the care would not be relevant to how the patient lives

their life. Psychology is also important to nursing. It is the study of human behavior, and it

allows the nurse to understand the personality of the patient and why they may choose certain

actions.

PGC 2 - Demonstrate leadership skills to promote patient safety and the delivery of high-

quality healthcare.

During the nursing leadership course, I learned what type of leadership style I resemble, which

is a transformational leader. Owen Doody and Catriona Doody define transformational

leadership as a process that motivates followers by appealing to higher ideas and moral values

where the leader has a deep set of internal values and ideas and is persuasive at motivating

followers to act in a way that sustains the greater good rather than their interests (as cited in

Burns, 1978). Transformational leadership empowers the nursing staff to speak when they

thought they were not allowed. This empowerment opens the doorway for individuals to

communicate with any medical personnel regarding patient safety and patient outcomes.

Communication is key to every working relationship. Overall, transformational leadership in

nursing is most liked because leadership can create future leaders who can efficiently problem

solve and meet the goals of the organization's mission, values, and goals (Doody & Doody,

2012).
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During the leadership course, I also took the time to evaluate myself as a leader and to

find areas that I could improve upon. The nursing leadership course came at the right time

because it provided me with answers to questions I had asked myself regarding my leadership

abilities and a foundation to strengthen my current leadership style

PGC 3 - Apply skills of inquiry, analysis, and information literacy to support evidence-

based professional nursing practice.

Langford and Young define evidenced-based practice as “the conscientious, explicit and

judicious use of theory-derived, research-based information in making decisions about patient

care delivery to individuals or groups of patients and in consideration of individual needs and

preferences.” Evidenced-based practice (EBP) is the new standard of care. EBP provides safe,

quality methods for treating people and delivers the most effective plan of care.

Research has not always been one of my strengths. The nursing research course forced me to

come out of my comfort zone and utilize the library to find journals and/or information related to

various research papers. One of my research topics was Substance Use Disorder. My first

practicum was at Ashley Addiction Treatment, and during my clinical, I was able to understand

and see first-hand how evidenced-based practice has given new life to those individuals who

suffer from substance abuse disorders. The standards of care for those who suffer from addiction

have been proven through evidence-based practice, which has paved the way for mandates for

insurance companies to provide coverage for those treatments they feel will help individuals with

addiction to reach recovery.

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PGC 4 – Integrate information management technology to improve patient outcomes.

The American Nurses Association (2008) defined Nursing informatics as "A specialty

that integrates nursing science and computer science to manage and communicate data,

information, and knowledge in nursing practice. Nurses work with technology in health care

every day, whether it is using computers to document patient information in the E-MAR, using

devices to gather information such as blood glucose, and/or utilizing the computer system to

retrieve educational materials for patients. Nursing informatics is about using technology

effectively to provide safe and quality care to patients. Nursing informatics is continually

growing and changing with time to provide the most up-to-date advanced technology systems

that provide the safest care with continuity of care between health care teams.

I enjoyed the project required in the Nursing Informatics course. My topic was patient

engagement and telemedicine. I created a workforce process and policy for patient engagement

for mental health patients to keep the patient engaged in their mental health appointments the

workforce process utilized reminder phone calls, email reminders, communication via telephone,

telehealth using video, and other various forms of technology to communicate with patients. The

most important goal is to ensure a safe, positive patient outcome.

PGC 5 – Advocate for patients and the nursing profession with regard to healthcare policy

at the local, state, national, and global levels.

One of the classes in the BSN program that I learned a great deal of information was in

the Nursing Policy course. I felt inspired after watching the introduction video from Lieutenant

Governor Bethany Long-Hall because she started as a nurse and now is in a position to make a

positive change on many health care issues. This is important for nurses to have an advocate in
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policy because most of those making decisions on health care policy has never worked in health

care and are not as informed as they should be.

Oestberg made a good point when he said, “If nurses don’t stand up for issues that are

important to us, those with competing interests in healthcare may be the only ones whose voices

are heard.” Nurses work directly with patients daily; they spend the most time with patients, so

they have the best insight to have an opinion and to advocate for patients.

PGC 6 – Direct patient-centered care through advocacy, interprofessional communication,

collaboration, and delegation.

Communication and collaboration are paramount to delivering high quality and safe care.

Collaboration and interprofessional communication when done properly build respect and trust

among health care professionals and patients. In my current position I work in management, but

there are only two nurses, one being myself in the building. Therefore I often am responsible for

providing direct patient care. To make sure the patients in my facility receive safe, high-quality

care I must be their advocate. I have to educate and mentor our staff on a continuous basis. To

be an effective leader, the staff has to feel appreciated, heard, and trust management.

In the BSN program, I was able to have many experiences during my practicum to witness a

cohesive multi-disciplinary team. At Ashley Addiction Treatment, health care professionals

from all departments meet once a week to discuss each patient and determine how the patient’s

needs can be best met by their whole team.

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PGC 7 – Integrate health promotion and disease prevention practices to positively impact

the delivery of healthcare to diverse populations.

The American Nurses’ Association (ANA) defined nursing as “the protection, promotion,

and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering

through the diagnosis and treatment of human response and advocacy in the care of individuals,

families, communities and populations” (ANA, 2010). Every day nurses are by default

promoting health and disease prevention. When a patient comes into a hospital, they are

generally addressing an acute problem and before they leave a nurse is educating the patient how

to stay healthy, signs and symptoms to be aware of related to their illness, and educating patients

where to seek further care if needed. I work with an aging population. Therefore every day I

spend most of most days educating my residents about the steps they can take to stay as

independent as they can. I educate the residents about their medications and why they are

important to take as directed.

PGC 8 – Practice professional nursing within an ethical framework.

The Code of Ethics for Nurses means ensuring integrity and safety, competence and

personal and professional growth (Chaiking, 2018). To demonstrate ethical practice, the nurse

needs to act as a moral agent. The question isn’t whether an ethical situation will rise; it is how

one will behave when it does? The number one question a nurse must ask, “is it the right thing

to do?” Nurses are one of the most trusted professions, and to maintain this status, nurses must

continue to make the right ethical decision. Many times in my practice I come upon situations

where I feel as though I need to make an ethically right decision, but at the same time, I feel as

though it could put my job on the line. When I feel that weight on my shoulder I ask myself
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what are the negatives and is it worth putting my job on the line and if something occurred

because I did not speak up, would I be able to live with myself?

PGC 9 – Demonstrate lifelong learning that empowers personal and professional growth.

Lifelong learning is an integral component of my life. I love knowledge. I love learning.

Continuous learning keeps nurses up-to-date on ever-changing best practice. After I graduate

from the BSN program, my goal is to apply to the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

programs. There is a great need for health care providers in the mental health sector. I

thoroughly enjoy working with an individual who have mental health issues. A 2011 study by

researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that a 10% increase in

hospital nursing staff holding a BSN degree was associated with a 2% to 6% reduction in patient

mortality rates (Mensik, 2018). Research shows that lifelong learning produces positive

outcomes for patients.

The RN-to –BSN program at the Delaware Technical Community college has opened my

mind to many topics in nursing that I would have probably never thought about had I not

continued my education. The BSN program has given me confidence in my leadership skills and

has given me a firm foundation to continue to build my nursing career.

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References

American Nurses Association. (2008) Recognition of a nursing specialty, approval of a

specialty nursing scope of practice statement, and acknowledgment of specialty

nursing standards of practice. Silver Spring, MD: Author.

American Nurses Association (2010). What is nursing? Retrieved from

http://www.nursingworld.org /EspeciallyForYou/StudentNurses/WhatisNursing.aspx

Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). (2018). What is liberal

education? Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/leap/what-is-a-liberal-education

Burns, J. M. G. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.

Chaiking, J. (2018) Why do nurses need to know about ethics? Retrieved from

https://www.nurse.com/blog/2013/07/05/why-do-nurses-need-to-know-about-ethics/

Doody, O. & Doody, C. M. (2012). Transformational leadership in nursing practice. British

Journal of Nursing, 21(20), 1212-1218.

Langford, R., & Young, A. (2013). Making a difference with nursing research. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Mensik, J. (2018) Lifelong learning empowers nurses. Retrieved from

https://resources.nurse.com/magnet-hospitals-encourage-lifelong-learning

Oestberg F. (2013) Getting involved in policy and politics. Nursing Critical Care, 8(3),

48. doi: 10.1097/01.CCN.0000429392.92546.6f