NURS FPX 4905 Assessment 5 Reflective Journal

Student Name

Capella University

FPX 4905

Professor Name

Submission Date

Reflective Journal

Wellness and Disease Prevention

The practicum also exposed me to different health promotions and prevention of diseases that were specifically tailored to the population of the recovering population under substance use disorders. The majority of the patients served by Immersion Residential Center possess significant social determinants of health, including homelessness, unemployment, poor access to healthcare, and trauma history. The employees worked hard to rise above these barriers by having regular relapse prevention, healthy lifestyle skills, nutrition, coping skills, and community resources training sessions. I noticed the use of technology, too, in electronic health records and telehealth services to make referrals to patients on follow-up after discharge. Such initiatives as peer support specialists and integration of recovery coaching were added to this work and allowed the patients to feel more responsible and part of the team.

I was greatly influenced by this experience as a professional nurse, as it demonstrated that prevention in the specified environment is not only a matter of clinical tasks but is also of interest in the comprehensive nature of the situations in which the patients are placed. It emphasized that the wellness strategy should be where the people are and must be social, psychological, and cultural. As a nurse, I have realized that my role will be to facilitate the enhancement of equity in care, any type of culturally competent training, and trust building in vulnerable populations. The fact that the staff is determined to bridge the gap in the recovery care has provided me with rich experience in how active, patient-centered, and preventive care would transform lives positively.

Chronic Disease Management

My practicum experience specializing in chronic disease management has shown the need for an interprofessional team-based care. Other prevalent conditions that clients were comorbid with substance use disorders included depression, anxiety, hepatitis C, hypertension, and diabetes. I had a chance to attend case conferences where nurses, physicians, therapists, and case managers gathered to provide their knowledge and offer to organize detox care and lead to another plan of rehabilitation in the long term. Namely, the nurses gave commentary on the withdrawal symptoms and mental aspect demands, the therapists on the behavioral correction practices, and the case managers on the availability of outpatient care or community residency. The combined meetings produced a shared vision of how to handle the two chronic conditions and addiction singly.

On a personal level, the experiences made me not forget the essence of teamwork and proper communication as a way of ensuring holistic care is attained as a professional nurse. It has given me the understanding that treatment of chronic diseases rarely works out well when it is handled in solitude.

A scenario where each of the specialties seems to contribute to the care of the patients in their own way made me understand that team leading is also part of the process a leader in nursing has to perform; he or she is to facilitate group work, promote collaboration, and ensure that a plan shows up and works in the best interest of the patient. This experience confirmed my self-assertion because I had the desire to be a systems thinker—a person who thinks about the entire care continuum and supports compound strategies that will reduce relapse, manage diseases, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes.

Regenerative and Restorative Care

Despite the fact that the primary purpose of my practicum was associated with the recovery of substance use disorder, I have managed to witness numerous cases in which restorative care played a pivotal role. Detox may be unforeseeable, and sometimes, patients were sent into acute mental illness or suicidal thoughts or outbursts, which necessitated stabilization. 

I have observed the nursing and medical personnel being quick and using the crisis de-escalation strategies and precautions and, at other times, the use of medication to deal with the severe withdrawal symptoms. Besides this, I discovered that some of the clients have had a stroke, head wound, or a history of psychiatric ailment, and it influenced the process of developing a care plan and providing treatment within the first stages of the recovery process.

This experience helped me to realize that restorative care is not limited to the physical well-being of a being but may also include mental and emotional stabilization. It reminded me of the importance of quick assessment, problem analysis, and team reaction to acute failure. By being a licensed nurse, I realize that there is a need to advocate for the idea of multidisciplinary feedback (behavioral health, neurology, and therapeutic services) to create person-centered interventions in regard to the cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges. These observations have made me understand the complexity of the domain of patient care and prompted me to become filled with devotion and committed to the values of holistic, flexible, and caring-oriented approaches to care.

Hospice and Palliative Care

Immersion Residential Center is not a hospice or palliative care unit, but I had experience with incidents where the concept of palliative care was quite relevant. Customers with chronic medical issues have presented with the long-term use of the substance, and some of them have liver disease, a heart attack, or acute mental deterioration. 

These conditions were normally long-term based, and in some cases, poor prognoses were established. I have noticed that the conversation about quality of life, future planning, and the objectives of the patient is not at the top of the list, despite the severe conditions of the conditions. At times, employees would refer to locally available palliative choices within the community, but the meetings would often come up at a late time.

This made me reflect very deeply on the practice used by nurses in initiating early conversations with patients on the topic of quality of life and advanced care planning, even outside the usual hospice setting of practice. I also got to know that the principles of palliative care interventions, such as respect for patient values, domain of symptoms, and emotional care, were to be integrated in recovery care. 

This has brought my responsibility as a professional nurse to provide care in a holistic fashion, which gives a lot of focus on dignity, compassion, and patient-centered goals. It also prompted me to voice out how system enhancement is required on how systems handle the topic of recovery program-wise concerning advanced illness, since such kind of discussions should be done earlier and in a more cognitive manner that is more sincere.