Roles And Responsibilities Of A Fresh Graduate Registered Nurse: A Reflective Analysis

Discussion

The word career is described as the series of occupations, roles and designations of a particular person during a lifetime. It is defined by the total amount of work done in a lifetime. There are several opportunities for progress and advancement in any career. The person should plan and manage his work choices to have a successful career. He should utilize all available opportunities and make best use of talent and expertise in the field that will help him reach the goals (Bergmo-Prvulovic 2014). For a successful career, one must link the individual interests and opportunities to fulfil environmental and personal needs (Tams & Arthur 2010). Career development encompasses ways of learning, working throughout one’s lifespan, exploring new avenues, skill development and life management (Arnold 1997). This report shares several information about nursing development based on interviews of experienced nursing professionals. It also sheds light on the different skills and attributes I need to develop to have a successful nursing career. I will elaborate on a personal five year development plan that will focus on the different aspects of the nursing industry and the tactics I would follow to achieve the goals.

Nursing refers to the task of preventing illness, promoting health and taking care of individuals who are disabled or sick at any situation. Nurses have utilized their knowledge and have shown great professional development over the years. Nursing has been considered inseparable from medical profession since ages (Buckley 2014). Nurses not only act as caregivers, they provide emotional and mental support to the patients in a holistic manner during their illness. Florence Nightingale is considered as the founder of the modern nursing practice (Selanders 2015). A collaboration between the medical practitioners, therapists and nurses help in better treatment of individuals. Depending on the education and practice, a nurse holds different credentials that give them the authority to treat a patient. Maintainence, exploration and disengagement help in career transition (Chang, Cho & Cheng 2006).

I am working as a fresh graduate registered nurse in the organization. For this report, I need to develop a professional and personal five-year development plan that will reflect my future aspirations and the ways to achieve them.  It will elucidate the developmental strategies I need to adopt for a successful professional career. To get a clear understanding of the nursing practice, its roles and responsibilities, I have also interviewed a senior Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) with more than 15 years of experience.

1- Why did you choose nursing as your profession?

A-I had been always fascinated by medicine and healthcare. Nursing practice influences the quality of healthcare (Buckley 2014). My mother was a nurse and I could feel the satisfaction she experienced by helping those who were sick and disabled. She inspired me to take up nursing as my career option. It helped me grow as a committed and responsible individual. The regular challenges and the bond developed with several patients over a long time gave me immense pleasure.

2- What was your first designation? How was the transition to the post of unit manager?

Interview of a Senior NUM

 A- I started my career as a registered nurse. I was placed in different departments like oncology, cardiology and mental health on a rotation basis. I worked as an RN for more than six years and had a management degree. I always wanted to utilize my degree for the betterment of the patients. I also wanted to contribute to an improvement in the environment (Donna Novak 2016). I was looking for such a change in my career and the different challenges and opportunities associated with them. It was the best form of advancement I could have asked for and acted as a stepping-stone in my life. Confidence, expectations and personal aspirations are shape a person’s career along with societal views and employment opportunities (Roberts & Ward-Smith 2010).

3- What is the role of a unit manager?

A- Nurse unit managers assign, supervise and evaluate the duties of all junior nurses and staff. They also need to mentor nurses to ensure a patient gets proper care. They monitor complicated patient reports (Cziraki et al. 2014). They also have certain administrative duties like overseeing budgets and expenses for the units, keeping a check on the medical supplies and interviewing new employees (Chang & Daly 2012).

Self-assessment plans, enhanced capacity and cohesion with workforce are essential for an analysis of personal and professional areas of work (Conway, McMillan & Becker 2006). It will help me in identifying the different strategies I need to adopt for career development and to improve the quality of nursing I provide (Cleary et al. 2013). Nursing roles and paths have evolved now (National Health Workforce taskforce (2009)). My personal development plan will focus on two aspects, personal analysis and setting work goals. A personal analysis will help me evaluate my strength and weakness. Setting new definable goals will provide me a clear guidance to enhance my career plan (Skela-Savi? & Kiger 2015). Given below is an evaluation of my personal strengths and skills.

Personal Development Plan

Strengths and weakness	Further development areas
I have good basic skills of working together in a team. I am always a supportive staff and do not fall short of expectations of the doctors and other team members. I have detailed knowledge about my nursing qualification. I possess compassion and empathy towards my patients suffering from different psychological and physical ailments. I can effectively interact with them. However, I am a new graduate and I lack experience. At times, I fail to cope with patients who are physically or verbally assaulting and aggressive.	I need to develop my time management skills and task planning strategies. My understanding of some clinical cases is still extremely superficial and requires study that is more detailed. I need to develop and expertise and experience. I need to learn skills to handle workload efficiently (Cziraki et al. 2014). At times, several departments are understaffed or have large number of patients. If I strengthen my time management skills, I will be able to provide better healthcare facilities to maximum people.
Opportunities	Threats
I need to demonstrate the senior doctors, managers and psychiatrists that I have had sufficient training in the field and once I gain some experience about the different clinical cases, I can highlight that I have been exposed to different kinds of clinical problems that will be of extreme value and importance to my work quality. This job role will also provide me an area for working in a hectic environment and will help me achieve a successful and focused work life (Donner & Wheeler 2001). I can also call on the support of my seniors to mentor and guide me on the complexity of different cases and how to deal with each patient based on their problems. An annual appraisal from the department will provide me a guaranteed source of feedback (Cleary et al. 2013).	I need to balance personal commitments and work in the most effective way (Tams & Arthur 2010).

What do I intend to learn?	What should I do to achieve my goals?	What resources and support will I need?	How will I measure my success?
In-depth knowledge of nursing practices that goes beyond basic knowledge and caring ability.	Complete a Nursing Management Certificate Program or Master of Applied Management (Nursing).	Proper institutes that will provide a degree related to different issues in health management in nursing practice.	Appraisal reports, feedbacks from senior doctors and evaluation of tests taken at the institute will provide a direct measurement of my success (Cziraki et al. 2014).
Get to know the team members in my department and build their trust and confidence in me.	I will need guidance and advice from senior registered nurses, nurse unit managers and doctors from the team.	Self-appraisal and formal appraisal from the seniors and mentors will measure my progress (Chang & Daly 2012).
Identify the major training opportunities by engaging in all cases reported in the department.	I need to discuss and agree on the priorities with my immediate senior registered nurse and doctor.	Prioritization of goals will help in the appraisal process. I need to ensure that I have attended all forms of training in the department while working with patients (Chang, Cho & Cheng 2006).
Widen and improve leadership qualities (Ross et al. 2014)	Gain more knowledge by observing experienced doctors and nurse managers (Cleary et al. 2013).	I would have to maintain good rapport with colleagues and seniors (Conway, McMillan & Becker 2006).	Performance appraisal and mentoring during in-house training programs.
Improve leadership qualities and decision making abilities	Volunteer to lead different cases to gain experience as a leader and build credibility.	Direct interaction and guidance of the nursing manager.	Feedback from the team and the head.

This career plan is a vision of my future. It displays a list of well laid out approaches that I have formulated based on my strength, weakness and future career aspirations. My major goal is to provide community service to the needy and disabled. This career development plan is extends through a five year period which is about the time when I will have finished my degree in healthcare management and have gained a vast knowledge and expertise over my subject (Masters 2015). Short term and long term personal objectives help in proper management of future career aspirations (Adeniran, Bhattacharya & Adeniran 2012).

Short term goals (next year)

Attain core characteristics that will help me in becoming a successful nurse and work in the trauma centre. I need to develop communication skills. I will have to interact with several patients suffering from mental distress, each with a unique problem. I should be able to understand what they want to communicate and act accordingly. I will be required to show empathy and concern for patients displaying resentment, aggressiveness, anxiety, fear or depression (Triplett et al. 2017). Ensure timely treatment and release of patients. I also need to maintain professional relationships with fellow nurses. I would have to record data in an accurate and timely manner and provide correct follow-up to my immediate senior. I need to participate in clinical performance tests on a regular basis, seek out help when needed and win the appraisal of the supervising RN (Sonmez & Yildirim 2009).

Medium term goals (2-3 years)

Commit myself to rigorous learning of the subject and complete the degree in nursing management to become eligible for managing and leading a team during challenging environment. It would require applying my clinical knowledge of nursing and management to deal with various critical cases (Krugman & Sanders 2016). This will give me the confidence to reduce slip-ups. It would also enhance my effectiveness as a successful nurse. I would also recognize situations when clinical management becomes out of scope and would seek the support of the supervising senior. I would participate in new staff orientation programs and take responsibilities for assigned tasks (Chang & Daly 2012).

Long term goals (beyond 3 years)

Obtain 3-5 years of experience in patient care and gain promotion to the post of nurse unit managers with support of senior managers and colleagues. Communicate individual consumer complaints and their physical or mental status with the doctors. Have a detailed knowledge about the role of nurse managers (Hendricks & Cope 2013). Look after the recruitment of new registered nurses and their allotment to different units. Manage own workload and assist new recruited staff. Form collaboration between the doctors and nursing staff for better care facilities (Hallin & Danielson 2008). Obtain the responsibility of managing a number of teams dealing with different medical cases. It would require effective interpersonal skills and sharing of relevant clinical information with other members of the team (Conway, McMillan & Becker 2006). I would be responsible for keeping a record of the clinical equipments and supplies and identify issues related to them. I would be responsible for building relationships between service providers and the authority (Sonmez & Yildirim 2009).

Conclusion

Thus, from the above report I can conclude that construction of an effective career plan is required for professional development. The report includes the interview of a senior nurse unit manager. Her answers will help me get an elaborate idea on the roles and responsibilities of this profession. The report also identifies my personal strengths, weakness and future aspirations. It also focuses on the different ways that will help me achieve my goals and measure my success. My personal analysis and objectives will underpin my career growth. Self-assessment will help me to reflect on my professional practice. This report also sheds light on the essential qualities I need to develop to be successful nurse. I therefore conclude that, by following this developmental plan, my personal and professional self-improvement will lead me to a better position in my workplace.

Areas of Needed Change in Personal and Professional Context

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