Portfolio for Nursing Professional Development and Mental Health Nursing

Portfolio
Name of the Student:
Name of University:
Author’s note

PORTFOLIO
Introduction
Skills are pre-requisite in any professional endeavours and are crucial to attain
professional competences. Skills in the nursing professional also hold significant importance.
Proper development of the nursing skills helps to excel in professional career. Skills are either
developed during the course of the academic studies or are gained with the help of the
professional exposure or during the clinical placement. I have also helped significant level of the
nursing skills during my undergraduate course where I studied BSc in Public Health from the
University of Greenwich. My tenure as an undergraduate nursing professionals helped me to
understand how behavioural change and the surrounding environment helped in shaping up the
overall health and well-being of a healthcare service users. This understanding helped me to
refine my behavioural approach and understand my importance of kindness and empathy in the
nursing profession.
This portfolio will provide a detailed representation of my personal experiences,
knowledge and study ideas that I obtained during the course of study. The following is a
reassessment of the academic sessions, activities and exercises and how it helped to elaborate or
how it helped me to gain knowledge from the previous studies. The portfolio will also elaborate
how the work-experiences can be comprehensively utilized for enhancing the overall
professional development. The portfolio will also review the academic exercises that have been
successfully completed and academic classes that have been attended during the undergraduate
levels and how those exercises and classes helped me to gain the knowledge and skills that is
crucial in the nursing professional. The portfolio will also aim to throw light on the how I gained
research capabilities and other interpersonal communication skills during my clinical placement
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or while doing practical classes in the under graduate levels. At the end the portfolio will
highlight the effects of the previous studies and how it has helped me to shape up my personal
and professionals’ development and how these skills will affect my professional practice.
The portfolio takes a broad approach during the documentation of my personal account of
how the aforesaid previous graduate skills and knowledge could be replicated in the future career
in the nursing profession.
Nursing Personal Statement
My ambition to become a Mental Health Nurse has developed as a consequence of my
own experiences. During my stay in my homeland Uganda, I was suffering from post-traumatic
shock disorder. According to the official description illustrated by the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH), post-traumatic shock or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops
in some people who have previously gone through certain shocking or scary or traumatic
experience. It is obvious to feel afraid during and after the exposure of the PTSD. Sudden
exposure to fear triggers numerous split-second changes in the body and thus helping the body to
avoid the aftermath of the shock. A range of reactions are being experienced by each of the
individuals who have gone through the phase of shock. While majority of the people recover
from the initial symptoms of shock, few continue to experience problems like a constant feeling
of stress, depression or anxiety even when there is no danger. This group of individuals are said
to be the victim of PTSD and I was one of the chosen few. Psychotherapy or the “talk” therapy
along with the use of the proper medications helps to recover from PTSD. In my home-town,
mental health complications are look down upon and I being a victim of PTSD was stigmatised
and received no significant help from my peers. This delayed my overall process of mental
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health recovery. When I visited to UK to complete pursue my undergraduate in cause in nursing,
I received help from the occupational therapists in my workplace where I was able to find my
ways to fight through my distress. My recovery from the PTSD under the help of the
occupational therapists helped me to understand the importance of proper mental support for
mental healthcare. This inspired me to work for the others who are also suffering from similar
mental health complications and to offer them support and counselling as per my best
knowledge. At present I would like for formalise this ambition and study the subject of mental
health in detail so I that can extend professional help to the mental health patient as a Mental
Health Nursing Professional. According to the statistics published by the Mental Health
Foundation UK, every one of the six adults suffer from common mental health problems like
depression and anxiety and every one out of the five adults has considered taking their life or
committing suicide at certain point of time in their life as they are unable to cope with the mental
complications. Metal Health Foundation UK also helped me to understand that majority of the
people who are suffering from mental health problems recover fully and are able to live a healthy
life if they receive early help. However, even though there is a high rate of occurrence of the
mental health, there is a strong social stigma attached with the mental illness and people who are
suffering from the mental health problems experience discrimination under all aspects of their
lives. The mental health problems are further made worse under social stigmatization and
discrimination. By perusing my degree as a mental health nurse, I want to support these
individuals who are suffering from the mental health problems and are victims of stigmatization
and discrimination.
I began to peruse my higher study in Social Science in Uganda. However, I left the
degree incomplete and emigrated to the UK and completed by graduation in the Public Health
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from the University of Greenwich in the year 2015. This course helped me to understand the
central issues in the Mental Health of the mass like poverty, inequality, exclusion, behavioural
change, environment and housing and well-being. During my study in the Public Health, I wrote
an article regarding the effect of the housing crisis in the UK’s vulnerable group of population
and its associated health related consequences. I also conducted by graduation dissertation in
order to elucidate the effect of Mental Health and the development of HIV/AIDs.
For the past one year I am working as a Support Worker for the Healthcotes Group and
provide caring for the young adults suffering from the Mental Health complications, learning
disabilities and autism. I mainly provide emotional support to these mental health service users
by the use of the effective communication skills and indulging into trustworthy relationship with
the clients and thus providing them mental support and confidence to overcome their mental
phobia. I also indulge them in the community based activities like swimming, bike riding and
group cinema watching. Group based activities helps to improve their mental state of mind and
activities like swimming help them to stay physically fit. I also provide mental health counselling
to overcome substance abuse among the mental health service users. I love to indulge myself in
diverse profession in order to improve by nursing skills. Thus, in between my busy schedule I
also make time to work as a Triage Volunteer for the homeless charity Providence Row that
provides care to the people suffering from mental health problems along with substance abuse. It
helps me to get a mental peace and helps me to connect with my love for social science. I
conduct admin tasks and my knowledge about the public health helps me to make the initial
assessments of the client needs. Apart from working for the admin tasks, I also work in the
welcome area. I love to interact with the new clients and this also helps to me refine my
communication and observational skills. I live to interact with the new clients, knowing their
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concerns and finding out ways in which I can help them. Previously, I used for work for the
Newham Health Watch. I mainly worked in the community based healthcare settings in order to
promote patients empowerment in the domain of the social care services and their effective
relationships with health. PPL Care Services was also my previous employer who provides care
for the disabled individuals.
In the majority of the time I worked or is working under the community based healthcare
settings as it helps me to come across a diverse group of people from different cultural and ethnic
background who are suffering from complex mental health conditions. This helps me to increase
my level of culturally competencies and to understand the differing health needs of the people
who are suffering from the mental health problems. Working under the variety of placements and
working with diverse group of people also helped me to improve by effective communication
skills, both verbal and non-verbal communication skills and thereby helping me to refine my
nursing skills as a mental health counsellor. I think as an individual or as a graduate nurses, one
of my biggest assets in my ability of community effortlessly with new people and listen to their
concerns with genuine interests and due respect. Communicating effortlessly with the mental
health service users helped me to extract their lived experiences and this helped me to understand
how making positive influence in the life of the people helped them to overcome their mental
health problems. Working under diverse healthcare settings also helped me to work under
pressure and in a methodological way. My job experience also helped me to flourish personally
as it helped me to become more organised. This helped me schedule time for my study, work and
personal care. I think being organised is one of the essential skill of a nursing professional as it
helps to handle pressure in the work place while effectively handling compassion fatigue,
occupational stress and burnout. At present I am committed to my career goal and a confident
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