University Nursing Portfolio: Community Health Competency R-1

This portfolio assignment focuses on a student's demonstration of competency in community health nursing, specifically addressing the challenges and strategies involved in delivering effective healthcare to diverse communities. The student's portfolio highlights the importance of knowledge, critical thinking, and communication skills in overcoming barriers such as language, culture, and patient acceptance. The student evaluates their proficiency in meeting community health nursing standards, reflecting on a significant learning experience related to the CLPNA competency R-1. The portfolio includes insights into how this knowledge will be applied in future nursing practice, emphasizing the role of critical inquiry and thinking in providing quality healthcare. The student references relevant literature to support the analysis of their experience and skills. The portfolio underscores the significance of understanding patient backgrounds, cultures, and languages in providing effective care and meeting the healthcare needs of diverse populations.

Running head: PORTFOLIO
Community Health Nursing
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1PORTFOLIO
Competent nurses are the accountable and the responsible nurses that try to maintain the
professional competence. In the profession of nursing, nurses need to be competent in order to
deliver the health care in an effective manner. This study will be based on the portfolio of a
competent nurse which will be delivering healthcare to diverse communities.
Competency-
Major competency area: R
Competency: Community Health;
Competency number is R-1 (Community Health Nursing)
Subcategory is R-1-1 (this subcategory speaks about the knowledge and the ability of
critical thinking in the community health nursing) (College of Licensed Practical Nurses of
Alberta, 2018)
Learning Experience-Delivering healthcare to the people of a particular community
requires skills and knowledge so that the healthcare needs are delivered in an effective manner
(Darvish et al., 2014). There are several aspects that are essential and need to be kept in mind
while delivering the healthcare. During the delivery of healthcare to a community, I came across
different issues like language, communication, culture, acceptance and faith. Providing
healthcare to the people from differing communities basically emphasize on the faith and
acceptance of the nurses that belong to the different community. The people that need healthcare
provisions do not accept the nurses of the other communities. Thus, here knowledge plays an
important role in diminishing the boundaries that hinder the healthcare delivery. The sort of
knowledge is based on effective communication with the people that belong from other
communities. Language barrier often acts as a hindrance to the care delivery. Neither the nurse

2PORTFOLIO
will be able to understand the problems of the patient and nor the patient will be able to convey
the problems to the nurse effectively (Riley, 2015). According to the CLPNA competency, the
nurses must possess the ability in order to meet the healthcare needs of the different
communities. Thus, I have learnt that knowledge plays an important role in delivering the
healthcare to the patients of the diverse communities and to meet the standards of community
health nursing.
Proficiency rating- According to the scale designed by the National Institute of Health
(NIH) (National Institutes of Health, 2018), I rate myself a score of 3 out of 5. The score gives
me an intermediate position where I will be able to complete the tasks provided to me. Whereas,
more emphasis will be required in the enhancing and applying skill or knowledge. The score also
implies that I may need help from an expert in order to complete may task from time to time, but
on usual occasions, I can perform tasks depending on my skills.
The significance of learning- in this course, I have learnt that knowledge plays an
important role in delivering effective healthcare to the patients of the other communities.
Knowledge of the patient's background, family, culture, and language helps in effective
communication. This knowledge in future will provide me with an experience and understanding
when in future I will be dealing with the patients of the different communities.
nursing practice -Knowledge and the experience can be applied in order effectively
deliver the healthcare through the critical inquiry and critical thinking. In a community, the
existence of different people with the different mind-set affects the nurses and the ways through
which they deliver the nursing care. Critical thinking helps in analysing situation effectively and
then necessary modification can be effectively implemented. Critical inquiry helps the nurses to
find out what is the problem a patient is facing. In future nursing practice, both the knowledge of

3PORTFOLIO
critical thinking and critical inquiry can help a nurse to take up critical cases without any fear
and intimidation. Prior knowledge of the issues that occur in critical situation can effectively
improve the quality of the healthcare delivered to the people (Papathanasiou et al., 2014).
Thus, from the study, it can be concluded that knowledge and skills effectively help in
healthcare delivery to the patients of the different communities and the knowledge of the
patient's background, culture and plays an important role.

4PORTFOLIO
Reference
College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta. (2018). Clpna.com. Retrieved 25 February
2018, from
https://www.clpna.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/doc_Competency_Profile_for_LPNs
_3rd_Ed_2015_COMPLETE.pdf
Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The role of nursing
informatics on promoting quality of health care and the need for appropriate education.
Global journal of health science, 6(6), 11.
National Institutes of Health. (2018). Competencies Proficiency Scale. Office of Human
Resources. Retrieved 24 February 2018, from
https://hr.nih.gov/working-nih/competencies/competencies-proficiency-scale
Papathanasiou, I. V., Kleisiaris, C. F., Fradelos, E. C., Kakou, K., & Kourkouta, L. (2014).
Critical thinking: the development of an essential skill for nursing students. Acta
Informatica Medica, 22(4), 283.
Riley, J. B. (2015). Communication in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.