Utilizing SMART Goals for Enhanced Performance in Clinical Nursing

This essay outlines the application of SMART goals in clinical nursing, focusing on specific, measurable, attainable, rewarding, and traceable objectives. The author details three professional goals: creating a checklist of professional roles, improving communication skills, and mastering routine patient assessments. Each goal is analyzed through the SMART framework, emphasizing the importance of clear definitions, tangible evidence of achievement, and the ability to track progress. The rewarding aspects of each goal are highlighted, focusing on improved patient care, enhanced communication, and a deeper understanding of medical issues. The essay concludes by emphasizing the benefits of using the SMART framework to achieve professional growth and improve performance in clinical nursing.

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My SMART goals in Clinical Nursing
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Contents
About SMART.................................................................................................................................2
S- Specific........................................................................................................................................2
M- Measurable.................................................................................................................................2
A-Attainable or Achievable.............................................................................................................3
R-Rewarding....................................................................................................................................3
T-Traceable......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

About SMART
Developing goals is critical in a career in clinical nursing, learning new behaviors and adjusting
with the changing scenario (Bovend'Eerdt, Botell, & Wade, 2009). There are some proven ways
such as SMART to set goals and achieve them. Three of my professional goals are represented
in SMART format.
S- Specific
A goal must be specific, have sufficient details, significant, focused, clearly defined and
stretchable. Any person who reads the goals must be able to comprehend it easily.
Goal 1: I will prepare a checklist that indicates my professional roles, activities and
responsibilities, and also roles and responsibilities that are beyond scope of my work within a
month.
Goal 2: I will learn communication skills of greeting a patient, asking questions about clients’
health, gathering critical information from the client and reporting the findings to the doctors in
three months’ time.
Goal 3: I will complete observation of temperature, pulse, blood pressure, and respiratory
assessment of 25 patients in one month.
M- Measurable
Goals that I have fixed are measurable and it can give tangible evidences of achievement (Leach,
2008). Several short term goals are also included in the measurability dimension.

Measurable 1: Within a week I will list 10 professional roles of a clinical nurse and five roles
that are beyond the scope of the job. In four weeks I will repeat this exercise until I have formed
a checklist of 40 roles and responsibilities.
Measurable 2: I will complete a course in communication skills for nurses within three months
and apply what I have learned in at least three cases
Measurable 3: I will collect routine assessments of five patients every week.
A-Attainable or Achievable
My goals are achievable because I have the opportunity to pursue my goals and are clearly
defined.
Achievable 1: I can complete the checklist as per my plan
Achievable 2: I can identify and enroll for the communication course within a week
Achievable 3: I have accessibility to the tools required for routine assessments and have the
opportunity to monitor the patients
R-Rewarding
My goals can help me to gain critical skills in nursing and get a job in a reputed health care
institution.
Reward 1: I will be clear about my roles and responsibilities and help the patients to reach their
health goals

Reward 2: I will be able to interact with clients effectively and establish rapport with clients
easily which is an important element of successful healthcare outcome.
Reward 3: Exposure to more number of patients and their routine assessments will help me to
understand a wide range of medical issues.
T-Traceable
Since the professional goals are clearly defined, assessing progress in goal achievement and the
impact it creates is easier (Dale, Drews, Dimmitt, Hildebrandt, Hittle, & Tielsch-Goddard, 2013).
Traceable 1: I can discuss the roles and responsibilities in the checklist with experts, peers and
with clients, and refine it.
Traceable 2: I can complete a short term course in communication and apply them in real
situations to identify my effectiveness.
Traceable 3: After every round of routine assessment, I can seek feedback from the experts and
review my performance. I can practice right behaviors until I master them (MacLeod, 2012).
Once goals are written, it is easy to pursue our goals and complete the activities that are planned.

References
Bovend'Eerdt, T. J., Botell, R. E., & Wade, D. T. (2009). Writing SMART rehabilitation goals
and achieving goal attainment scaling: a practical guide. Clinical rehabilitation, 23(4), 352-361.
Dale, J. C., Drews, B., Dimmitt, P., Hildebrandt, E., Hittle, K., & Tielsch-Goddard, A. (2013).
Novice to expert: The evolution of an advanced practice evaluation tool. Journal of Pediatric
Health Care, 27(3), 195-201.
Leach, M. J. (2008). Planning: a necessary step in clinical care. Journal of Clinical
Nursing, 17(13), 1728-1734.
MacLeod, L. (2012). Making SMART goals smarter. Physician executive, 38(2), 68-72.