Nursing Assignment: Professional Practice Portfolio Assessment Report

This nursing assignment is a professional practice portfolio analysis, detailing a student nurse's journey towards becoming a registered nurse. The portfolio emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning, skills, and knowledge, aligning with the NMBA standards for RN practice in Australia. It includes reflections on clinical experiences, especially a critical incident where the student demonstrated accountability by taking swift action to address a patient's deteriorating condition. The assignment highlights the student's application of critical thinking, leadership, and management skills, alongside adherence to professional standards. The report also discusses the role of professional organizations like APNA in supporting nurses' career development. This portfolio serves as a testament to the student's preparedness and commitment to patient safety and professional growth.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
Nursing assignment
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

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1. Professional practice portfolio:
1.1 Description:
Professional practice portfolio is a document that an individual use to define their lifelong
learning, knowledge and skills in relations to competence required in specific area of practice. In
the context of nursing practice, a professional practice portfolio for a student nurse is one that
describes how their live long learning, personal interest and achievements are in alignment for
practice as a registered nurse (Green, Wyllie & Jackson, 2014). It should have evidence and
description that provides evidence regarding personal accountability for registered nurse practice
and having the ability to meet all the NMBA standards for RN practice in Australia. Some of the
components that is essential in professional practice portfolio includes the following:
 A collection of documents that define the nurse’s competence and clinical expertise for
practice as a registered nurse
 List of values, beliefs and skills of the nurse to engage in safe and quality practice
 Evidence of participation in any activity to demonstrate their interest in professional
development
 List of plans to demonstrate a nurse capability to critically think about preparedness
needed to become a RN and reviewing their personal and professional goals to meet all
competency standards required to become an RN (Chamblee et al., 2015).
Hence, from the above description, it can be said that a professional practice portfolio is a
living document that supports aspiring nurses to demonstrate their values, skills, goals and
interest in professional nursing practice. A nurse writing such professional portfolio should
demonstrate their reflective skill in writing by comparing their performance based on past and

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current practice. This will show how they have learned overtime to effectively provide care to
patient.
1.2 Argument:
For student nurses aspiring to become RN, it is important for them to be aware about current
professional knowledge needed for managing their career (Masters, 2015). Therefore, use of
portfolio is one tool that enables nurse to understand the pathway they need to follow to acquire
updated professional skills. Hence, interest in professional portfolio is gathering momentum
today because of its potential to act as a valuable learning device for nursing students. Its
supports them in evaluating their on-going personal and professional development and
understanding their learning needs for future practice (Green, Wyllie & Jackson, 2014).
Use of portfolio can provide range of benefits to nursing students when they want to
demonstrate their professional nursing capabilities to recruiters. One of the benefits is that it
provides them with an active reference file to understand how they can meet the complex needs
of patients and understand the demands of professional practice when they transition to become a
RN. By engaging in the process of developing a portfolio, nurses are able to find the pathway
needed for their professional development in career (Chamblee et al., 2015). In addition, another
important benefit of using a portfolio is that it is an authentic means for them to assess their
reflection skills. As professional practice portfolio is a reflective document, the process of
collecting documents and justifying those information to explain about their professional
learning will give them excellent opportunity to reflect on their achievement. Hence, with the use
of portfolio, nurses can develop their critical reflection skills. The NMBA standards for
registered nurse practice states that nurse must use variety of thinking strategies in making

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decisions related to the care of patient (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2017). Therefore, when
students nurse use the portfolio to collect, select and reflect about their learning, they develop
their critical thinking skills too. This skill can help them to professionally handle complex and
challenging situation in practice.
Despite the benefits of professional portfolio in support professional development and critical
thinking skills of nurses, the use of portfolio may be challenging for many nursing students. This
is because in this document, they need to provide their assessment document about any practice
that they have completed with their mentors (Hardacre & Hayes, 2016). However, the process of
constructing the portfolio is a daunting task for many students because reflective writing is an
unfamiliar territory for them. They face difficulties in assessing their evidence and justifying
their learning in relation to demands of professional nursing practice. For some, taking time out
to reflect on an experience is a burden for them (Ryan, 2011). Hence, lack of time and heavy
workload act as major challenge for nurses in using and developing portfolios.
1.3 Management and leadership:
According to standard 3.4 of NMBA practice for RNs, it is important for nurse to accept
accountability for decisions, actions and behaviors in practice. Hence, nurses also need to show
management and leadership competencies in their professional practice portfolio. The leadership
competencies relates to the ability of nurse in demonstrating self-confidence and using their
critical thinking skills to professional handle complex situation in practice. Leadership
competencies also involves interpersonal effectiveness component so that nurse provides
evidence of situation in which they were able to delegate task and minimize conflict during
interprofessional team work. In contrast, management a competency relates to the skills required

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for effectively managing daily work process and share responsibilities with other. It is not linked
to influencing or empowering others, but using their own skills to ensure smooth delivery of care
(Finkelman, 2015). Hence, there is a difference in leadership and management competencies
required for nurses.
When nurses need to demonstrate their leadership competencies through their
professional portfolio, they can give example of an opportunity where they got a change to
mentor other nurse and improve their skills in clinical practice. In addition, management
competencies in a portfolio can be shown by giving evidence of a scenario in which they
effectively handled a complex case. It may be related to any emergency care given by the nurse,
where their management capabilities played a role in minimizing adverse outcome for patient.
2. Professional standards:
2.1 Description of situation:
As part of my placement as a student nurse in acute care hospital, my clinical facilitator
assigned me the duty to measure selected vital signs of a patient post a surgery. I had to collect
all vital sign of patients like BP, Pulse rate, respiratory rate and pain score and provide it to the
RN for managing patient’s health status. The patient had a knee replacement surgery and due to
complaints of unusual pain, he was given Morphine post 2 hours of surgery. Apart from RN and
me, the surgeon and a physician was also involved in the care of patient.
While conducting the vital sign assessment, I found that the patient’s pulse rate,
respiratory rate and BP were significantly below the normal range. In this situation, I knew it was
necessary for me to act fast and immediately inform the RN about the abnormal vital sign of the
patient. However, when I rushed to the RN, I found that she was not present and she was in the

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OT to handle an emergency case. I realized that delaying nursing action may further deteriorate
patient situation. Hence, I demonstrated accountability in my role as a student nurse by
informing about the situation to the physician myself. The physician appreciated my quick action
of informing about the critical situation to him and asked me to immediately call a registered
nurse on duty in another ward. The physician ordered the RN to administer IV dose of another
drug to patient and I was asked to constantly assess vital signs of patients. The patient
conditional stabilized after 2-3 hours. Hence, by this action, I was able to prevent an adverse
event for patient and demonstrate my responsibility and accountability in promoting safety of
patients as per my scope of practice.
2.2 Critical discussion:
According to my scope of practice as a student nurse, I performed my responsibility to
measure vital sign of patient on time. However, since the RN was not available to manage the
abnormalities in vital sign of patient, I took the responsibility to be responsible for the safety of
patient. This was important for me because through my nursing education so far, I was aware
that vital sign of patients fluctuates a lot post surgery and RN plays a major role in continuously
monitoring and improvement if vital signs of patient. Through this kind of assessment, they are
able to identify health risk in patient and response to the change in their health status (Osborne et
al., 2015). Hence, as the RN was not available, I had to take this responsibility to save the patient
from any harm or adverse event. This was a necessary duty for me as part of my responsibility of
a student nurse. Evidence by Thompson et al., (2013) also suggests that nurse’s vigilance at the
bedside is necessary to prevent patient safety risks. They maintain patient’s safety not only by
identifying signs of clinical deterioration in patient, but also doing countless other tasks to
provide quality care to patient. The nursing education curriculum also plays a vital role in

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ensuring that nursing students can confidently implement processes to promote safety of patient
in professional practice (Vaismoradi, Salsali & Marck, 2011).
The above clinical scenario also demonstrates my skills in delegating with other staffs to
provide therapeutic and professional care. This action also related to standard 2.6 of NMBA
standard for registered nursing practice which states that using delegation, supervision,
coordination and consultation in professional relationship is essential to provide therapeutic care
to patient ((Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2017). Hence, I demonstrated my preparedness to
effective take up the RN role in the future by engaging in proper consultation with the physician.
When interprofessional teams engage in proper collaboration process, the quality of care
improves significantly (Keller et al., 2013). This consultation supported me to provide
pharmacological intervention at the right time to stabilize patient’s condition.
The clinical placement was a challenging experience for me because this was the first
time when I faced a situation where no supervisor was present to guide me regarding best
decision during critical situation. However, my clinical judgment and reasoning skills helped to
take the best step for the patient. I utilized all my nursing knowledge effectively to ensure that I
do not make any mistake during patient assessment. Previously, my mentor guided me during
assessment of patient, however I was nervous this time as no supervisor was present. However, I
carefully analyzed the physician’s note regarding vital sign assessment for patient and
recollected the process that I had done during my training. Evidence also suggest that when
nursing students receive good clinical simulation, they are able to take correct clinical judgment
regarding rapid response in practice setting. This action is related to standard 1 of thinking
critically as practicing through reflection on knowledge ensured that no adverse event occurs
because of my irresponsibility towards the patient. My ignorance would have led to negative

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consequences for patient, however my clinical reasoning skills saved patient from harm or
medical negligence (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2017). On the whole, the experience of
assessment of patient and taking action to prevent adverse event for the patients demonstrated
my accountability for practice and my commitment to preserve the safety of patient by all means.
These qualities will be beneficial for me when I transition from being a student nurse to a
registered nurse.
3. Professional membership:
3.1 Report on peak professional nursing organization
I am currently a student nurse and my interest is to work as a registered nurse in acute
care setting, where I can contribute to the health and well being of critically ill patients. The peak
body or organization that can support me to engage in engage in advanced practice in acute care
includes the Australian Primary Health Care Nurse Association (APNA). The APNA is a peak
professional body that supports primary health care nurses to take on advanced professional role,
ensure their sustainability in the job and optimize their skills in patient-centered care
(Apna.asn.au., 2018). . Hence, APNA is a relevant organization to prepare me for my intended
career path of acute care nursing as it works to ensure that nurse are recognized in advanced
clinical role too. I can get the right guidance regarding the skills and knowledge that I need to
acquire in the course of my professional career to become a RN in acute care setting.
The APNA membership is available for registered nurse, retired registered nurse, student
nurse engaged in full-time study in a nursing degree program and other mental health
professionals who are not registered nurse (Apna.asn.au., 2018). As I am currently a nursing

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student, I will enroll in the student membership category so that I get the right exposure and
pathway to fulfill my career goal of serving patients in acute care setting.

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References:
Apna.asn.au., (2018). Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) Retrieved 5
March 2018, from https://www.apna.asn.au/about
Chamblee, T. B., Dale, J. C., Drews, B., Spahis, J., & Hardin, T. (2015). Implementation of a
professional portfolio: A tool to demonstrate professional development for advanced
practice. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 29(1), 113-117,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2014.06.003
Finkelman, A. (2015). Leadership and management for nurses: Core competencies for quality
care. Pearson.
Green, J., Wyllie, A., & Jackson, D. (2014). Electronic portfolios in nursing education: A review
of the literature. Nurse education in practice, 14(1), 4-8,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2013.08.011
Hardacre, R., & Hayes, L. (2016). The transition to becoming a newly qualified nurse: A
reflection. Journal of New Writing in Health and Social Care, 2(2), 32-43.
Keller, K. B., Eggenberger, T. L., Belkowitz, J., Sarsekeyeva, M., & Zito, A. R. (2013).
Implementing successful interprofessional communication opportunities in health care
education: a qualitative analysis. International journal of medical education, 4, 253.
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Kim, J., & Bates, D. W. (2013). Medication administration errors by nurses: adherence to
guidelines. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(3-4), 590-598, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-
2702.2012.04344.x

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Lindsey, P. L., & Jenkins, S. (2013, January). Nursing students' clinical judgment regarding
rapid response: the influence of a clinical simulation education intervention. In Nursing
forum (Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 61-70), DOI: 10.1111/nuf.12002
Masters, K. (2015). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. (2017). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Registered
nurse standards for practice. Retrieved 5 March 2018, from
http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-
standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx
Osborne, S., Douglas, C., Reid, C., Jones, L., & Gardner, G. (2015). The primacy of vital signs–
acute care nurses’ and midwives’ use of physical assessment skills: a cross sectional
study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(5), 951-962,
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in graduate nursing education. Journal of Professional Nursing, 27(2), 84-91,
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nursing studies, 50(12), 1720-1726, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.05.003

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