N 479 Professional Development Grid/Plan

Name: Rayna McParlane

Date: December 2015

In 3-5 years I see myself in a position to attend an RN-DNP program and become a pain nurse practitioner for pediatric oncology.
Area
Direct
Patient Care
Leadership

Unit Related
Leadership

Strengths

Organization
Patient advocacy
Formation of therapeutic
relationships

Natural leader
Honest
Equitable

Weakness/ Opportunity for

Improvement
Learning to say no
Conflict resolution skills
Performing confidently under
stress

Stronger delegation skills

Conflict resolution skills

Short term goals/ strategies

Present-2years
Goal: Understand the scope of
practice for all disciplines within
hospital of employment, specifically
the patient care technicians.
Strategy: Speak to the nurse
manager, use hospital resources to
find specific hospital policies, and
look at the state specific board of
nursing.
Goal: Take on the role of the charge
nurse.
Strategy: Speak to the nurse
manager about interest in this
position.

Professional
Nursing
Development:
Organizations,
Journals/
Certifications

Goals:
Join the Oncology Nursing
Society
Become chemotherapy certified
Become bone marrow
transplant Certified
Subscribe to the Journal of
Pediatric Oncology Nursing
Strategy: Speak to management
about how to become certified and
utilize resources.

N 479
Book Selection
First year of a
nurse: Wisdom,
warning, and
what I wish Id
known my first
100 days on the

Nursing organization: the

book has an entire chapter
devoted to organization for
nurses. This chapter
emphasizes the importance
of brains and that there
format is personalized to
your unit. The author then
explains what a brain

Coping with challenging

patients: This book identifies
one of my areas in need of
improvement, coping with
difficult patients. The book
states the importance of listening
to patient and to remember that
healing involves pain and pain
involves anger (Arnoldussen,

Long term goals/ strategies

3-5 years
Goal: Design and implement a
quality improvement project for
the unit I work on.
Strategy: Identify an area in need
of improvement on the unit, then
utilize evidence-based research to
design the project. Implement the
project using unit leadership.
Goal: Become a mentor for a new
graduate RN. Become a preceptor
for a senior nursing student.
Strategy: Inform both the nurse
manager and nurse educator on the
unit about this interest.
Goals:
Become ICU certified In order
to float to the Pediatric ICU if
needed
Receive my certification for
pediatric nursing
Strategy: Speak to management
about how to become certified and
utilize resources.

job By Barbara
Arnoldussen

Leadership
Shadowing
Experience

Professional
Activity/
Community
Service

Education:
Cont. Nrsg.
Educ. and/or
plans for
Higher Educ.

should include for

example, Patients in
order of their room
numbers or the time of
their clinical visits
(Arnoldussen, 2009, p. 35).
Therapeutic Dialogue:
the author describes the
importance of
communication with a
patients and how powerful
an impact a nurse can
make just by his or her
works (Arnoldussen,
2009).
Provided insight to the
realistic roles and
responsibilities of the
charge nurse.
Problem solving
techniques
Learned specialized skills
to provide advanced life
support
Team Building

Personally views higher

education as a priority
Ambition

Dedication to academics

2009). Understanding someones

situation may be all they need to
relax.
Delegation: The book also
discusses how to approach the
task of delegation, which I
believe is a weakness of mine.
The book states that in order to
delegate properly one must give
everyone a chance to prove
themselves, provide clear
communication, gather data, and
be receptive (Arnoldussen,
2009).

The charge nurse was required to

have outstanding delegation
skills and learn how to prioritize
an entire unit

Required memorization of EKG

patterns and medications

Financial burden
Life events that can hindered my
ability to attend school

Goals:
Pass the NCLEX
Continue to become certified in
oncological and pediatric
related certifications
Strategies:
Take a Kaplan preparation
course for NCLEX readiness
Utilize unit leadership and
online resources to find
certifications that pertain to my
specialty

Goal: Attend an RN-DNP program

Strategy: Research institutions
that offer this program, apply, and
continue to work during this time.