MODULE

06
R4 P
ELIZABETH R. ROXAS, RN, MSN
Self-Mastery and Professional Growth
TERESITA I. BARCELO, RN, PhD
INTRODUCTION
Practice of nursing is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is a privilege a nurse gets upon passing
the licensure examination and taking the oath of professionals. Likewise, it is a responsibility of the
nurse to ensure that ones practice is safe, according to standards and based on current evidences
of effcacy and effciency. For one to remain professionally competent, there is a need for continual
updating of ones knowledge and skills. Hence, it is incumbent on the professional nurse to continually
update oneself.

For one to be successful in ones chosen feld of practice in nursing, a good self-assessment is needed.
What should a self-assessment look at? It should include a look at your values, interests, personality,
and skills. For example you need to look at which values are more important to you to make you
satisfed in your work like salary, autonomy, prestige of your chosen place of work, security and others.
You also need to look at your motivations or drives for your work, what you enjoy doing and the like.
Career planning is needed so that you can determine what you need to do to be able to achieve you
career goals. With a career plan you can assess what qualifcations you need to have or possess to
move up in your career ladder. You can identify the steps you need to take to be able to achieve your
career goals.
MODULE
8
CLIENT CARE
1
MODULE OBJECTIVES
After going through the module, you, the Master Trainer, will be able to:
1. Discuss strategies to maintain lifelong learning for continued competence and professional growth.
2. Apply concepts and principles of advocacy, lifelong learning and professional decorum in ones
professional practice.
3. Select learning activities that will enable the learners to implement the NNCCS on self-mastery and
professional growth.
4. Utilize teaching-learning strategies that will develop in the learner critical thinking and decision-
making skills in maintaining lifelong learning for continued competence and professional growth.
5. Demonstrate how the achievement of specifed competencies of the NNCCS on self-mastery and
professional growth will be assessed with appropriate methods and tools.
6. State policies and actions necessary to facilitate implementation of the NNCCS on self-mastery
and professional growth.
2 CLIENT CARE
Table 8.1 NNCCS on Self-Mastery and Professional Growth
Responsibility 5
COMPETENCIES PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
5.1. Assumes responsibility for lifelong
learning, own personal development
and maintenance of competence.
1. Identifes learning needs/issues based on current
and projected/future practice requisites.
2. Specifes lifelong learning plan/activities to address
learning needs/issues based on current and
projected practice requisites.
3. Obtains feedback from peers and other sources to
augment ones assessment as basis of a learning
plan.
4. Validates new knowledge that support and improve
ones nursing practice competency.
5. Updates ones learning plan to maintain competence
as a registered nurse.
5.2. Demonstrates continued competence
and professional growth.
1. Develops a career plan.
2. Undergoes training voluntarily for personal and
professional growth.
3. Participates actively in professional activities
4. Complies with regulatory requirements for
competence (e.g. CPE Continuing Professional
Education).
5.3. Engages in advocacy activities to
infuence health and social care
service policies and access to
services.
In collaboration with a senior nurse:
1. Identifes barriers to the well-being of clients.
2. Helps clients gain access to needed resources.
3. Negotiates relevant services on behalf of clients.
4. Identifes potential allies for confronting barriers to
care.
5. Develops alliances with groups working for change.
6. Interprets data to show the urgency of change.
7. Analyzes the sources of political power and social
infuence within systems.
8. Utilizes confict-resolution strategies to address
resistance.
5.4. Models professional behaviour. 1. Articulates the values and roles of nursing to the
public.
2. Demonstrates consistently professional behaviour
in words, actions and in relating with clients,
colleagues, and the general public.
Promotes Professional and Personal Growth and Development
TOPIC OUTLINE
This module focuses on some essential concepts as exemplars for teaching the responsibility of the
practitioner focus on self-mastery and professional growth. Suggested teaching-learning methods as well
MODULE 8 3
as evaluation methods to assess learners achievement are included.
This module is not intended to provide the needed content on the major concepts of self mastery and
professional development. However to assist you, as the trainor, on the content needed when teaching this
module references and additional content in soft copy are provided in the CD.
Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) are intended for you the learner as a self-check on ones learning from
this module. Answers to the SAQ are also provided at the end of the module.
Annexes in the CD are provided to give the learner the needed content since not one book available in the
local bookstores contains in full all these materials needed to expound on Responsibility No. 5 Practitioner:
Self-Mastery and Professional Growth. As well, there are many online websites that the learner is directed
to visit to enhance ones knowledge about the subject matter.
MODULE CONTENT
STRATEGIES FOR ENSURING PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND SELF-MASTERY
There are strategies for continuing professional education, advocacy strategies and guidelines for
professional behaviour. Below are some common strategies that a nurse can use to ensure ones
professional growth and self-mastery.
1. Career Planning
Four-Step Career Planning Process
According to Dawn Rosenberg McKay, a known career planning expert, the career planning process can
be summarized as:
Knowing yourself
Exploring possibilities
Making choices
Making it happen
She advises that you need to take your time to work your way through these four steps and dont make any
decisions before thinking through knowing yourself and exploring possibilities.
2. Continuing Professional Education Strategies
2.1. Formal: graduate studies
2.2. Non-formal: short course training on specialty content according to ones interest/specialization
2.3. Informal: reading professional articles/books in print or online; participation in discussion groups
among nursing colleagues/co-workers; active participation in meetings affecting the welfare of
nurses and health; active membership in professional organizations like PNA (See Annex U
LOI 1000) and specialty organizations; attendance in conventions, seminars, workshops and
conferences of professional organizations in nursing and related disciplines.
2.4. PRC Resolution 2013-774 Revised Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development
Program for all Registered and Licensed Professionals promulgated last July 26, 2013 (See
Annex V) contains a list of all possible sources of continuing professional development (CPD) units
activities which encourages lifelong learning. It also states that all regulated professionals need to
earn 60 CPD units every three years and such units earned will be presented upon renewal of the
professionals Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID.
3. Advocacy
One of the roles of a professional nurse is to be a patient advocate. To be an effective advocate, one must
know the strategies for advocacy as well as the rights and obligations of the clients.
3.1. What and Why of Advocacy(See Annex W)
3.2. Advocacy Guidelines and Tools(See Annex W)
3.3. Strategies for Effective Advocacy
3.3.1. Preparing for Action
3.3.2. Getting in Touch
3.3.3. Communicate
3.4. Strategies for Legislative Advocacy
Web Resources
Strategies for Advocacy. (2012). In Indiana Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Retrieved from
http://www.iaaaa.org/strategiesforadvocacy.asp.
Effective Strategies for Legislative Advocacy. (n.d.). In Durhams Partnership for Children. Retrieved
from http://dpfc.net/GetInvolved/Documents/Strategies.pdf.
As a patient/ client advocate, the nurse needs to be aware of the Patients Rights. The Philippine Congress
has attempted to legislate a Patients Bill of Rights but has not been successful in approving one. Hence,
in our setting at this time, we consider the following documents as useful references in addition to our own
Code of Ethics for Nurses.
1. American Hospital Association Patient Care Partnership- This document has replaced the Patients
Bill of Rights often cited in our lectures.
Web Resource
The Patient Care Partnership: Understanding Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities. (2003). In
American Heart Association. Retrieved from www.aha.org/content/00-10/pcp_english_030730.
pdf.
2. Philippine Medical Association (PMA) Patients Rights and Obligations- Locally, in addition
to our own Code of Ethics, this document promulgated by PMA is a good source of information that
applies to our own setting. Many of our local hospitals have their own set of patients rights and
obligations. This document made by the PMA is more detailed and applies to almost all aspects of
hospital care. (See Annex F)
GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR
Nurses are expected to observe professional decorum in the practice of their profession whether in
education, nursing service or in community work. Sometimes, nurses forget how to behave in relation
4 CLIENT CARE
to the client, co-workers, physician, colleagues and the public in general. This is why the Code of Ethics
for Nurses has been promulgated by the Professional Regulatory Board of Nursing (PRBoN). Before the
1980s, the Philippines did not have its own Code of Ethics. Hence, we followed voluntarily the International
Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics. Eventually in 1989 the PRBoN offcially adopted the ICN Code of
Ethics and in 1994, the PNA Code of Ethics was adopted by the PRBoN for the Filipino nurses. Our PRC
Code of Ethics has undergone another revision in 2004 which is now currently being followed by our Filipino
professional nurses.
In addition to the PRC Code of Ethics for Nurses, nurses working in the government sector also must abide
by the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Offcials and Employees RA6713.
To prevent our nurses from losing their professional license there is a need to emphasize the provision of
the Philippine Nursing Act (Republic Act (RA) 9173) Section 23 Causes for Revocation or Suspension of
License and Section 35 Prohibitions in the practice of nursing.
Nurses can also be victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Hence, it is important to inform the
nurses that there is a law that protects them from sexual harassment, RA6713.
SUGGESTED TEACHING-LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR THE LEARNERS
1. Self-analysis or self-assessment and career planning
2. Case analysis- use real cases either from PRC/ local courts/ incident reports of local institu-
tions (ensure anonymity). Identify measures to prevent this kind of errors in the future.
3. Interview of nursing leaders- example: interview of a nursing director/chief nurse/supervising
public health nurse/dean of a college of nursing on institutional policies related to professional
behavior, in-service education program, CPE programs.
4. Round Table Discussion (RTD) or debate on timely relevant issues affecting nursing
4.1. Image of nurses and the nursing profession in the country
4.2. Nursing migration and health status in the country
4.3. Global shortage of nurses and quality of nursing education in the country
5. Field trip to PNA National HQ and interview incumbent National President or send a questionnaire
via email to the PNA National President on the following topics
5.1. Mission of PNA
5.2. Programs for the general welfare and development of nurses
5.3. Advocacies related to nurses welfare and nursing development if any
Submit a written report of the interview/questionnaire responses and include a personal refection
on your fndings.
6. Attend a conference/ seminar on nursing and health-related topics and share signifcant learning
with colleagues in the work setting after
7. Join a study tour to other hospitals/health facility/educational institution to bench mark how in-
service program and/or continuing professional development program is/are implemented.
MODULE 8 5
SUGGESTED EVALUATION METHODS FOR ASSESSMENT OF LEARNER
COMPETENCIES
1. Analysis of Self assessment and career plans
2. Graded reports based on criteria or rubrics- video presentation, written report, essay
3. Graded discussion of case analysis based on rubrics or criteria
4. Written test using modifed/situation-type multiple choice items
5. Re-entry plan after attending a training program with emphasis on how the unit can be improved
or quality of nursing care enhanced or a re-entry plan to improve the in-service program or continuing
education development program in your own institution after joining a study tour.
6. Conducting an Echo Seminar of the conference/seminar attended for the beneft of the colleagues
who did not attend.
SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION (SAQ)
1. What are the ways by which a professional nurse can obtain units for continuing professional deve-
lopment?
2. What strategies can be done to advocate for the passage of the Legislative Bill on Nursing Reform?
3. What teaching-learning strategies can be used to achieve competencies on self-mastery and pro-
fessional growth?
4. What evaluation methods can be used to determine if the expected competencies on self-mastery
and professional growth are achieved?
APPLICATION IN PRACTICE
Nursing is a dynamic profession affected by developments in the life sciences, legal and ethico-moral
issues and pronouncements, socio-cultural determinants of health and many other dimensions affecting
human life. Thus, we need to continuously update ourselves to ensure that we are abreast with these
developments. Human Resource Development Departments need to provide their personnel with adequate
training through seminars, workshops and conferences whether provided in-house or externally.
The Nursing Service Department must provide support for innovative ideas of their nursing personnel to
motivate them to contribute to nursing development and improvement of patient care and services. Young
nurses are quite ideal and many have ideas that they want to share. While, the senior staff nurses have
been honed by experience and practice and their wisdom when combined with the fresh ideas of the young
nurses can generate innovative techniques and strategies that can result to improved quality of patient care
and patient satisfaction. Meetings of the nurses in the unit can be enhanced by including in the agenda
sharing of new developments in nursing, health and the life sciences. Posting of professional articles that
will beneft the staff nurses in a specifc ward/unit/public health facility is a form of informal type of continuing
professional education and should be encouraged by those in nursing management.
Training needs assessment should be done regularly and is an important means of involving the nurses in
planning for their own continuing professional development. Nurses sent for advance training outside of the
company/health facility should be required to develop a re-entry plan which can be presented and discussed
with management for possible implementation or to echo what they have learned from the training program
with their fellow nurses in the health facility/company.
Nursing service personnel in both private and government health facilities should be encouraged to
actively participate in professional organizations like the PNA and specialty nursing organizations. Active
6 CLIENT CARE
involvement in the affairs affecting the profession should be engaged in by every professional nurse.
Professional organizations in nursing will only be as strong as their members. Hence, every nurse must
take it upon ones self to get involved, stand up and be counted in issues affecting the profession.
Many times nurses are hesitant to act as a patient advocate because they dont feel confdent of what to
do to be able to help the patient. Updates on topics like patients rights, universal health care, sick leave
and maternity leave benefts, hospitalization benefts and other health-related topics are relevant topics for
nursing conferences and fora.
ANSWERS TO THE SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS (ASAQs)
1. What are the ways by which a professional nurse can obtain units for continuing professional development?
Answer:
a. Formal means through graduate studies
b. Non-formal means through short course training for specialization or leadership and management
c. Informal means through attending professional lectures, seminars, conferences, reading profes-
sional articles with CPD credits
d. Other means provided in the PRC Resolution 2013-774

2. What strategies can be done to advocate for the passage of the Legislative Bill on Nursing Reform?
Answer:
Advocacy Strategies:
a. Build relationships. Get in touch with your elected offcials. Who do you know is an elected or
appointed offcial? Who do you know who knows someone? People are more likely to give credit
to those they know and trust.
b. Gather information. Read the paper, listen to news, ask questions or get information from your
local associate
c. Prepare. Think about the point you are trying to make so you can state it your own way.
d. Communicate. Let your colleagues and friends know why they should care.
3. What teaching-learning strategies can be used to achieve competencies on self-mastery and professional
growth?
Answer: As discussed in this module, some of these strategies are feld trip or educational tour to bench
mark with other health facility, educational institution or agencies; debates and round table discussions on
relevant issues affecting nursing; interviewing nursing leaders; doing advocacy work; case analysis
4. What evaluation methods can be used to determine if the expected competencies on self-mastery and
professional growth are achieved?
Answer:
1. Graded reports based on criteria or rubrics- video presentation, written report, essay
2. Graded discussion of case analysis based on rubrics or criteria
3. Written test using modifed/situation-type multiple choice items
4. Re-entry plan after attending a training program with emphasis on how the unit can be improved or
quality of nursing care enhanced or a re-entry plan to improve the in-service program or continuing
education development program in your own institution after joining a study tour.
4. Conducting an Echo Seminar of the conference/seminar attended for the beneft of the colleagues
MODULE 8 7
who did not attend.
REFERENCES
A. Online Resources
http://www.job-interview-site.com/career-goals-examples
-of-career-goals-and-objectives.html
http://www.iaaaa.org/strategiesforadvocacy.asp
http://www.care.org/getinvolved/advocacy/tools/english
_01.pdf
http://www.care.org/getinvolved/advocacy/tools/english
_02.pdf
http://www.planning.org/ncpm/advocacy/10strategies.htm
http://www.dpfc.net/GetInvolved/Documents/Strategies.
pdf
B. Relevant Laws (See Annexes)
RA9173 Philippine Nursing Act of 2002
RA 6713 Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for
Public Offcials and Employees
RA 7877 Anti-sexual Harassment at work and education
LOI 1000 Government agencies to support only PRC
accredited professional organizations conventions,
conferences and to give priority to bona fde
members of accredited professional organizations
when hiring.
C. Relevant Professional Regulatory Board of Nursing
Resolutions
BON Res. 220 s. 2004 Code of Ethics
BON Res. 22 s. 2009 Adopting a national career prog-
ression program
BON Res. 24 s. 2012 Revised National Core Competency
Standards
PRC Res. 2013-774 s. 2013 Mandatory continuing
professional development
D. International Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics
8 CLIENT CARE