N 479 Professional Development Grid/Plan

Name: Kaitlin Allen

Date: 1 December 2015

In 3-5 years I see myself having obtained a Masters of Science in Nursing, and working in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Area

Strengths

Direct
Patient Care
Leadership

Strong patient advocate

Detail oriented
Patient and unit safety
Organization
Time management
Teaching/communication
with patients/family
members

Unit Related
Leadership

Relating to others
Collaboration with the
healthcare team
Communication
Desire to become a leader

Professional
Nursing
Development:
Organizations,
Journals/
Certifications

Weakness/ Opportunity for

Improvement
Limited experience with direct
patient care
Knowledge base
Efficiency related to clustering
care

Lack of experience as a unit

leader
Delegation
Prioritization of unit wide
responsibilities/tasks
Effectiveness of handling
conflict and complaints

Short term goals/ strategies

Present-2years
In my first two years as a RN, I
will:
Develop proficiency in core
nursing tasks
Identify resources and
mentors that can aid in my
professional development
Develop a personal self-care
plan to aid in stress
management, and prevent
burnout
Keep a professional
development plan journal to
track professional and
personal growth
In my first two years as an RN I
will:
Develop delegation skills
Acquire charge nurse
experience
Gain a working
understanding of the roles
and responsibilities of the
charge nurse and CNL on the
unit
Obtain Neonatal
Resuscitation Program (NRP)
certification
Subscribe to the American
Journal of Nursing (AJN)
Remain an active member of
STTI
Become a member of
Academy of Neonatal Nursing
(ANN)
Become a member of the
National Association of
Neonatal Nurses (NANN)

Long term goals/ strategies

3-5 years
In 3-5 years as a RN, I will:
Begin to develop expertise as
a Neonatal Intensive Care
nurse
Advance my clinical nursing
practice through utilization
of up-to-date best-practice
techniques
Continue to utilize a
personal self-care plan
Continue to keep a
professional development
plan journal
In 3-5 years I will:
Attend nursing leadership
in-service education courses
to develop my knowledge
base
Work towards becoming a
clinical nurse leader

Obtain my certification in
Neonatal Intensive Care
Nursing (RNC-NIC)

N 479
Book Selection
(based on
strengths and
weaknesses)

Leadership
Shadowing
Experience

Professional
Activity/
Community
Service

Education:
Cont. Nrsg.
Educ. and/or

The leadership book that I

read was First year nurse:
Wisdom, warnings, and what I
wish Id known my first 100
days on the job by Barbara
Arnoldussen. I chose to read
this book because it is a
compilation of advice and
guidance from more than 100
experienced nurses. It was a
quick and easy read, and was
chock-full of excellent
information.
This book offered advice that
will help me to build upon my
strengths in organization and
patient advocacy. It also
provided advice on starting
off on the right foot as a new
nurse.
For my leadership experience
I chose to shadow a clinical
nurse leader in the NICU. I
chose this experience because
becoming a clinical nurse
leader is one of my long-term
goals. This experience was
beneficial to me because I was
able to spend 8 hours with the
CNL, on a very busy day.
This allowed me to observe
the many responsibilities of a
CNL in action, and strategies
used to complete necessary
tasks efficiently and
effectively.
I chose ACLS for my
professional activity. I chose
this activity because I have a
strong desire to work in
critical care, and it helped me
to further my knowledge of
cardiac life support to an
advanced level.

Meet higher expectations

Career advancement

Subscribe to Journal of NICU

Pass the NCLEX

Obtain NRP certification

This book also provided

information that complimented
areas for improvement. The book
had a chapter specific to
professional growth that included
four suggested activities and a time
frame to complete these activities.
It also provided wonderful
information about the magic of
mentors, including reasons to have
a mentor and how to acquire one.
Lastly, it provided advice on how
to deal with complaints and
approaching the task of delegating.

For my leadership experience I

chose to shadow a clinical nurse
leader in the NICU. This
experience allowed me to observe
the responsibilities of a CNL in
action. I was able to observe
effective delegation skills, as well as
effective means of handling
conflict. I believe that I am better
prepared to handle similar
situations in the future as a result
of this experience.

Through this experience, I was

able to enhance my proficiency in
basic life support. This certification
course reinforced my knowledge
regarding reading and interpreting
EKGs, and managing cardiac
arrest. In addition, I practiced
essential skills as an individual, a
team member, and a team leader.
Financial strain
Time constraints

Obtain my Masters of
Science in Nursing

plans for
Higher Educ.

Increased knowledge
base
Confidence builder

School burnout
Commitment to personal
obligations (ex. Family)

Attend conferences and

workshops annually
Attend in-service continuing
education courses

Obtain my RNC-NIC