Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1: TRANSITION AND CHANGE

Assignment 1: Transition and Change

Kristina Betz
Athabasca University
NURS 250
Adrienne Weare
May 23, 2016
Assignment 1: Transition and Change
My name is Kristina Betz and I graduated from the LPN program from NorQuest College
in 2010. I got a job right out of school in a medical clinic. This clinic is based as a family
practice and as an occupational health clinic. My role as the clinic nurse involves, triaging
patients, taking vital signs, assisting doctors with minor procedures, dressing changes, giving
injections and vaccinations as well as conducting EKGs. For the occupational side my role is
conducting medical examinations on employees to see if they are fit to work. This includes head
to toe assessments, vision testing and vital signs. Additionally I was certified to do drug and
alcohol testing, audiometric testing and performing pulmonary function tests.
I decided to pursue nursing when my brother was in a serious motor vehicle accident and
ended up being hospitalized for 3 months. I learned a lot from the health care teams and about

the different units in a hospital including Emergency, ICU, surgery as well as rehabilitation and
home care. I wanted to give back the care to other patients and families like I had received and
this is what sparked my interest in nursing, I signed up for the program shortly afterwards.
The three qualities that I think help me be the best nurse I can be is the fact that I am
compassionate and my love for people. I enjoy spending my free time talking to patients and
hearing their stories and making them feel as comfortable with me as their nurse. While doing a
rotation at an old folks home I loved sitting down with patients while they ate so they could
openly talk to me about anything and making them feel like they truly being cared for. I love
being able to bring a smile to a persons face even in a sad situation. Compassion is a huge asset
to any nurse whether its an LPN or RN and I know that being compassionate and caring will be
something that I will have in any nursing position that I am in. True Being the only nurse in this
clinic I have learned to have good time management and organizational skills. I know how to
prioritize my tasks throughout the day and I am able to multi-task if needed. With this job I have
learnt how to improve my communication skills. I have to speak with patients on the phone on a
daily basis, helping book patients in, to communicate lab results or other messages from the
doctors. I have also had to deal with speaking to other doctors and specialists on the phone so I
am able to effectively relay information to other health care professionals about patients care or
diagnosis. This will also be helpful in my role as an LPN or RN, I am not nervous to talk to
other health care professionals and am able to communicate effectively so that is a strength I will
carry with me.
Three qualities that I would like to change or improve on would be learning how to
delegate tasks better. When I know something has to be done and I have a full workload I need to
learn to be able to ask someone else to do the task instead of overworking myself to get all of the

ASSIGNMENT 1: TRANSITION AND CHANGE

tasks done. I also find that I take on too much at times. I am able to complete everything but I
find myself mentally drained at the end of the day and not wanting to do anything with my social
life. This as an LPN affects me in a positive way as I know that if I get put into any work setting
my time management skills will be there and it is a good quality to have as a nurse. I have also
wanted to improve on my public speaking. I am a soft-spoken person so when I am nervous I
sometimes feel like people cant hear me or I talk way to fast when speaking in public or in front
of a large crowd. My company has promoted me to being the clinic supervisor so with this I need
to hold conference calls with several people with our head office and to have monthly staff
meetings. This has helped me improve on my communication skills as I now have to talk to my
coworkers and to be the main speaker so this has helped with my nerves and how to speak louder
and clearer in front of them. I also want to take some business courses where the main focus is
talking during the lectures and to give speeches on your thoughts and opinions so I am hoping
this will help me further with my public speaking and improve my career as a nurse. Good points
In my current role I enjoy my role as an occupational health nurse. I have been able to be
certified to do drug and alcohol testing, audio testing and lung function testing. These are all
parts of my job that I will miss once I become an RN. The company I work for only hires LPNs
and to work for a construction company as an occupational health nurse I will have to do the
certification to become a registered occupational nurse, which I may pursue eventually. This
realization puts me in Spencer and Adams model of losing focus. This stage is where an
individual has difficulty keeping things in perspective and experiences feelings of being
overwhelmed (Blais & Hayes, 2011, p. 6). I am feeling both overwhelmed and excitement as I
am excited for my new journey and what the unknown can bring but it is slightly overwhelming
as I may or may not have to leave my current job and search for something different. In this role

ASSIGNMENT 1: TRANSITION AND CHANGE

currently I enjoy the relationships that I have gained with the doctors that I work with and all that
they have taught me over the years. I also take pride in the fact that the clinic I work for was on
the verge of being closed down and being able to come on and work with the team that I
currently work with the bring it back and to have everything running smoothly and effectively
has made me feel like I am worth something in this company and being able to watch this
company grow as a whole is something that I value in my role. The most frustrating parts of my
role would be the skills that I lack from a hospital setting. I dont do IV therapy or blood draws
and my wound dressing skills are a minimum at this clinic. I miss some of the skills that were
taught in nursing school but I know that those are easy to learn and that I have gained valuable
experience with patient interaction and learning how to deal with different people. This job can
also be slow at times as we are in a recession and the occupation side of my job has slowed down
significantly and I am someone who enjoys and works well in a fast paced environment, this can
make me feel more exhausted when I am not working at fast pace. Lastly there is a large portion
of my time where I am in a more of an administrative role by doing call backs, and dealing with
patient charts and scanning and faxing and some days I dont do any nursing duties so that is
something that can be frustrating in my current role.
The transition from an LPN role to a BN role will change drastically if I am able to stay
at this clinic. I would be put into a managerial role where I would have to deal with patient
complaints and doing business with other companies on how to expand our clinic and to
advertise and promote the clinic. This will be difficult as I will no longer be able to interact with
the patients who come in on a weekly basis and I will no longer be the one doing their vital signs
and their mini mental exams and learning about their grandchildren or gardens. This puts me in
Bridges model and in the ending phase. The ending phase of Bridges model of transition is

ASSIGNMENT 1: TRANSITION AND CHANGE

defined as the initial stage of transition where the nurse needs to learn how to let go of the past
(Blais & Hayes, 2011, p. 5). I am aware that my role would change in this company. Further in
the ending role I am currently in disengagement, as I know that I will view my colleagues
differently and I will become a supervisor to them and I also aware that my roles will be
changed. As this has not happened I am still early on in the stages but am aware that they are
coming. I will enjoy being in a managerial role and to further help this company grow at that
level and to partake in business meetings and to have an input on how to grow this company.
Again I will miss the daily interaction with patients and as an RN I wont be using my full scope
of practice but be in even more advanced managerial role so I would most likely want to find a
casual role elsewhere to be able to use my nursing skills. As an LPN and working with this
company for several years will help me in this new role I would be given as I have knowledge on
the history of this company and my personal skills with patients will help me in this new role.

Marking Guide Assignment 1

Assignment should be no more than 4 pages in length and referenced appropriately. Please
note assignments may be written in first person.

Above questions are answered clearly and succinctly. (30 Marks) 25

Content is in-depth, demonstrating insight and thought. (35 Marks) 30
Assignment reflects course content, readings and viewings to date.
Some integration of theory and models is present. (35 Marks) 25
Good job, you have answered the questions posed clearly with good depth and detail. You have used
some core course content to support your responses though this could be enhanced. There is thought
evident throughout. Your work is organized and written well and cited appropriately.
Thank you for your efforts. 80/100
Adrienne

ASSIGNMENT 1: TRANSITION AND CHANGE

ASSIGNMENT 1: TRANSITION AND CHANGE

References
Blais, K. K., & Hayes, J.S. (2011). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (6
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.