Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Professional Development Plan
Laura Maclam
Ferris State University
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Abstract
This paper is the personal professional development plan for Laura Maclam. I will first reflect on
several questions about my current role as a registered nurse. Focusing on how I measure the
quality of care I deliver and what I do to stay current at my level of licensure. I will answer the
question, how do I evaluate what I am doing and what I currently do to help others in my
profession, and I will evaluate how I work as part of an interdisciplinary team. I will review what
I have contributed with research to my current role as a flight nurse and lastly, I will discuss my
review of the nursing code of ethics and how it relates to my current setting. I will briefly
discuss the financial end of the care I provide and how I fit into the spectrum of fiscal
responsibility. The final reflection will reveal what working as a team member is to me and how
I contribute to a healthy work environment. The conclusion of this paper will center on my five
and ten-year goals and what I plan to do in my professional future.
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Professional Development Plan
When I was developing my professional development plan, I first evaluated my current
level of care and the quality of services I am providing. I then looked at my current level of
education and what my future education goals are. I looked at how I interact with other
professionals I work with and asked myself if I was a good team player and do I work in a
collaborative manner? I will explain the answers to these questions and further explore my five
and ten year goals and the plans I have to accomplish these goals. I think one of the most
important areas to focus on is how do you evaluate if you are making strides in reaching your
goals? I will list the benchmarks I think are important in making these goals realities.
How do I currently evaluate the level of care provided is the first question I tackled. I stay
current with my RN and Paramedic license. I am also certified in many advanced areas and
include advanced cardiac life support, neonatal resuscitation courses, advanced trauma courses
and pediatric advanced life support. I used evidenced based research to plan and implement the
care I provide to my patients. I have a strong personal code of ethics and include providing the
same duty to self as I would to others. I attempt to preserve integrity and maintain a safe
environment for my patients. I work to enhance professional growth and look for opportunities to
grow from every situation.
I next looked at my current education level and what I am doing to stay current in my
specialty. I am an American Heart Association instructor for Advanced Cardiac Life Support
(ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) instructor. I am required to teach two
classes in two years for each certification and I am certified in Neonatal Advanced Life Support
(NRP) and recertify every three years. I hold a Michigan registered nurse license and a state of
Michigan Paramedic license and I am required to obtain continuing education credits to stay
current and relicense. I attend a conference every year and I alternate between the Michigan
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EMS conference sponsored by the Michigan association of EMT’s (MAEMT) and the critical
care transport conference for helicopter emergency medical services personnel. This conference
is presented by the Air Surface and Transport Nursing Association (ASTNA), an organization I
am a current member of. I attend a trauma course every three years sponsored by the
International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) association to stay current with trauma care standards.
As an instructor of ACLS and PALS am often sought after to help new instructors learn the ropes
of teaching and how to us the high fidelity equipment available in the simulation lab. I have a
strong sense of collaboration and I firmly believe we need to support each other in all disciplines
and promote a healthy learning environment.
Using the standards set forth by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) I evaluate
what I am currently do in my practice. I hold myself to the standards set forth by the ENA. These
standards include the integration of using the nursing process and consistently applying ethical
principles that demonstrate honesty, integrity and respect to all patients and other staff (ENA). I
proactively engage in personal and professional growth. Currently I am obtaining my Bachelors
of Science degree from Ferris State University. I believe having a higher degree with help me
grow in my profession and looking ahead to the expected societal challenges including
demographic changes, environmental deterioration, the need to prepare for large scale public
health disasters, unhealthy lifestyles and a rise in chronic illness and how these influences are
expected to have a major effect on the nursing profession (Chitty, 2011). I am preparing to study
for my Certified Flight Nurse Exam test to be taken this summer. This is a specialty certification
awarded to flight nurses who have passed a standardized written exam. This exam is sponsored
by the Certified Air Medical Transportation Services board (CAMTS).
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I next looked at what I currently do in my practice to help others in my profession. In
addition to teaching ACLS and PALS, I have developed and proposed a new continuing
education system at Aero Med. I proposed bi monthly educational offerings focused on the areas
of care we have the highest frequency in our specialty. I have worked with another nurse to apply
for continuing education credits to be awarded for both RN and Paramedic credits. Having
education available, on site, and free is one way to build stronger relationships and foster
teamwork. I continually seek support from my peers and ask for constructive criticism in ways I
can improve my performance. Working in this very autonomous area of medicine we need to
daily show support for each other.
Working as part of an interdisciplinary team is the key to success when working as an
emergency care nurse. I continually seek ways to support and promote other disciplines. From
showing support on scene to the fire department involved in a lengthy extrication or saying thank
you to the security departments at rural hospitals for making our landing zone s safe. It can
require a large coordinated effort to arrange the transport of a patient I am asked to care for.
Within our hospital we have a strong and supportive relationship with Spectrum Direct, the
department responsible for helping coordinate care and arranging for transportation. We often
utilize many services including pharmacy, the neonatal transport team and the emergency room
physicians to assist with care guidelines. It is vital to maintain a commitment to quality and
safety to transport patients to the highest level of care needed.
After reviewing the American Nurses Association, code of ethics, I believe I am most
strongly guided by provision number three. This provision states:” the nurse promotes, advocates
for, and strives to protect the health, safety and rights of the patient” (Chitty, 2011). Working in
the very independent environment that flight nursing is, it is important to always put the patient
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and the patients’ rights first. We are often the only voice a patient has. It is my duty to act in the
best interest of the patient; I strive to protect the health and safety of every patient. We are often
asked to move patients away from the communities they live in and the support they have in
place, this can have a negative impact on both the patient and the patients’ family. I work to
assure each patient transfer is necessary and explain the services the patient will be receiving at
the receiving facility and attempt to explain the necessity for these services. I also make sure the
family has a map and driving directions. I attempt to get a contact number and call the family
after we have transported the patient safely. Moving a critically ill patient away from family can
be a very traumatic experience and I make every effort to make this a smooth transition.
I next explored the question about research in my current specialty. I attended a critical
care transport conference in 2011 and I was impressed by one of the topics discussing the
amount of movement to an endotracheal tube in a pediatric patient whose head was not
immobilized. I returned from this conference and researched the studies cited in this conference
session and I presented this information to our medical director. I also included my
recommendations that all intubated pediatric patients have their head immobilized for transport.
This information was well received and our current practice parameters now state any pediatric
patient who is intubated, should be secured to a long backboard or a pedi-board. Many of the
practice parameters we follow are based on scientific research.
We are continually referring and transporting patients to other specialties. In the
specialty care area I work in we are one of the first steps in moving a patient to the higher level
of care they require. When asking the question about being cost effective, it is not a primary
concern at the phase of care we are providing. We are involved in the first steps of patient care,
we do not discharge patients and we are continually asked to transport patients to the highest
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level of care available. Many of the patients we transport would not survive if not transported.
This higher level of care comes with a higher cost.
Being a contributor to a healthy work environment is vital in my opinion. I continually
look for ways to promote the services we provide. I show support to our dispatch services by
providing feedback and making suggestions on ways to improve, I embrace the idea of a healthy
work environment and I actively seek ways to motivate others to do a better job. I attempt to
foster teamwork by making myself available to answer questions or give assistance when
needed. I make every attempt to make the environment I work in an area that promotes growth
and professional nursing. I also maintain my membership in three professional organizations. I
am a current member of the Michigan Association of EMT’s, Air Surface and Transport Nurses
Association, and the Emergency Nurses Association. I am also a current instructor for the
American Heart Association. I believe being a part of professional nursing organizations is vital
to the growth of our profession.
Looking forward and planning my ten and five year goals is something I enjoy doing. I
am a very goal orientated person and I like to keep schedules. I am currently enrolled in the
RN-BSN online course at Ferris State University. After this semester is complete, in May 2013, I
will have five more classes to complete my degree. My current plan is to take one class this
summer, two classes this fall and then follow the recommendations from my advisor about the
remaining two classes. I have been advised to take one class at a time; the last two classes have
large projects due in them and require a large amount of work. My intention is to graduate with
my bachelors of science in nursing degree in the summer of 2014.
I have plans to attend Graduate school after I complete my BSN. I have looked at many
different programs and have recently learned that many nurse practitioner programs are moving
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toward a Doctoral degree. I would like to apply and enroll in a family nurse practitioner program
as early and next spring. The outlook for the nurse practitioner role looks good, “ as mainstream
providers in a variety of healthcare settings is continually expanding, and employers are
continuing to recognize the value of NPs as providers of cost-effective, personalized,
patient-centered care, the future for NP jobs has never looked better!" (Ford, 2012).
Michigan State University offers a family nurse practitioner program; they have a fall
start each year. The program requires three letters of recommendation and an application with
the school of nursing, they require an accumulated GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last two years of
the BSN program and a BSN degree from an accredited college (“Michigan State University,
School of Nursing: NP Admissions”).
In five years I would like to be a licensed family nurse practitioner (NP). I have asked
myself what I would like to do with this license and I have many ideas. I do not think I would
like to work in emergency medicine. At Aero Med we have often discussed using a mid level
provider instead of a flight physician. We currently have three NP’s that work as flight nurses
and this would be an easy transition to using them as a flight team configuration. I cannot see the
future and believe I need to plan in another direction if this never becomes a reality. I would like
to work with healthy patients. I would like to research working with a family practice physician
or maybe a women’s health specialists. In ten years I will be in my mid fifties and I would like to
be established as a nurse practitioner. I would like to be able to work three or four days a week
and have strong patient/client base.
Having a strong evaluation process to make sure I am on track and meeting my goals is
important to me. I write my major goals on a large piece of paper and keep this posted in my
office. I look at it often and understand that there is room for movement. When I first set my
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current education goals I was driven to take three classes each semester, I am currently
completing my second semester of three classes and I have made some adjustments to
accommodate my family and my work schedule. I need to have balance and taking three classes
each semester is a heavy load for me. I also check with my family and my husband and seek
reassurance that our family’s’ needs are being met.
In conclusion, as I acquire more education and build my self-confidence I will be able to
further my development of collaborative relationships with other nurses, physicians, and other
care team members. I strongly believe that the nursing profession is profoundly affected by the
rapidly changing world and having the ability to grow with these changes will be vital to my
future success as a professional nurse. I believe nurses with continue to provide a warm and
humanizing influence on patient care and I am proud to part of this profession.
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References
American Nurses Association (ANA) Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice, 2010
Ford, J. (2012, January 3). The 2012 job outlook for NP”s and PA’s. retrieved April 2013, from
Advances for NP’s and PA’s:https://nurse-practitioners-and-physicianssistants.advanceweb.com/features/articles/the-2012-job-outlook-for-nps-pas.aspx
Michigan State University, School of Nursing: NP Admissions. (n.d.). Retrieved
from:http://www.nursing.msu.edu/MSN%20Programs/Nurse%20Practitioner%20Concen
tration/NP%20Admissions.htm
O'Sullivan, A. (2010). Scope and standards of practice: Nursing. Maryland: Nursesbooks.org.