Assignment 2: Clinical Skills Self-Assessment

Ariel Cordova Lopez

Walden University

PRAC 6645: Psychotherapy with Multiple Modalities Practicum

Dr. Suhad Sadik

June 4, 2022

PMHNP PRAC 6645 Clinical Skills

Self-Assessment Form

Desired Clinical Skills

for Students to Achieve

Confident

(Can complete

independently)

Mostly

confident (Can

complete with

supervision)

Beginning

(Have

performed with

supervision or

need

supervision to

feel confident)

New (Have

never

performed or

does not apply)

Comprehensive psychiatric evaluation skills in:

Recognizing clinical

signs and symptoms of

psychiatric illness across

the lifespan

Mostly

confident

Differentiating between

pathophysiological and

psychopathological

conditions

Mostly

confident

Performing and

interpreting a

comprehensive and/or

interval history and

physical examination

(including laboratory and

diagnostic studies)

Mostly

confident

Performing and

interpreting a mental

status examination

Mostly

confident

Performing and

interpreting a

psychosocial assessment

and family psychiatric

history

Beginning

Performing and

interpreting a functional

assessment (activities of

daily living,

occupational, social,

leisure, educational).

Mostly

confident

Diagnostic reasoning skill in:

Developing and

prioritizing a differential

diagnoses list

Confident

Formulating diagnoses

according to DSM 5

Confident

based on assessment

data

Differentiating between

normal/abnormal age-

related physiological and

psychological

symptoms/changes

Confident

Pharmacotherapeutic skills in:

Selecting appropriate

evidence based clinical

practice guidelines for

medication plan (e.g.,

risk/benefit, patient

preference,

developmental

considerations, financial,

the process of informed

consent, symptom

management)

Mostly

confident

Evaluating patient

response and modify plan

as necessary

Mostly

confident

Documenting (e.g.,

adverse reaction, the

patient response, changes

to the plan of care)

Mostly

confident

Psychotherapeutic Treatment Planning:

Recognizes concepts of

therapeutic modalities

across the lifespan

Mostly

confident

Selecting appropriate

evidence based clinical

practice guidelines for

psychotherapeutic plan

(e.g., risk/benefit, patient

preference,

developmental

considerations, financial,

the process of informed

consent, symptom

management, modality

appropriate for situation)

Beginning

Applies age appropriate

psychotherapeutic

counseling techniques

Confident

with individuals,

families, and/or groups

Develop an age

appropriate

individualized plan of

care

Mostly

confident

Provide psychoeducation

to individuals, family,

and/or groups

Mostly

confident

Promote health and

disease prevention

techniques

Confident

Self-Assessment skills:

Develop SMART goals

for practicum

experiences

Confident

Evaluating outcomes of

practicum goals and

modify plan as

necessary

Confident

Documenting and

reflecting on learning

experiences

Confident

Professional skills:

Maintains professional

boundaries and

therapeutic relationship

with clients and staff

Confident

Collaborate with multi-

disciplinary teams to

improve clinical practice

in mental health settings

Confident

Identifies ethical and

legal dilemmas with

possible resolutions

Confident

Demonstrates non-

judgmental practice

approach and empathy

Mostly

confident

Practices within scope of

practice

Confident

Selecting and implementing appropriate screening instrument(s), interpreting results, and

making recommendations and referrals:

Demonstrates selecting

the correct screening

instrument appropriate

for the clinical situation

Mostly

confident

Implements the screening

instrument efficiently

and effectively with the

clients

Mostly

confident

Interprets results for

screening instruments

accurately

Mostly

confident

Develops an appropriate

plan of care based upon

screening instruments

response

Confident

Identifies the need to

refer to another specialty

provider when applicable

Confident

Accurately documents

recommendations for

psychiatric consultations

when applicable

Confident

Summary of strengths:

There are many strengths that I can implement a PMHNP. One of my skills is communication

that is needed for team management. Effective communication is important since it builds

teamwork and empathy that is needed for sharing information when interacting with patients.

Information sharing is the basis of improving patient care and overall safety. I need to have

proper communication skills that will help in effective communication that will help avoid

potential medical errors. Possessing appropriate communication skills creates positive

relationship between patients, their families and the caregivers. Patients need to understand that

the caregiver is focused on addressing their prevailing health problem, through educating the

patient, and promoting trust between the patient and the caregiver. Possessing strong

communication skills has been an important strength that will help in patient education, discuss

the prevailing health problem, and help in development of treatment plans that best addresses the

health challenge of the patient. As a caregiver, I need to clearly communicate with the patient’s

family about the treatment plans and how they should best offer care to them (Demir & Ercan,

2018).

On the other hand, identification of signs and symptoms that characterize a clinical problem is

important for offering quality care. Having undergone different practicum experience

assessments, I have gained a vast knowledge in assessing patients with mental health problems.

One of the best ways of detecting symptoms of a mental health issue is to establish whether a

patient has a mental health issue to evaluate if they are withdrawn from their normal activities.

This is important because it helps in recommendation of the right course treatment (Van et al.,

2018). It is important to maintain a professional relationship during a therapeutic process to avoid

development of any emotions that may distract the treatment plan.

Finally, I also hold important competencies in ensuring the legal guidelines that guide a

therapeutic relationship is key to achievement of the end goal. Adhering to the professional code

of ethics is instrumental in creating a therapeutic relationship that will promote the best patient

outcomes. Ensuring the patient gets the best course of treatment is one of my practice goals

irrespective of their gender race or socioeconomic status. Moreover, treating the patient with

dignity is one of my values in my clinical practice and will ensure the patients get the best

treatment and quality care for all.

Opportunities for growth:

Meeting patient needs is an instrumental requirement for healthcare professionals. The areas that

I need to improve is how to create a learning relationship that fosters the ability to conduct an

assessment and interpret the results. When conducting a psychological assessment, it is important

to have appropriate analysis so that it becomes easier to recommend the right course of treatment.

Also, conducting a background assessment of the patient is important because it aids in accurate

diagnosis (Van et al., 2018).

Another opportunity for growth as a nurse practitioner is conducting an interview without

offending a patient. Effective therapeutic relationship is based on concise and clear

communication that helps in unmasking the problem and understanding the potential problem

that is leading to the problem. Such competencies could help develop appropriate therapy and

plan of care that addresses the problem based on the specific symptoms.

Membership to professional nursing associations is another opportunity that would help in

improving my competencies as a nurse. Organization like American Nursing Association creates

a network of professionals and avail resources that would help in professional growth and

practice experience that is needed for effective dispensation of nursing duties. A nursing

professional will interact with professionals with varied experiences and avail resources that

promotes overall career growth (Haddad & Geiger, 2018).

I also need to work various organizations such as rehabilitation centers because they provide

excellent volunteering opportunities to work with patients with different mental problems, which

will help build my professional experience. Understanding different mental health problems is a

springboard to skills development and at the same time help patients that cannot afford mental

health treatments since they are expensive.

Finally, I need to understand the role of modern technology in the creation of effective

therapeutic relationship. Technology also plays a central role in clinical research, which is also an

important aspect of clinical practice and effective patient care. This is also important in utilization

of evidence-based practice and dynamics in mental healthcare.

Goals and Objectives:

1. Goal: Promote communication between caregiver and patient for effective therapeutic

relationship.

a. Objective: use available tools to foster communication with the patient.

b. Objective: Enhance communication between patient and their families.

c. Objective: Promote a relationship of trust with patients through communication.

2. Goal: Ensure adherence to ethical standards of nursing practice.

a. Objective: Ensure patients are addressed with dignity to promote information sharing.

b. Objective: Respect cultural values and beliefs and avoid any form of bias in clinical

practice.

c. Objective: Apply provisions of ethical standards in providing patient care.

3. Goal: Acquire skills that promotes an effective psychotherapeutic

a. Objective: develop clinical assessment skills to identify the right condition.

b. Objective: Learn different approaches of conducting a psychological assessment.

c. Objective: Interpret assessment results and offer appropriate diagnosis based on

symptoms.

Signature:

Date: June 4, 2022

Course/Section: PRAC 6645: Psychotherapy with Multiple Modalities Practicum

References

Demir, S., & Ercan, F. (2018). The first clinical practice experiences of psychiatric nursing

students: A phenomenological study. Nurse Education Today, 61, 146-152.

Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2018). Nursing ethical considerations.

Van Leeuwen, E., Petrovic, M., van Driel, M. L., De Sutter, A. I., Vander Stichele, R., Declercq,

T., & Christiaens, T. (2018). Withdrawal versus continuation of long‐term antipsychotic

drug use for behavioural and psychological symptoms in older people with

dementia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (3).