My portfolio contains various pieces of work that I have compiled to show my knowledge as a nurse and research capabilities as a professional. Throughout my schooling, WGU has challenged me to produce quality work that will prepare me as a bachelor's-trained leader in the nursing industry. I have had to complete many research projects that forced me to dig deeper into bedside reporting and pressure ulcers and the role we as healthcare providers play in both. I have gained valuable insight into these topics and see ways in which I can help prevent pressure ulcers and reduce errors by reporting at the bedside. I feel that some of my best pieces of work are in included in this portfolio. I was formerly a home health nurse and completed a lot of wound care. I truly love wound care and really took my time in formulating my pressure ulcer proper.  Currently, I sit on my facility's wound care audit committee, so the extra research on various ways to prevent and treat ulcers will greatly assist me in educating my fellow colleagues.
 
     For me, the biggest challenge in completing the program was actually sitting down and getting the work done. I knew going into the program, that this was going to take great time and dedication. I knew that I would have to balance my family priorities, educational commitments, and work in order to be successful. To overcome these obstacles, I had to discipline myself. There were many family events that I was not able to attend because I had to complete assignments and study for test. I had to set date goals in order to complete projects, only to blow them and have to set new ones. I am blessed because my job affords some flexibility, and as a full-time employee I only have to work three days. My boss would try, and schedule me for my three days consecutively so I would have stretches of time off to complete my work.
 
    The Western Governors University has nine program outcomes for the Bachelor's degree plan. I feel that through the many written papers, community projects, and interaction with the staff, I have been able to accomplish meeting the set goals. The list is as follows: 1. Communicate effectively in oral, written, interpersonal and electronic modes. This principle taught me better communication skills. Through the many papers and interactions with my community, I was able to use the communication skills I already possess and increase those. 2. Use clinical reasoning to provide safe, quality, nursing care based on the best available evidence and ethical principles. During my community health rotation, I was able to see evidence based practice in work. I spent countless hours in the cardiac rehabilitation center, and was able to see how stress test work and how the stress on your heart can lead to heart attacks. 3. Assume accountability for providing and ensuring safe, efficient, quality care congruent with ethical, professional and legal standards. I feel that I already performed in this manner. When I set out to be a nurse, I was aware of the ethics and quality of care that I would need to display. 4. Synthesize theoretical, clinical and empirical knowledge from nursing, scientific, community and humanistic disciplines within the practice of nursing. I was able to synthesize theoretical and empirical knowledge by drawing from the arts and sciences to understand the human experience as a social advocate, and professional nurse.  5. Provide compassionate, patient-centered care to individuals, families, and communities from a variety of cultures across the lifespan. I attended several health fairs in which I was able to show compassionate care to the public. I did not care for the same face over and over. Instead, I had to show cultural compassion for the patrons of the fairs. 6. Apply leadership and education skills to engage others in creating and promoting a healing environment for continued self-improvement. This outcome actually fell right in line with my daily duties at work. Several shifts I was called upon to serve as the charge nurse. I also taught at in-services and skills week. In these roles I was able to promote education. 7. Engage in interprofessional collaboration to improve the safety and quality of healthcare. This outcome was also meet by teaching at various skills weeks and in-services. Also serving on the Lean Board committee affords me the opportunity to address issues my colleagues have with management. 8. Incorporate knowledge of genomics and genetics into the care of patients, families and communities. Through the window survey, I was able to examine my community and see the makeup of the town. I have seen how two people could pass on inherited traits to their young.  9. Use information technology to communicate, mitigate error and make decisions related to the provision of patient care and support incorporation of nursing knowledge in the development of patient care technology. The use of technology is prevalent in everything we do. With each stroke of the keyboard for each submit button pushed technology was in play.
 
     There were multiple ways in which I was able to be a scientist, detective, and the manager of the healing environment. During my beginning courses, I was able to play a scientist in clinical microbiology by growing various bacteria in Petri dishes. I was also able to be a public health scientist while scouring my community for information on heart disease. There was plenty of research to be had for my evidenced based practice paper. Collecting ten articles and dissecting the information was along the lines of sleuth work. Managing a healing environment is something that I do daily in my role as a staff nurse in a busy emergency department. I am able to foresee what patients will need based on their presenting complaints. I am able to advocate for them when I feel they need placement, medication, and social work.
 
     With a BSN, the nurse has to think more outside the box, with credible research, leadership, theory, and public health, which will, in turn, make the nurse more of a critical thinker. I feel that the research I have completed, community involvement I have participated in, and leadership opportunity I stepped into at work are all going to make me a more in-depth nurse. I will no longer just be thinking on a horizontal level but a multifaceted level. I will have to think in terms of the whole patient, not just the illness.