Living in a community with a large Hispanic population means I often meet language barriers with my patients. Although I have access to a language line device, I want to be able to converse with them and gain that rapport like I do with my other patients. When language barriers exist between the nurse and patient it limits the patient from joint decision making, understanding instructions, and engaging in self-management (Diamond et al., 2011). My next goal is to learn to speak Spanish. Along with achieving my BSN, learning Spanish has been a goal of mine for years. This way I will be a better advocate, provide better education, and provide more personal care to my Spanish speaking patients.  

I also plan to stay at the rural hospital I have been employed at for the past 16 years. My coworkers are like family to me and so are many of our patients. Working in a small facility is so personal, and teamwork is essential. We put our hearts into our work and constantly strive to make improvements. The article in our required reading talked about how rural areas tend to have less health resources and less staff. Therefore, when nurses leave, they are not easy to replace (Edmonson et al., 2017).  

I have seen many innovations at this facility in the past 16 years. I would like to continue to be a part of its growth. I am currently on the Nursing Informatics Committee. Electronic health records, order entry, and documentation systems have grown by leaps and bounds since I began nursing 20 years ago. There is always room for improvement to make it more efficient or to flow better. It is important to get input from the ones who use the systems the most (nurses, MDs, techs, surgeons) to make those continued improvements. In my experience with certain systems, it seemed like they were not designed by nurses or staff that even used them.  

References: 

Diamond,T., Tuot, D., Karliner, L. (2011). The use of Spanish language skills by physicians and nurses: Policy implications for teaching and testing. Journal of General Internal Medicine: JGIM, 27(1), 117-123. The use of Spanish language skills by physicians and nurses: policy implica…: EBSCOhost (oclc.org)Links to an external site. 

Edmonson, C., McCarthy, D., Trent-Adams, S., McCain, C., & Marshall, J. (2017). Emerging global health issues: A nurse's role (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(1), 1-13