Journal #5 and 6

Weekly Journal Week 5 Focus on Activities This week, I attended the FCM weekly staff meeting with my preceptor and two other assistant supervisors. The supervisors gave a staff announcement regarding upcoming new events and also how the Nurses could get CEU’s for their RN license renewal. My preceptor informed the staff that she was in the process of hiring two new employees and would be starting interviewing a few selected candidates in the next couple of weeks. She asked the staff members if they had any questions or unique experiences in the field that they wished to share with the group. The meeting lasted for couple hours. Later in the afternoon, my preceptor told me that she had to go for a couple of urgent leadership meetings that had just come up that I could not attend. She informed me to review my learning objective and she would review and sign it as soon as she came back from the afternoon meeting. We also had a discussion on a new yearly State quality reviews that would begin the following week for all her programs. She told me she would have me review the PREP program and gave me copies of forms with the items that Illinois State would be considering. We discussed the learning objective, and she gave me a couple comments and I was able to complete it by the end of the day.
Focus on Role Development
Based on my observations, I can say without any fear of contradiction that my preceptor played an important leadership role as a resourceful person in the program. She coordinated all the activities diligently and effectively. She remained composed as the meeting progressed and took control of events.
Focus on Challenges, Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
I felt somehow frustrated this week since I was unable to observe some emergency meetings that my preceptor attended. This was my main challenge in the fifth week.
Focus on Project Progress
By the end of the week, I had selected and finalized the project topic with both my faculty advisor and my preceptor. I reviewed some old postpartum EDPS from old records, and was still doing online research to find evidence based studies for my paper and project. On the following Monday, I will be meeting with the PREEP group and my preceptor to assess the quality review.
Week 6
Focus on Activities
The meetings with my preceptor are usually scheduled for Thursdays. However, this particular one was an exception and we met on Monday, 2/17/2013 since Thursday would be her day off. Besides, she wanted me to join her in her meeting with the PREP group to discuss the upcoming quality review in March. Therefore, we had a very lengthy and fruitful meeting with the PREP program facilitators. There were three other members totaling to five present in the meeting. She kicked off the meeting by introducing me to the group. She informed them of my purpose in the meeting with regards to observation and information gathering. Through the lengthy deliberations, we realized that four of the county PREP program representative did not have a criminal background check record on file. Moreover, part of the requirement for all staff working in the PREP program was a criminal background check, and there had to be a document on file ready for the State representative if they need them. As such, my preceptor contacted the HR regarding the background check, and they agreed to check through their records to see if there was one or if the staff had to go for a new background check before the review. Basically, we went through each item on a 10 page paper sent from the State to ensure that the program was on course and all items on the review were covered. After the discussion on quality review, two program facilitators expressed discomfort at the behavior of some of the children in one of the schools in Waukegan. They complained in the previous week that the children did not concentrate and spent time talking among themselves during the lessons. This was a show of disrespect that should not have been tolerated. When they were asked to remain silent, one child shouted at them claiming that they are not her mother and should not tell her what to do with her life. The preceptor appreciated the facilitators for the good work they were doing. She also reminded the staff to remain focused and passionate in assisting the children since some of them came from broken families with no parental guidance.
Focus on Role Development
Based on my observations, I believe strongly that my preceptor played a fundamental leadership and role in support of the staff and program. She had to coordinate all the activities in order to keep the program running smoothly. Somehow, she managed to remain calm throughout the chaos and supported her staff in a calming manner. She was a good leader who knew how to handle staff frustration and help the clients. Her duties were so stressful that no ordinary person could match. I would find the program needs so stressful personally and have substantial difficulty functioning effectively.
Focus on Challenges, Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
My main challenge during the week was how to get together all the documents for the quality review as I was reading through over ten pages. However, after the meeting, my preceptor told me that she would show me how and where to find most of the review items on the list. Accordingly, my plan for the following week was to go through the form and make a note on the form on what’s on file and what items do we need to work on to get ready.
Focus on Project Progress
I am making some progress on the project. So far, my faculty advisor needs to revise the learning objectives for the project. As such, it is not yet complete. I am in the process of literature review on the EPDS tool and efficient ways of assisting women in the low income community. Besides, I am still reviewing some old postpartum EDPS with my preceptor to help them get ready for their yearly State Quality Review.