Practicum Journal on Colon Cancer Screening.
A 2 page practicum journal –pls cover these areas-
To explain how you did this and how the number of hours were justified in this review. Did you do an in depth literature search, did you just review a few textbooks, or did you talk with others and get their point of view on areas of concern? What did you do with the information you obtained? How did this activity meet the DNP Essentials?
| Learning Objective(s)/ Goals Addressed | Activities/Comments |
| Goal 2: Week 4-7 Apply leadership behaviors in the practicum experience to foster inter-professional and intra-professional cooperation needed to bring about improved healthcare outcomes | Attend inter-professional team meeting.- discussed colon cancer screening Apply change theory to issues in the practicum setting. Appraise leadership behaviors that are executed for effective inter-professional and intra-professional teams and systems Apply leadership and change theory to implement the generated evidence in the practicum setting. |
- Critically analyze the practicum environment to determine what practices or situations are ineffective or would benefit from change. Assess data and refer to theory as you do this.
Propose a change in the practicum setting related to the translation of evidence into practice at the aggregate level. (Note: You are not required to implement the change, but you should select something that is feasible and appropriate given your practicum setting. You will use this proposed change to gain insights related to planning for and implementing change- I am focusing on instituting a proposed change of replacing colonoscopy as the primary means of colon cancer screening to using the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for elder patients.
Practicum Journal on Colon Cancer Screening
Name:
Institution of Affiliation:
Practicum Journal on Colon Cancer Screening
Week Four
I was able to secure a place in the meeting that was held by top professionals in the department of surgery in the health facility. The interprofessional meeting was to discuss on how to manage any patient who visits the health facility with symptoms of colon cancer. We were discussing the best approach when screening for colon cancer. The deliberations were more on the way forward for screening for the old patients. The nursing professionals were of the opinion that the screening is done using fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for elder patients. For the other professionals especially the radiologists and doctors, they wanted the colonoscopy to be adopted as the standard procedure. It was agreed that a report was needed on both proposals so that an appropriate decision is made.
Week Five
In the fifth week, I was given the task of researching and compiling my findings of the use of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for colon cancer screening by the nursing officer in charge. I visited the relevant departments for information. First I held a meeting with the nursing officer in charge of the whole health facility. I had decided to ask his opinion concerning the best way to screen our old patients for colonic cancer. In his experience as a nurse, he was for the idea that use of fecal occult blood test (FOBT). He said that it was cheaper for the patient and had no compliance issues with the patient. There is no special instrument needed for the procedure, and it does not need a lot of expertise (Quintero et al., 2012). In the following day, I visited the head of the surgery department where I had booked an appointment for an interview. The surgeon agreed that fecal occult blood test (FOBT) cheaper and convenient for both the doctor and the patient. It is also more specific and sensitive method compared to the colonoscopy which depends on the expertise of the doctor performing and reporting it (Siegel, Miller & Jemal., 2015). In the remaining days, I held interviews with the patients who had come for screening especially the old patients. I also reviewed journals concerning colon cancer screening.
Week Six
I held a meeting with all the nursing staff working in the surgery department concerning screening module to be adopted on the first day of the week. I had compiled the report after for all the information I had gotten while researching in week five. I informed the staff that most people preferred fecal occult blood test (FOBT) to colonoscopy when screening for colon cancer. The method is cheaper and has no compliance issues unlike that of colonoscopy. I informed them that even the patients preferred the FOBT to colonoscopy because it is affordable to them and comfortable (Knudsen et al., 2016). The nursing staff led by the nursing officer in charge were happy and adopted the report with a few changes. I was appointed to present the report on behalf of the nursing staff to the entire surgery department.
In the next day, I presented my findings concerning the colon cancer screening method to be adopted by the health facility. I outlined that, it was FOBT that was being preferred by most of my respondents as compared to colonoscopy. FOBT is cheaper and can, therefore, be afforded by most patients who require the screening. In fact, it has no compliance challenges on the part of the patient. Most of the doctors including the surgeons preferred the method. Literature supports the use of FOBT as the most appropriate screening tool for colon cancer, especially for the aged patients (Quintero et al., 2012). Such is due to the high specificity and sensitivity compared to colonoscopy. The report was adopted by the department led by the head of surgery. I was given the task of leading a team that will ensure that a protocol is formulated for use in the facility.
Week Seven
On the seventh day, I led a team that formulated and prepared a protocol that was to be used in the screening of colon cancer by use of FOBT method. After preparing the protocol, we presented it to the head of the surgery department of any corrections. A few corrections were made, and the final copy of the protocol was presented to the hospital management and was adopted. My team was given the task of monitoring the usage of protocol in the screening for three months. I was to a feedback report and any recommendations for improvement.
References
Knudsen, A. B., Zauber, A. G., Rutter, C. M., Naber, S. K., Doria-Rose, V. P., Pabiniak, C.,
… & Kuntz, K. M. (2016). Estimation of benefits, burden, and harms of colorectal cancer screening strategies: modeling study for the US Preventive Services Task Force. Jama, 315(23), 2595-2609
Quintero, E., Castells, A., Bujanda, L., Cubiella, J., Salas, D., Lanas, Á., … & Jover, R.
(2012). Colonoscopy versus fecal immunochemical testing in colorectal-cancer screening. New England Journal of Medicine, 366(8), 697-706.
Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D., & Jemal, A. (2015). Cancer statistics, 2015. CA: a cancer journal
for clinicians, 65(1), 5-29.