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).
