Master of Science in Nursing   Practicum Experience Plan Overview: Your Practicum experience includes working in a clinical setting that will help you gain the knowledge and skills needed as an advanced practice nurse. In your practicum experience, you will develop a practicum plan that sets forth objectives to frame and guide your practicum experience. As part of your Practicum Experience Plan, you will not only plan for your learning in your practicum experience but also work through various patient visits with focused notes as well as one (1) journal entry. Complete each section below. Part 1: Quarter/Term/Year and Contact Information Section A Quarter/Term/Year: StudentContact Information Name: Street Address: City, State, Zip: Home Phone: Work Phone: Cell Phone: Fax: E-mail: PreceptorContact Information Name: Organization: Street Address: City, State, Zip: Work Phone: Cell Phone: Fax: Professional/Work E-mail: Part 2: Individualized Practicum Learning Objectives Refer to the instructions in Week 2 to create individualized practicum learning objectives that meet the requirements for this course. These objectives should be aligned specifically to your Practicum experience. Your objectives should address your self-assessment of the skills found in the “PMHNP Clinical Skills Self-Assessment Form” you completed in Week 1. As you develop your individualized practicum learning objective, be sure to write them using the SMART format. Use the resources found in Week 2 to guide your development. Once you review your resources, continue and complete the following. Note: Please make sure each of your objectives are connected to your self-assessment. Also, consider that you will need to demonstrate how you are advancing your knowledge in the clinical specialty. ** YOU MUST HAVE 3 NEW OBJECTIVES EACH QUARTER. You may include previous practicum objectives; however, you still must have 3 new objectives for your current course. Objective 1: <write your objective here> (Note: this objective should relate to a specific skill you would like to improve from your self-assessment) Planned Activities: Mode of Assessment: (Note: Verification will be documented in Meditrek) PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed: · (for example) Develop professional plans in advanced nursing practice for the practicum experience · (for example) Assess advanced practice nursing skills for strengths and opportunities  Objective 2: <write your objective here> (Note: this objective should relate to a specific skill you would like to improve from your self-assessment) Planned Activities: Mode of Assessment: (Note: Verification will be documented in Meditrek) PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed: · Objective 3: <write your objective here> (Note: this objective should relate to a specific skill you would like to improve from your self-assessment) Planned Activities: Mode of Assessment: (Note: Verification wi ...

1. Master of Science in Nursing
Practicum Experience Plan
Overview:
Your Practicum experience includes working in a clinical
setting that will help you gain the knowledge and skills needed
as an advanced practice nurse. In your practicum experience,
you will develop a practicum plan that sets forth objectives to
frame and guide your practicum experience.
As part of your Practicum Experience Plan, you will not only
plan for your learning in your practicum experience but also
work through various patient visits with focused notes as well
as one (1) journal entry.
Complete each section below.
Part 1: Quarter/Term/Year and Contact Information
Section A
Quarter/Term/Year:
StudentContact Information
Name:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Home Phone:
Work Phone:

2. Cell Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
PreceptorContact Information
Name:
Organization:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Fax:
Professional/Work E-mail:
Part 2: Individualized Practicum Learning Objectives
Refer to the instructions in Week 2 to create individualized
practicum learning objectives that meet the requirements for
this course. These objectives should be aligned specifically to
your Practicum experience. Your objectives should address your
self-assessment of the skills found in the “PMHNP Clinical
Skills Self-Assessment Form” you completed in Week 1.
As you develop your individualized practicum learning
objective, be sure to write them using the SMART format. Use
the resources found in Week 2 to guide your development. Once
you review your resources, continue and complete the
following. Note: Please make sure each of your objectives are
connected to your self-assessment. Also, consider that you will
need to demonstrate how you are advancing your knowledge in
the clinical specialty.

3. ** YOU MUST HAVE 3 NEW OBJECTIVES EACH
QUARTER. You may include previous practicum objectives;
however, you still must have 3 new objectives for your current
course.
Objective 1: <write your objective here> (Note: this objective
should relate to a specific skill you would like to improve from
your self-assessment)
Planned Activities:
Mode of Assessment: (Note: Verification will be documented in
Meditrek)
PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed:
· (for example) Develop professional plans in advanced nursing
practice for the practicum experience
· (for example) Assess advanced practice nursing skills for
strengths and opportunities
Objective 2: <write your objective here> (Note: this objective
should relate to a specific skill you would like to improve from
your self-assessment)
Planned Activities:
Mode of Assessment: (Note: Verification will be documented in
Meditrek)
PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed:
·
Objective 3: <write your objective here> (Note: this objective
should relate to a specific skill you would like to improve from

4. your self-assessment)
Planned Activities:
Mode of Assessment: (Note: Verification will be documented in
Meditrek)
PRAC Course Outcome(s) Addressed:
·
Part 3: Projected Timeline/Schedule
Estimate how many hours you expect to work on your Practicum
each week. *Note: All of your hours and activities must be
supervised by your Preceptor and completed onsite. Your
Preceptor will approve all hours, but your activities will be
approved by both your Preceptor and Instructor. Any changes to
this plan must be approved.
This timeline is intended as a planning tool; your actual
schedule may differ from the projections you are making now.
I intend to complete the 144 or 160 Practicum hours (as
applicable) according to the following timeline/schedule. I also
understand that I must see at least 80 patients during my
practicum experience. I understand that I may not complete my
practicum hours sooner than 8 weeks. I understand I may not be
in the practicum setting longer than 8 hours per day unless pre-
approved by my faculty.
Number of Clinical Hours Projected for Week (hours you are in
Practicum Setting at your Field Site)

5. Number of Weekly Hours for Professional Development (these
are not practicum hour)
Number of Weekly Hours for Practicum Coursework (these are
not practicum hours)
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

6. Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Total Hours (must meet the following requirements)
144 or 160 Hours
Part 4 - Signatures
Student Signature (electronic): Date:
Practicum Faculty Signature (electronic)**:
Date:
** Faculty signature signifies approval of Practicum Experience
Plan (PEP)
Submit your Practicum Experience Plan on or before Day 7 of
Week 2 for faculty review and approval.

7. Once approved, you will receive a copy of the PEP for your
records. You must share an approved copy with your Preceptor.
The Preceptor is not required to sign this form.
© 2020 Walden University 3
Master of Science in Nursing
© 20
20
Walden University
1
Practicum Experience Plan
Overview:
Your Practicum experience includes

8. working in
a clinical setting that will help you gain the
knowledge and skills needed as an advanced practice nurse. In
your practicum experience
,
you will develop a practicum plan that sets forth objectives
to
frame
and guide
your
practicum experience.
As part of your Practicum
Experience
Plan, you will not only plan for your learning in your
practicum experience but also work through various
patient
visits with focused notes
as
well as
one
(
1
) journal
entry
.
Complete
each section

9. below
.
Part
1
:
Quarter
/
Term
/Year
and Contact Information
Section A
Quarter
/Term
/Year
:
Student
Contact Information
Name:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:

10. Home
P
hone:
Work
P
hone:
Cell
P
hone:
Fax:
E
-
mail:
Preceptor
Contact Information
Name:
Organization:

11. Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Work
P
hone:
Cell
P
hone:
Fax:
Professional/Work
E
-
mail:
Master of Science in Nursing
© 2020 Walden University 1

12. Practicum Experience Plan
Overview:
Your Practicum experience includes working in a clinical
setting that will help you gain the
knowledge and skills needed as an advanced practice nurse. In
your practicum experience,
you will develop a practicum plan that sets forth objectives to
frame and guide your
practicum experience.
As part of your Practicum Experience Plan, you will not only
plan for your learning in your
practicum experience but also work through various patient
visits with focused notes as
well as one (1) journal entry.
Complete each section below.
Part 1: Quarter/Term/Year and Contact Information
Section A
Quarter/Term/Year:
Student Contact Information
Name:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Home Phone:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Fax:

13. E-mail:
Preceptor Contact Information
Name:
Organization:
Street Address:
City, State, Zip:
Work Phone:
Cell Phone:
Fax:
Professional/Work E-mail:
Assignment 2: Practicum Experience Plan (PEP)
As you establish your goals and objectives for this course, you
are committing to an organized plan that will frame your
practicum experience in a clinical setting, including planned
activities, assessment, and achievement of defined outcomes. In
particular, they must address the categories of clinical
reasoning, quality in your clinical specialty, and interpersonal
collaborative practice.
For this Assignment, you will consider the areas you aim to
focus on to gain practical experience as an advanced practice
nurse. Then, you will develop a Practicum Experience Plan
(PEP) containing the objectives you will fulfill in order to
achieve your aims. In this practicum experience, when
developing your goals and objectives, be sure to keep
psychiatric assessment and diagnostic reasoning in mind.
To Prepare

14. · Review your Clinical Skills Self-Assessment Form you
submitted last week (See attached document) and think about
areas for which you would like to gain application-level
experience and/or continued growth as an advanced practice
nurse. How can your experiences in the Practicum help you
achieve these aims?
· Your practicum learning objectives that you want to achieve
during your Practicum experience must be:
· Specific
· Measurable
· Attainable
· Results-focused
· Time-bound
· Reflective of the higher-order domains of Bloom’s taxonomy
(i.e., application level and above)
Note: Please make sure your objectives are outlined in your
Practicum Experience Plan (PEP). (Attached document)
Assignment 2: Practicum
Experience
Plan
(PEP)
As you establish your goals and objectives for this course, you
are committing to an
organized plan that will frame your practicum experience in a
clinical setting, including
planned activities, assessment, and achievement of defined
outcomes. In particula
r, they

15. must address the categories of clinical reasoning, quality in
your clinical specialty, and
interpersonal collaborative practice.
For this Assignment, you will consider the areas you aim to
focus on to gain practical
experience as an advanced pract
ice nurse. Then, you will develop a Practicum Experience
Plan (PEP) containing the objectives you will fulfill in order to
achieve your aims.
In
this
practicum experience, when developing your goals and
objectives, be sure to keep
psychiatric assessment an
d diagnostic reasoning in mind.
To Prepare
·
Review your Clinical Skills Self
-
Assessment Form you submitted last week
(See
attached do
cument)
and think about areas for which you would like to gain
application

16. -
level experience and/or continued growth as an advanced
practice
nurse.
How can your experiences in the Practicum help you achieve
these aims?
·
Your practicum
learning objectives that you want to achieve during your
Practicum
experience must be:
o
Specific
o
Measurable
o
Attainable

17. o
Results
-
focused
o
Time
-
bound
o
Reflective of the higher
-
order domains of Bloom’s taxonomy (i.e., application
level and above)
Note
: Please make sure your objectives are outlined in your
Practicum E
xperience Plan
(PEP).
(Attached
document)

18. Assignment 2: Practicum
Experience Plan (PEP)
As you establish your goals and objectives for this course, you
are committing to an
organized plan that will frame your practicum experience in a
clinical setting, including
planned activities, assessment, and achievement of defined
outcomes. In particular, they
must address the categories of clinical reasoning, quality in
your clinical specialty, and
interpersonal collaborative practice.
For this Assignment, you will consider the areas you aim to
focus on to gain practical
experience as an advanced practice nurse. Then, you will
develop a Practicum Experience
Plan (PEP) containing the objectives you will fulfill in order to
achieve your aims. In this
practicum experience, when developing your goals and
objectives, be sure to keep
psychiatric assessment and diagnostic reasoning in mind.
To Prepare
-Assessment Form you
submitted last week (See
attached document) and think about areas for which you would
like to gain
application-level experience and/or continued growth as an
advanced practice
nurse. How can your experiences in the Practicum help you
achieve these aims?
learning objectives that you want to achieve

19. during your Practicum
experience must be:
o Specific
o Measurable
o Attainable
o Results-focused
o Time-bound
o Reflective of the higher-order domains of Bloom’s taxonomy
(i.e., application
level and above)
Note: Please make sure your objectives are outlined in your
Practicum Experience Plan
(PEP). (Attached document)
10
Self-assessment of Clinical Skills
Ariel Cordova Lopez
Walden University
PRAC 6635: Psychopathogy and Diagnostic Reasoning
Practicum
Dr. Brandy Benson
March 05, 2022
Introduction
According to the American Association of Nurse
Practitioners, NPs are licensed clinicians with a doctorate or
master's education who provide advanced health care to clients
in collaboration with other health care professionals. Clinical
training is an educational module that provides psychiatric

20. mental health nurse practitioners an opportunity to assess,
diagnose, and treat patients with mental and behavioral
disorders. Clinical training offers PMHNP with essential skills
to undertake their job functions. The clinical assessment form
identifies and discusses my strengths and weaknesses
concerning clinical skills. During the practicum experience,
goals and objectives are necessary to maintain focus throughout
the experience (Kleinpell et al., 2018).
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
Confident

21. 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
Beginning
Performing and interpreting a
psychosocial assessment and
family psychiatric history
Mostly confident
Performing and interpreting a
functional assessment
(activities of daily living,
occupational, social, leisure,
educational).

22. Mostly confident
Diagnostic reasoning skill in:
Demonstrate knowledge of
psychopathology of mental
illnesses through discussion
for different age groups and
mental illnesses
Beginning
Developing and prioritizing a
differential diagnoses list
Beginning
Formulating diagnoses
according to DSM 5 based on
assessment data
Beginning
Differentiating between
normal/abnormal age-related
physiological and
psychological
symptoms/changes

23. Beginning
Psychotherapeutic
Treatment Planning
Provide psychoeducation to
individuals and/or any
caregivers
Beginning
Promote health and disease
prevention techniques
Mostly confident
Self-Assessment skill:
Develop SMART goals for
practicum experiences
Mostly confident
Evaluating outcomes of
practicum goals and modify
plan as necessary

24. Mostly confident
Documenting and reflecting
on learning experiences
Mostly confident
Professional skills:
Maintains professional
boundaries and therapeutic
relationship with clients and
staff
Confident
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to improve
clinical practice in mental health settings
Confident
Identifies ethical and legal
dilemmas with possible
resolutions
Confident

25. Demonstrates nonjudgmental practice
approach and empathy
Confident
Practices within scope of
practice
Confident
Selecting and implementing
appropriate screening
instrument(s) and
interpreting results:
Demonstrates selecting the
correct screening instrument
appropriate for the clinical
situation
Beginning
Implements the screening
instrument efficiently and
effectively with the clients
Beginning
Interprets results for

26. screening instruments
accurately
Beginning
Identifies the need to refer to
another specialty provider
when applicable
Beginning
Accurately documents
recommendations for
psychiatric consultations
when applicable
Mostly confident
Summary of strengths
Patient-centered care is my greatest strength during my
daily routines with my patients. my patient-centered approach
enables me to obtain relevant historical information and
perform a complete physical and mental status exam. My
culturally competent communication methods make me aware of
patients' empathic interview techniques. Patient-centered care
enables a nurse practitioner to treat clients with respect and
dignity. Another strength is delivering personalized and
supportive care to my clients (Chambers & Ryder 2018). Over
the years, I gained experience maintaining a positive attitude
while communicating with patients to avoid annoying them.
Empathic interview techniques allow me to perform a

27. comprehensive examination of patients to develop an accurate
diagnosis of their condition. To maintain these skills, I practice
them daily in community health clinics and medical wards. I can
describe the variations in the patient presentation according to
age and cultural background.
Another essential skill that is quite beneficial to me is
recognizing and making recommendations on the possible use of
psychotropic drugs. I usually embrace a warm demeanor during
my interactions with my patients, which is essential in obtaining
historical data from multiple sources. I have a complete
understanding of each component of the mental status exam
which enables me to describe common abnormalities and their
causes. The principle of communication has allowed me to
conduct myself professionally and be more empathetic to accept
criticism and learn from my mistakes. Documentation is another
notable strength that I utilize to note down clinical findings,
diagnoses, and clinical reasoning. At times, laboratory findings
may be unavailable; hence, I use my communication skills to
obtain information with the patient and other professionals. My
multifaceted skill sets have been an immense help, especially in
the early identification of psychopathology symptoms.
Opportunities for growth
I need to develop more interview techniques for
challenging situations, such as dealing with hostile, potentially
assaultive, and cognitively impaired patients. There are many
complications when it comes to diagnosing mental and
behavioral disorders. Most psychological and
pathophysiological disorders are challenging to diagnose
because they require extensive knowledge; hence I need to gain
a more comprehensive understanding and better my assessment
skills. I need to focus on psychopathological differential
diagnosis in that it becomes my priority. Another area of
improvement is distinguishing between psychopathology and
pathophysiology since they are two broad fields that require
more profound understanding. The mental diagnosis process is
lengthy in that it begins with the conduction of a physical

28. examination of the patient (Phillips, 2020).
A mental status examination is then done, followed by a
psychological assessment to do away with differential diagnosis
to arrive at an accurate psychosocial diagnosis. Over the years
that I have been caring for patients with behavioral disorders, it
goes unnoticed that psychopathological diagnosis and treatment
require in-depth knowledge and assessment skills. As a result,
most diagnostic tests are unreliable during diagnosing
psychopathological diseases. I need to widen my know ledge of
psychopathological conditions to improve these weaknesses. I
have to take advantage of every opportunity during the clinical
rotations to apply the acquired knowledge. I also have a
liability in the performance and interpretation of mental status
examinations. I have to embark on vigorous clinical practice
sessions to boost my experience in the interpretation of mental
status examinations. Another way to improve my knowledge at
the clinical sites is by continuous practice and personal and
professional development. The newly acquired skills will
encourage the provision of evidence-based and patient-based
care as PMHNP (Price & Reichert, 2017).
Possible Goals and objectives
1. Goal: Incorporate knowledge on clinical reasoning and
differential diagnosis
a) Objective: Identify signs and symptoms predisposing to any
psychopathological disorder
b) Objective: understand basic test outcomes and other
professional reports
c) Objective: Develop differential diagnosis of some clients
with psychiatric disorders.
2. Goal: Independently develop psychiatric diagnosis at the end
of the practicum
a) Objective: demonstrate the practical application of advanced
techniques in the assessment process
b) Objective: Identify differential psychiatric diagnosis by
utilizing patient's concerns and physical assessment
c) Objective: Apply laboratory and other medical tests to

29. evaluate clients
3. Goal: Expand mental status examination skills by the end of
the period
a) Objective: monitor patients and perform cognitive
assessments
b) Objective: recognize and differentiate clinical features to
make accurate recommendations
c) Objective: perform mental status exams and interpret its
results accurately
References
Chambers, C., & Ryder, E. (2018). Compassion and caring in
nursing. Routledge.
Kleinpell, R., Cook, M. L., & Padden, D. L. (2018). American
Association of Nurse Practitioners National Nurse Practitioner
sample survey: Update on acute care nurse practitioner practice.
Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners,
30(3), 140-149.
Phillips, K. (2020). Mental illness is not anyone's fault: a
review of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 24(1), 75-81.
Price, S., & Reichert, C. (2017). The importance of continuing
professional development to career satisfaction and patient care:
meeting the needs of novice to mid-to late-career nurses
throughout their career span. Administrative Sciences, 7(2), 17.
1

30. Self
-
assessment of Clinical Skills
Ariel Cordova Lopez
Walden University
PRAC 6635
: Psychopathogy and Diagnostic Reasoning
Practicum
Dr.
Brandy Benson
March
05, 2022
1
Self-assessment of Clinical Skills
Ariel Cordova Lopez
Walden University
PRAC 6635: Psychopathogy and Diagnostic Reasoning
Practicum
Dr. Brandy Benson
March 05, 2022