Planning a specific learning session or course, it is vital to consider how the desired outcomes will be achieved and how they can contribute to acquiring desired skills and experiences. Under these conditions, setting correct goals and establishing a schedule to accomplish them is vital for successful professional development and becoming a good specialist. At the same time, poor objectives which do not clearly outline all domains might precondition failure or inability to move in the right direction. Creating a Practicum Professional Experience Plan (PPEP) is one of the ways to establish relevant purposes and engage in the learning and development process. However, it is vital to ensure that it relates to critical learning domains and can promote better learning and achievement.
Previously, cogitating about the professional growth and involvement in the practicum, the two following objectives were formulated:
- To master the skills and experiences needed for a successful professional role change in a term of 6 months;
- To determine professional positions interesting to me and prepare for them.
In developing a PPEP, it is possible to revise the goals to make them more focused by considering the high-order domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy and the overall recommendations for setting learning objectives. For successful professional growth, it is necessary to achieve at least application levels and above, meaning that the cognitive domain should be cultivated to ensure concepts learned during courses can be used in new situations or judgments can be made about the significance of some ideas (McKimm & Swanwick, 2009). It presupposes the improved knowledge of material and some experiences vital for its application. Considering this information, the following revised objectives can be offered:
- To master the skills, knowledge, and experiences needed for a successful professional role change and be ready to apply them in novel or unusual situations in a term of 6 months;
- To determine professional positions interesting for me and prepare for them to apply, analyze, and evaluate knowledge, materials, and ideas related to the area.
These new objectives consider the existing recommendations for setting learning goals and can help to acquire a better vision of the desired outcomes and how to attain them.
Considering professional development, it is also possible to outline some areas that are more significant for the future occupation. First of all, the sphere of nursing IT seems attractive as vital for career growth and development. Acquisition of application-level experience in this field will help to become a better specialist and increase the effectiveness of problem-solving skills (Cipriano & Murphy, 2011). Moreover, it will create the basis for future career growth and offer new opportunities for professional development. Another area is leadership and effective management, as they are crucial for the modern healthcare sector focused on improved teamwork and collaboration with other specialists. At the moment, these two spheres are the most important for future growth and should be given the top priority.
Altogether, effective and attainable goals are central to successful learning and professional development. For this reason, it is vital to focus on specific knowledge domains and levels of experience to determine critical aspects and create a plan for their achievement. The offered revised objectives consider Bloom’s Taxonomy and focus on the desired skills and cognitive abilities, which are central for successful transformation and becoming a good specialist. The selected areas of interest can also help to create the basis for future growth and finding the desired occupation.
References
Cipriano, P. F., & Murphy, J. (2011). The future of nursing and health IT: The quality elixir. Nursing Economics, 29(5), 286-289.
McKimm, J., & Swanwick, T. (2009). Setting learning objectives. British Journal of Hospital Medicine, 70(7), 406–409.