What My Writing Reveals

When I look across the papers and journals I have written during my MSN-FNP program at Stephen F. Austin State University, a single theme emerged: compassionate care is vital to clinical practice.

Watson's Caring Theory Reflective Practice ANA Code of Ethics Evidence-Based Practice Health Policy Health Equity
Collection Overview
1 Theory Paper — Watson's Theory of Human Caring applied to advanced practice
5 Reflective Journals — Current RN Practice, EBP Journey, ANA Code of Ethics, Politics of Healthcare (×2)
2 Article Reviews — NP pay parity and full practice authority (NURS 5221)
1 Academic Paper — Community Assessment of Montgomery County (NURS 5310)
9 Papers Total  ·  2023–2025 — Spanning two years of graduate study

Papers & Reflective Journals

📚 Theory Paper

Watson's Theory of Human Caring: A Framework for Addressing the Emotional Demands of the Nursing Profession

📚 NURS 5301 — Nursing Theory for the Advanced Practice Role 👤 Dr. Sara Bishop 📅 December 3, 2023

Nursing is a highly challenging yet fulfilling profession. Nurses often face emotionally challenging situations — complex patients, stressful environments, understaffing, death, and dying — that lead to compassion fatigue. This paper examines how Watson's theory of human caring provides a framework to address those emotional demands through self-care and authentic caring relationships.

📝 Reflective Journal

Reflective Journal: Current Practice as an RN

📚 NURS 5301 — Nursing Theory for the Advanced Practice Role 👤 Dr. Sara Bishop 📅 December 10, 2023

Studying nursing theory during my first graduate semester transformed how I view my bedside practice. I began examining every care decision through an evidence-based lens — drawing on Nightingale's holistic model, Watson's human caring theory, and Martinsen's philosophy to provide more intentional, compassionate care.

📝 Reflective Journal

Reflective Journal: Journey Throughout the Semester

📚 NURS 5322 — Evidence-Based Research for the Advanced-Practice Role 👤 Dr. Sara Bishop & Dr. Angela Jones 📅 May 5, 2024

This reflective paper explores my journey through the Evidence-Based Research course and how I developed the skills to critically analyze peer-reviewed research. A key achievement was constructing a PICOT question — a clinical tool that will guide informed, evidence-based decision-making in my advanced practice role.

📝 Reflective Journal

Reflective Journal: American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics

📚 NURS 5311 — Contemporary Healthcare Ethics 👤 Dr. Sara Bishop & Crystal Talavera 📅 May 25, 2024

The ANA Code of Ethics guides nurses toward ethical, compassionate practice. This journal reflects on Provision 1 — respect for human dignity and equitable care — as the cornerstone of my nursing identity, and explores Provision 8 as a future goal for advancing community and public health as an NP.

📝 Reflective Journal

Reflective Journal: The Politics of Healthcare

📚 NURS 5302 — The Politics of HealthCare 👤 Dr. Della Connor 📅 June 26, 2025

I agree with Humphrey that the moral test of a government is how it treats its children, the elderly, the sick, the needy, and the disabled. This journal reflects on healthcare equity, government responsibility, and my vision for a more streamlined, accessible healthcare system for all citizens.

📝 Reflective Journal

Reflective Journal: Nursing, Politics, and Health Policy

📚 NURS 5302 — The Politics of HealthCare 👤 Dr. Della Connor 📅 May 18, 2025

As a non-US citizen, I cannot vote — but I am deeply invested in how nursing and politics intersect. This journal reflects on my current understanding of federal healthcare legislation and sets goals for growing my advocacy role as a future nurse practitioner at the state and local levels.

📄 Article Review

The Impact of Nurse Practitioner-Led Primary Care on Quality and Cost for Medicaid-Enrolled Patients in States with Pay Parity

📚 NURS 5221 — Advanced Practice Roles 👤 Dr. Sheree Barrios 📅 June 14, 2025

This article review examines NP-led primary care quality and cost across 14 Medicaid pay-parity states. Key findings show NP-led care is cost-neutral or cost-saving for adult diabetic patients — and that removing pay inequity enables NPs to deliver comparable quality while improving access to care.

📄 Article Review

Nurse Practitioners' Workforce Outcomes Under Implementation of Full Practice Authority

📚 NURS 5221 — Advanced Practice Roles 👤 Dr. Sheree Barrios 📅 June 22, 2025

This article review investigates how full practice authority (FPA) laws affect NP employment patterns — self-employment rates, earnings, and placement in health professional shortage areas. Findings show FPA significantly increases NP presence in underserved communities, improving access to primary care.

📄 Academic Paper

Community Assessment of Montgomery County

📚 NURS 5310 — Health Promotion 👤 Dr. Erin Bailey 📅 October 8, 2023

Montgomery County, located north of Houston, is a growing suburban community with a disturbing rise in drug-related deaths — particularly fentanyl — over the past decade. This paper applies health promotion theories to assess the community and propose evidence-based, policy-driven solutions to the opioid crisis.

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