About myself
I am a college student finishing my nursing education at the College of New Rochelle, who is very passionate about the career as I love helping others. I am also a hardworking well-rounded person, and I believe that I have gained adequate knowledge in the field that will assist in my professional development. Choosing to be a nurse was one of the greatest decisions that I made, and I have never regretted. I plan on completing my Bachelor of Science in nursing degree this May, and I already know the great advantages as well as the incredible career opportunities that rely ahead of me. I love connecting with the patients and their families while making a difference in their lives. This brings joy and motivation to me. The nursing career is a professional of love in a very basic sense. Love in my profession means giving myself without asking for anything in return and this is what I enjoy doing every day. The career is quite rewarding as at times; I get patients who are an absolute joy to work with, and I also save some lives during a day’s shift. At the end of the day, what matters to me is that I always give the best piece of myself to my patients whom I even barely know, and I always help them no matter how well or bad they treat me (Pretz & Folse, 2011). According to Banfield (2011), nurses are among the hardest workers in the medical profession as they endure many stressful situations in their jobs every day such as navigating the workplace politics and increased workload. However, the nursing profession has so many choices when it comes to career advancement and development that is quite fascinating to me. In regards to the above information, this paper presents my five-year career plan in the nursing profession.
After finishing my nursing education and graduating this May, I will do my NCLEX-RN exam on July 8 this year. This will be a challenging task for me as I have to pass my nursing council examination papers for me to be a registered nursing officer practitioner. This will be my first task towards advancing in my career as I will get my practicing license to be able to work as a certified nursing officer in my area of interest. I believe that I have gained the relevant knowledge and skills in my education experience that is required, and I will pass the examination with ease. I have nearly completed all the required semesters of the clinical rotations in my nursing education program. Through the clinical rotations, I have been able to learn how to provide indirect and direct care to my patients in a wide range of setting and conditions such as among patients suffering from chronic and acute illnesses. Previously I had the opportunity of working in Montefiore Medical Centre, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Jacobi Medical Centre, Dumont Masonic Home, Maria Fareri Children’s Home, and the Theodore Community Centre among other health facility providers. In 2013, I was also a nursing student mentor at New Rochelle health center; therefore, I have been able to acquire a lot of experience in my nursing career. My clinical experiences in obstetrics, geriatrics, community, pediatrics, psychiatry, leadership, and medical, surgical nursing have also provided me with a great opportunity of providing quality care to the patients, and I have learned a lot. After the experience of being on the floor as a nursing student, my primary areas of interest is working in the Medical Surgical Unit or the Critical Care field. There afterward I plan on completing a Master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) as I have a particular interest in the area.
The position and organization
For my five-year future career plan, my future target employers are the New York Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Centers, and I believe I will be a good asset to work for these organizations. Since I have gained, the relevant knowledge and skills required in my study period to work as a nursing officer and I have a strong passion for the nursing career I have a strong interest to work as a nursing officer for the above healthcare providers. I am a hardworking person and I will have completed my nursing training education and will have acquired the relevant licensure; therefore, I will be competent enough to handle my new challenge. My previous experiences have taught me so many things, and I have been able to develop the necessary qualities that are required to be a proficient nurse. I am looking forward to new challenges in the profession that I will thrive in. I am quite interested in the medical, surgical unit and critical care areas, and I hope that I will get a position to work in these fields. In the next five years, I would love to have a profound knowledge of the nursing profession by way of earning a master’s degree in Family Nursing so that I can be able to serve people with more advanced methods and techniques (Adeniran, Smith-Glasgow, Bhattacharya, & XU, 2013). I am a highly motivated, compassionate and an energetic individual who is always willing to dedicate my whole life to the nursing profession. I love helping people, and I have good communication skills. My previous nursing experience and credits have taught me the importance of developing a sense of responsibility in delivering safe quality healthcare to the patients. I believe that in my profession, I will really make a difference by making my patients and their families feel better.
I would love to work in the New York Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Centers because they are among the leading health care providers in the United Sates. They advocate and provide total quality care to the patients in an effort of enhancing a quick recovery process. I would like to be associated with good hospitals like these, and I do not want my knowledge and skills to go to waste. Moreover, I am seeking a new challenge that will utilize my skills that I have previously acquired from my education as well as the clinical and personal experiences.
A successful situation and why I choose the career
No matter how long an individual has been a nurse, the feeling of making a difference in another person’s life is always awesome that’s why I choose, and I am so much interested in the profession. Friends, families, as well as patients often thank me for doing so much for them, which is quite rewarding and satisfying. Despite the many challenges faced in the profession, touching lives positively and making a difference makes it all worth it (Mooney, Glacken, & Brien, 2008). More recently during my clinical experience, when I was performing chest compressions on a young woman in cardiac arrest, I suddenly paused to check the rhythm after discovering that I could not feel the heart rate. Contrary to my expectations, I discovered a shockable rhythm that is relatively rare to find. I charged the defibrillator and delivered shock waves in an effort of resuscitating the patient. Once again, I felt for the patient’s heart rate and indeed the heart started to thud. I had saved a patient’s life, and it was such a fascinating moment. As a nurse, I have been abused, kicked, and punched. At times, working hours might be tough but such precious moments of success and hope really make me love my job.
Qualities for Success
The nursing profession is not an essay career especially in the critical care and the medical-surgical clinical areas that I have keen interest to work in. Good nurses play an essential role in contributing to the success and stability of the healthcare institutions as well as to the mental and physical well-being of their patients. However to be successful in these fields certain unique characters are a pre liquescent. It is essential for the nurse to be caring enough, non-judgmental, understanding and with a strong ability to empathize with the patients of all walks of life (Anonson et al., 2014). Critical care and medical-surgical nurses deal with very sick and injured patients on a daily basis, and it is important for nurses to be able to show that they actually care about situations in an effort of improving the patient's care.
Solid skills in communication are also important as they form the core foundation for the nursing career. The nurse needs to be able to communicate effectively with the patients, families, and co-workers to be able to deliver quality patient care. Nurses also need to listen carefully to the physician orders and take notes when needed. Therefore, excellent communication and listening skills are critical. The nurse should also be responsible and be able to perform their responsibilities with the utmost detail and accuracy according to the expected standards. When dealing with the health of another human life, there is no room left for error. Therefore, it is important for a nurse to be responsible all the times (Zilembo & Monterosso, 2008). Other essential qualities include being respectful especially for a family health provider that I plan on pursuing after three years of floor experience, be able to work under pressure and stay calm even when making quick decisions in medical emergencies. I have all of the above qualities, and I believe that I will be successful in my nursing career.
Self-care intentions to help in the maintaining work-life balance and personal wellness
Being well and free from disease is important as it enhances creativity and productivity. Wellness can be considered as an ongoing dynamic process that involves an individual self-awareness while making healthy choices that leads to a balanced successful lifestyle. Wellness also entails being challenged and at the same thriving in both the professional and personal life. In ensuring success in my five-year career advancement plan, I will make a self-care plan that I will have to achieve the activities set on a yearly basis. This plan is essential as it will help me to maintain a positive self-care regime. I will create a balance in my physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, relationship as well school and work life balance. I will have to support areas that lack adequate support and address new areas that were never meet before (Heckerson & Laser, 2006). I will then make a commitment and make sure that I stick to my plan. In 3 years, I will start my master’s degree in family health. I will share my commitment with the significant others around me especially my mentor in an effort of making sure that I will stick to my plan throughout the five-year period.
Every morning when I wake up, I will ensure that I will start my day positively. My first thought every day will be gratitude by just saying thank you in my heart and my mind. There have been moments in my life where I never felt happy until I realized the importance. Waking up positively is a gift of another day to heal, love, learn, and grow. This helps in setting the energy to the highest level to be able to achieve the day’s objectives.
Membership in professional nursing organizations
Professional organizations in the nursing career are important as they help in generating energy, a flow of ideas as well as in the establishment of a proactive working environment that is needed in maintaining a whole nursing profession that advocates for the patient's and nurse’s needs (Whitney & Gale, 2015). The two professional nursing organizations that I will be interested in joining in the next five years of practice are the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses Association and the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators. The Academy Medical Surgical Nurses Association (AMSN) is the only nursing association that is dedicated to the practice of medical-surgical nursing. With my increased interest in practicing as a medical-surgical nurse, it will be important for me to join AMSN association to be able to meet with other experts in the specialty field. The organization believes that patients and their families will only receive better healthcare when the medical-surgical nurses have the relevant resources and knowledge to be able to deliver excellent quality care to their patients. Thus, AMSN provides resources to the members so that they can learn more about the medical-surgical nursing field as well as on the factors influencing the medical-surgical profession. This will be of great benefit to me in my career advancement.
On the other hand, the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) will help in shaping me for my future career option that is doing a master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner. ACHNE provides a meeting ground for nurses committed to the excellence in the family, community and public health education, practice and research. Among the key objectives of the organization is developing strategies in an effort of increasing the cost-effectiveness of family and public health nursing practice while exploring strategies for leadership development for these nurses (Woolston, 2015). By enrolling in these two nursing association, I will be able to learn and receive additional support in my specialty areas of interest boosting my career development. According to Matthews (2012), professional organizations are essential as they enhance the communication efficiency with its members in regards to matters of concern in the specialty field. This enables the nurses to respond promptly to late-breaking developments in their profession.
My mentor and role model for career advancement
I have been having the interest of becoming a family nurse practitioner since I have the desire of providing comprehensive primary healthcare to my patient. Family health is the best career option for me as I will be able to treat and help individuals from infancy to adulthood with chronic and acute conditions. I will also be able to offer health education, preventative services, as well as disease management services in the community and the family setting. My aunt is a family health provider as she is my source of motivation as she acts as my mentor. She is the one who motivated me to pursue my bachelor’s degree in nursing, and she even wants me to be a family nurse practitioner and take after her. Since I love helping people, I find the specialty quite interesting for me and I plan on pursuing a master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner after three years of floor experience. I will work extra hard to make sure that I achieve my goal.
I have also wanted to practice on the floor either in the critical care or in the medical-surgical nursing fields. I find the two areas quite interesting for me to work in and above that, I have two previous graduates who work in the specialty areas who will serve as great mentors. Mentoring is a collaborative relationship that often develops between two people who have a shared accountability for success or have mutual goals (Tharenou, 2005). The mentor acts as the guide, role model and the expert who helps in developing a lesser experienced or a new mentee (Coates, 2012). All my mentors including my aunt always encourage me to work hard and never lose hope despite the many challenges faced in the nursing profession. Mentors are so valuable as they show their juniors the best way of approaching and overcoming challenges. According to Adeniran et al. (2013), everyone benefits significantly from having a mentor to guide and look after him or her through his or her unknown processes. Role models and mentors positively impact businesses and professional careers.
Conclusion
Choosing to be a nurse was one of the greatest decisions that I made, and I have never regretted. I plan on completing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree this May, and I already know the great advantages as well as the incredible career opportunities that rely ahead of me. I love connecting with the patients and their families while making a difference in their lives. This brings joy and motivation to me. After finishing my nursing education and graduating this May, I will do my NCLEX-RN exam on July 8 this year. This will be a challenging task for me as I have to pass my nursing council examination papers for me to be a registered nursing officer practitioner to be able to practice legally. In my five-year career plan, I look forward to working as a medical-surgical or critical care nursing officer at Montefiore Medical Centre or the New York Presbyterian Hospital as they are among the leading healthcare providers of quality care to the patients and my experience and knowledge will be of great benefit to them. After three years of floor experience, I will start my master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner as I have been very passionate about the specialty area. I also look forward to joining the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses Association and the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators to be able to shape my nursing career further.
References
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