Personal Statement On My Professional Goals

I am with the belief that the nursing profession is meant to be of service to the public, especially to those who may be undergoing both medical and financial difficulties. This belief has guided me throughout my career in that I have focused my efforts on the service of the less fortunate. For example, I am currently working as a trauma nurse in the Emergency Department (ED) of Highland Hospital, which is the only county hospital in Alameda County that caters to majority of the uninsured and under-served members of the county. I also work with a not-for-profit organization called Dainty in the Dirt, which allowed me to travel to Senegal to provide medical supplies and medical education in the remote regions of the country. I am due to go back there in the spring to work in clinics in the surrounding islands off Senegal.
I believe that my seven years of experience as a nurse has prepared me take on more challenges, both professionally and academically. I am also very passionate with what I do, that is, providing critical care for patients, which requires critical thinking and data analysis on my part. In addition, my experience has allowed me to develop my prioritization, organization, and communication skills, which enable me to work effectively with a healthcare team. As well, I was able to develop and apply my leadership skills through my co-development of the STEMI-receiving policy for the ED of Highland Hospital in 2011 and through my current role as the lead chair member on a new committee that develops ED-specific protocols and guidelines based on current evidence, research, and collaboration with other members of the healthcare team. In addition, I am frequently called upon to precept new-graduate nurses as well as nurses entering the profession from another country.
Given the experience I’ve had as a clinical nurse, I have now reached a point in my career where I seek to gain more knowledge and develop more advanced skills in order to be of better service to my patients and in order to further grow as a person and as a professional. In this regard, I believe that a graduate degree will enable me to obtain the qualifications that will allow me to achieve those goals. In particular, I would like to pursue a career as an ACNP (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner), which will allow me to assume more challenging roles, not only as a healthcare leader but also as an educator and a patient advocate. In addition, being able to take on more challenging responsibilities will allow me to work with more autonomy, which I think will allow me to gain more fulfillment from my career. As well, I would like to continue the work I’ve started on researching about the ways by which health disparities can be reduced, first within my locality, and which I hope can later be extended to have a more global impact. With this research, I hope to make contributions to the field, particularly in terms of improving the quality of care that we provide our patients and in the way we guide them with the management of their disease.
I have once worked with a colleague who inspired me to be everything. He was an ICU intensivist, an ACNP flight nurse, a Cardio-Thoracic surgical assist, and an educator. I believe that I can be all of these, too, and maybe even more. Although I know that I won’t be able to accomplish all of these overnight, I believe that getting a graduate degree will be a step in the right direction. In this regard, I shall consider it a great honor were you to choose me for inclusion in your prestigious graduate degree program.