Statement of Interest
I have been passionate about nursing since my childhood days. Always the emphatic one in my family, I made nursing my career choice in life when I achieved my Bachelors of Applied Science in Nursing from the same university in 1996. But I am embarrassed to admit that circumstances prevented me from taking the subject as seriously as I should, or rather could, have. I did not receive satisfactory GPA scores and lost any interest in pursuing graduate school. In retrospect, I wish I had the opportunity to do things differently in my undergraduate years.
For the last 18 years, I have worked in the nursing sector in different worksites and, at present, I am a nursing educator at Langara College. In spite of what my track record may suggest, my enthusiasm for nursing never died down. I am a firm supporter of the andragogy theory which maintains that adult education literature depends on the concept that the learning of adults needs to be handled in a separate method than teaching adolescents and children . I am motivated and diligent and any of my colleagues can attest to the fact. Despite my schedule and family, I make it a point to keep my practice up-to-date by attending as many conferences, education workshops, in-service as possible throughout the years. I bore most of the expenses myself instead of turning to my licensing body or employers since I am willing to learn.
I am already applying many of the principles of adult education in the workplace on a daily basis. In the course of my nursing practice for the past 18 years too, I have imparted informal and informal education to adult colleagues, patients and students. I am familiar with many approaches to adult learning but I realize I have much more left to learn. I am no longer the same person I was 20 years ago. I have learnt from my past experiences and now am self-directed. I set goals for myself and fulfill them one step at a time. I am more focused and practical and ready to begin my education. Adult education is a subject that fascinates me and I am ready to bring decades of knowledge to the field.
I really want to be a part of this master’s program since it will provide me with the chance to further my understanding of the complex philosophy and principles in adult learning. This will ultimately translate into a better career for me as a nurse educator at Langara College in the future. My aspiration in life is to be a well-respected, successful nurse educator. I would like to be in a position to help my adult learner students achieve their goals to the best of my abilities. I want to use new methods of learning that are more suited to the temperament of adults. Pedagogy, I believe, was relevant in the past but is no longer applicable in the field of adult education. I want my students to be treated as adults, not children when I interact with them.
I want to be able to recognize and appreciate their unique skills and requirements as adult learners and enable them to experience the utmost respect that the nursing students deserve but very rarely get from their educators. The University of British Columbia happens to be the best place for me to learn and grow as a person and as an adult educator. Since I was granted my BSN from the same place, it is also my home school. I feel a deep connection with the institution which is enhanced also by the fact that it is among the best universities in the province. I wish to pursue my studies at UBC because I completely trust the reputation of the school. When I am as goal oriented and motivated as I am right now, I know I will be able to accomplish a very high standards and do the university proud.
Works Cited
DeYoung, S. (2009). Teaching strategies for nurse educators. Prentice Hall.
