Professional Development Plan for further advancement in nursing

My previous undergraduate experience includes 13 credits in business at Penn State University, an Associate Degree in Science from Mount Aloysius College. I then attended The Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to earn my License in Practical Nursing. I then worked as a License Practical Nurse, while earning a Registered Nursing degree. I graduated from Mount Aloysius College, Cum Laude. I am currently working toward my psychiatric certification. I hope to have a 4.0 in my graduate studies at Walden University.

I currently work at Generations, a geriatric behavioral health unit at Elk Regional Health Systems in Saint Mary’s, Pennsylvania. I am the full-time charge nurse for second shift. I oversee the other nurses on my shift. Before working at Generations, I was employed by The Meadows Psychiatric Center in Center Hall, Pennsylvania. I worked on the Stabilization Unit, which has given me crucial experience in caring for the acute, mentally ill patient. While in college, I worked at the Lutheran Home, a nursing home in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. I have also worked in billing and coding at various medical offices, family, and specialty practices.

During clinical studies in the nursing program, I studied all aspects of the medical field. I have learned to assess and utilize my nursing skills to help patients to the best of my ability. I have researched the psychiatric practices of Altoona Hospital in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and I recently visited New Orleans to attend the Annual Psychiatric Nursing Conference acquiring the certificate of attendance. Through my employer, Elk Regional Health Center, I had been given the opportunity to participate in the “Comprehensive Crisis Management” seminar presented by the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. This seminar provided many communication techniques proven helpful in crises. I hope to learn new ways of educating students and the public of health care awareness. During my studies at Walden University, I hope to be given the opportunity to complete more research in nursing and the psychological field.

Professional Goals

I want to receive my master’s degree, so that I am better qualified to teach psychiatric nursing. I love the career I have chosen, and furthering my education at Walden University will assist with providing me more opportunities for my career path. I want to be good at my career. I possess many qualities that are useful as a nurse and a nursing instructor. I am patient, caring, understanding, determined, and creative. I have used all of these characteristics to get through raising my two children, working full time, and attending school. I am calm in stressful situations. I use the knowledge that I have been taught to the best of my ability in every situation that is handed to me. I try to be a good listener to my patients and to my colleagues. I feel that I will be a good asset as an instructor. I have a desire to learn everything that I possibly can in my career field. I hope to instill a love for nursing in all of the students that I am given the pleasure to instruct. I am living the difference an education can make in the life of a student, and I want to be able to make that difference in the life of a student in the field of nursing.

Course Learning Goals

My personal goal as a fellow scholar-practitioner is to attain a higher level of understanding of the power we have as nurses. I would like to have the opportunity to spend time, which I find very precious, with students and patients in the learning process. I would love to guide students to a greater understanding in the behavioral health field.

Walden University has set a lofty mission to provide the community with career professionals. The University mission is also to assist in the transformation of both the professional and society. I am proud to be associated with a school that has set such high goals to reach. Reaching these goals is the foundation of the school mission, and it should be the motivation for every student and scholarly- practitioner.

The attainment of an advanced degree will assist in giving me the opportunity to reach my goals. I will be in a better position to assist with effecting social change by instructing and guiding students in my field of study. Nurses are a shortage; in Behavioral Health, the shortage is critical. My personal goal is to assist in decreasing the student’s anxiety in this field by providing them with the adequate knowledge and skills to treat and care for the mentally ill.

I feel Walden University is giving me this opportunity, by allowing me to attend classes on line. The Walden University’s education program allows for flexibility, fits it into my schedule, so I am able to continue my stressful life and receive an education. In this manor, the University is effecting the change in society they desire, reaching their goals, and maintaining the vision for the future.

These are two Walden University outcomes; I feel to make a difference relevant to my studies, goals, and development as a scholar-practitioner the following are the areas of concentration:

1. “To continue to learn across a lifetime as a practitioner, researcher, scholar and to continue to impact social change.

2. To achieve professional excellence as active, and influential professionals, and by applying learning to specific problems and challenges in work settings and professional practice.” (Walden, 2007)

I feel to make a difference in society, I need to be there to educate and support student nurses. We are going to need nurses in the future, more than ever before with our aging America. I would like to be a good educator in a critical area to retain these students. I am here today because of the patients and understanding of some great instructors. What better way to improve social change in our communities than through education.

Field Experiences and Practicum

I am a behavioral health nurse and have a love for the behavioral health field. As I have mentioned, my primary goal is to become a nurse scholar-practitioner, an educator and affect change in my community. I have a great interest in forensic nursing. I take great enjoyment in the mystery of forensic science. I would find it very interesting to participate in a practicum of this field. There are many aspects of the forensic nursing field, of which I have no knowledge. My primary interest is in the people that commit the crimes and learning how to profile. I have no experience in evidence collection, working with the dead or sexually assaulted. Forensic nursing is an area I would be able to apply my current achieved and natural skills along with the knowledge I have accumulated here at Walden University. This is an area, which can expand outside of criminal investigation as well. During times of disaster and devastation, forensic nursing would be a major assistance to the communities locating and identifying loved ones. I would like to be a part of this process in my community, if the need arises. With our nation at war with terrorists, we are continuously looking over our shoulder for the day the terrorists break through our security. What will happen if the terrorist accomplish building a weapon of anthrax or some other biological agent and attack our communities? Who will assist during a nuclear attack if the terrorist manage to accomplish this on a major city? The number of casualties, sick and wounded is unimaginable. It will take every person available, skilled, educated, and laborer to assist, during and after the disaster. Many institutions have a disaster preparedness program in place and practice. We were shockingly made aware on September 11, 2001, that we are vulnerable, and it takes many skilled and educated people to get through such a tragedy. I would like to be one of these skilled and educated people assisting during a time of need.

References

Walden University. (2007). Walden University Catalog. Vision. Retrieved from http://www.waldenu.edu/c/Student_Catalog/8893_9124.htm.

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