Master's Degree Interview

Becoming a Nurse Practitioner is a very appealing career choice for registered nurses, but getting into a Master's in Nursing program at a local school of nursing is extremely difficult these days, and earning a

When people think about nurses, many ideas come to mind. They think of the hideous old starched, white uniforms, a doctor’s handmaiden, the sexy or naughty nurse, or a torturer. The media and society have manipulated the identity and role of nurses. None of these ideas truly portray nurses and what they do. Nurses are with the patients more than the doctors. People do not realize how little they will encounter the doctor in the hospital until they are actually in the hospital. People quickly realize how important nurses are. Because nurses interact with their patients constantly, nurses are the ones who know the patients best.

For my interview, I spoke with one of the Nurse Practitioners (NP) that I interact with while working my shift at the hospital. I will call her Terri Smith because although I asked to use her quotes in my paper, I did not think to ask for permission to use her actual name. Where I work, many of our internal medicine physicians are hospitalists. During the night, they are covered by the umbrella of Quest Care. There are several NPs that work under the afore mentioned physicians and are there, on-call, when needed for their clinical expertise. It is nice, because even though I can’t develop much of a relationship with the doctors whose patients I work so hard to take care of, I get to have the opportunity to grow strong bonds with the NPs that I see almost every shift.

Since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a nurse. I am taking the very steps to be a nurse and, due to educational requirements, I had to read a memoir written by an actual nurse called The Shift by Theresa Brown. In this book, Theresa talks about her experience over a twelve-hour shift. She illustrates how a nurse works in a hospital environment with positive and negative aspects. There are so many beneficial outcomes of being a nurse such as the relationships formed between patients and nurses, and saving lives every day. But there are also disadvantages behind this profession like the long shifts nurses must work, the hierarchies of hospital jobs, the stress of life and death situations, and picky patients.

Catering to their needs the best way I know how is important to me as a Certified Nurse Assistant because I am the last one they will remember before they enter the gates of heaven. I don’t mind the beeping call lights, the spoons scraping the plates, or assisting a resident who is confused because my job will never have a dull moment as long as they’re

I care for a patient’s well-being by gathering their vitals, performing point of care tasks like checking their blood glucose levels, phlebotomy, transporting them, and anything else that might be needed to ensure wellness. This summer, I have also been shadowing several neurosurgeries, the first of which was a complete cervical disc replacement. Then, I was able to shadow a lumbar fusion, cranial incision, and post-op follow up for issues like occipital neuralgia. This opportunity gave me insight into how the surgical world of medicine runs, and it allowed me the opportunity to ask any pertinent questions about the career, and the daily routine in general. These meaningful experiences have helped me become a more well-rounded person in general. They have also taught me to take a more individualized approach to medicine, which has helped to prioritize patients’ specific needs, while keeping an even-keeled and friendly mindset with them as well. Even though there may be a large number of people with similar ailments, their medical, social, and mental statuses are all going to vary. Thus far, I have been able to use what I have learned to create a more conducive healthcare environment, which I believe promotes the patient’s healing

After working in the medical field 15 years, I’ve decided that there are changes I’d like to be instrumental in making. I started working as a CNA at the NHC in Chattanooga with the goal of becoming an RN but soon discovered that direct patient care was an aspect I have no desire to have. Finding that there were a few things I saw that should be changed. An example is that the patient to care giver ratio was unfair when the body of mass of some of the patients was not considered. There was no standard as to how a hall or patient’s room should or should not smell. I did enjoy listening to the patients and hearing their stories and having the ability to get them to take their medication.

I conducted 5 one-on-one interviews with students who have completed their first year in college. The idea was to find out how well they were prepared for the financial decisions that would be put before them. Unlike the general survey, the interview allowed me to ask for individual input.

In general, I don't think undergraduate research is anywhere near as intense as graduate research. Many of the schools I interviewed at strongly recommended having post-bac full time research experience because they felt it would give students a more realistic idea of grad school. It really depends on the level of your undergraduate research, though. I worked on several independent projects and a thesis, so I was working 30 or so hours a week not counting the the data analysis I had to do on my own time. I think that really prepared me well for grad school and the faculty I interviewed with felt the same way.

Several of the roles which I observed this morning were expected: the nurses took vitals for incoming patients, performed focused assessments, and were the main communicators between family, the patient, and the physician. I realized when the first patient came in around 10:00 am, the RN’s role in assessments, gathering blood work, and carrying out all the necessary steps to situate and stabilize the patient as soon as possible. It was incredible seeing the nurses work together, in sync, in those first moments when the patient was brought in. And though expected, I appreciated seeing just how much communication was held and information was gathered from the patient or family members by the nurse. Jessica asked the right questions from both parties, while still showing incredible empathy and not making the whole situation seem rushed and flustering. I understood this as another essential role of the nurse in the ED; he or she must maintain even in such a fast-paced environment empathy and focus in each interaction.

There’s multitudinous people all around the hospital performing different duties all day and night. The excitement she gets when someone comes rushing in needing immediate surgery. The thought of all the sanguinary patients, and finding the etiology of their pain. Nurses care for their patients all throughout

“Do you need any help with anything?” a nurse questioned as she held the door open for me. All around me, I saw nurses flitting around, completing multiple tasks at once to make sure everyone was doing alright. In June of 2016, I went to go visit my new cousin in the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Although I enjoyed meeting her, my mind was strongly fixated upon how the nurse could have possibly taken time out of her day to hold open a door for me when there were so many patients who required greater care. As I racked my mind for a solution, a quote from a TV show called Scrubs came to mind. J.D, a resident at Sacred Heart Hospital answers the previously posed question with, “I guess it’s because we all want to believe that what we do is

Through the interactions I have in the healthcare setting, I notice the physicians and other healthcare members are always alert and composed regardless of the situation. I believe paying attention to details is an innate feature, but being observant is a quality I am obtaining throughout my interactions with peers and patients. As I volunteer in The James Cancer Hospital, I realize the importance of being attentive; every patient and visitor I meet, has questions and worries that need to be answered and reassured. Recently, I escorted an elderly visitor to her husband in a post-operating room. On our way, I tried to converse with the visitor about the weather, but she was only giving me short answers. The thing that troubled me was the uneasiness in her voice, so I continued to make small talks about the amenities and resources within the hospital. In one of her responses, she mentioned being in the waiting area for longer than expected. I quick understood her concerns; since most visitors I encountered in this department waited long hours for their love ones, they might feel agitated and anxious when receiving news about the surgery. Although I had no knowledge of the surgery duration, I was able to put her at ease by letting her know that the hospital would have communicated with her about updates from the surgery. I wanted to reassured the visitor; thus before I left the patient room, I described the concern of patient’s wife to the nurse so that the care team can address the issue further.

To get into the nursing program, it is required to have a 2.75-4.0 GPA average it is also required to have 30 credit hours if not they will also demand high school transcripts and ACT scored. There is a test student must take which is called Test of Essential Academic Skills each student will have the chance to take this test twice the student must score either “proficient” or a high score to get accepted. Students who are enrolled in 12-18 credit hours which is full time their tuition will be $31,220 per year, students who are part time will pay $680 per credit

Ever since I can remember, I have been in and out of hospitals. Unlike most kids, however, the hospital and doctor’s office were my favorite places to go; I enjoyed every second of it. These visits brought me so much joy because I was getting to go to work with my father. He was a physician’s assistant at a local rural hospital, nursing home, and family clinic. They were all connected and all equally exciting to me as a five-year-old. Until I was old enough, my father would drop me off at the nurses’ station while he did his rounds, and while waiting, I loved to eat the free Jell-O, see all the x-rays, and visit with the patients as they roamed up and down the halls. As I got older, my father brought me along during his rounds through the hospital and nursing home, and I finally could see what his job truly entailed. I saw the faces of the patients light up when my father walked into the rooms because getting to talk to him was the highlight of their day. My father had this effect on the patients because he truly cared for and supported them. He got to know the people who were his patients and spend time with them; he demonstrated the qualities of a good doctor during both the good and the painful times in their lives. After witnessing what it truly meant to be a health-care professional, I knew there was nothing else I would rather do in my life.