Why I Became A Nurse Practitioner

When I was younger, I fell off my bed and cracked my head on the bed frame. I was sent to the emergency room and was given stitches. I had to keep going to the doctors for check-ups and me being a child, I was curious of the doctors and always asked them many questions about their occupation. At a young age I became very interested in the medical field. My mother being a surgical technologist and my ex-stepfather being a CRNA, I fell in love with the health care system and that’s when I knew I wanted to help others by becoming a nurse anesthetist.

I am pleased to state that I have been a registered nurse for forty years. At this moment, I continue working in nursing while pursuing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. My intended month of completion is October 2012. My experience in nursing education has motivated me to continue my education and pursue a Masters degree in a nursing related field commencing in 2013. Thus, in terms of my career planning, my education is a crucial part to my professional development. Extending and deepening one's education, especially within the career field of one's choice, can only bring upon additional professional opportunities as well as opportunities for personal growth. My career planning includes building upon my decades of experience in obstetrics, my particular area of specialty, expertise, and passion, with the assistance and addition of higher education. I believe in terms of career planning, my strengths include foresight, preparation, internal motivation, and focus.

It is not a crime to dream. Every individual sets high exceptions for what career they want. Some dream of becoming the President of the United States of America, a scientist, or even a therapist. I want a career where I can make an impact on the world. My whole life revolves around wanting to work in the medical field. My dream is becoming a nurse practitioner. I want to help care for people, their families, and to work in the field where everyday is different. I want to hold the family members hands and tell them that everything is alright. I not only want to make a difference in the lives of my patients, i also hope to make a difference in the nursing and medical field in general. to achieve the dream of becoming a nurse practitioner, I must drop the habits that hold me back and slow me down right now. Bad habits not only slow my progress my habits but also keep me from moving forward. Giving up too soon, my lack of focus, and my perfectionism hold me back in everyday life.

Future nurses and the future of the nursing practice can positively benefit from having a revolving new nurse- nurse leader cycle. With a profession as dynamic as nursing, the involvement of positive leaders and role models is essential for the practice to grow and inspire a nursing force that not only adapts and changes with the profession, but leads and strives for promoting the improvement

Our ever-evolving healthcare environment is under the pressure of greater human longevity and emerging of new disease processes and scientific knowledge. It has become essential for health care professionals to adapt to changes in order to meet the needs of patients and community health. As an emergency nurse, I have the benefit of partaking in direct patient interaction, enhancing my knowledge, witnessing various disease progressions, and engaging in opportunities for professional advancement. I intend to provide the highest level of nursing practice in today’s increasingly complex health care system as I continue to develop my clinical skills and advance my role as an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) professional.

I was very popular in high school, because I was very nice and sociable and involved in lots of activates we had. I did not bully kids because I knew how it made me feel when I was younger. I joined a group called S.A.D.D and that stood for students against destructive discussions. We reached out to kids who felt alone and students who lacked the self-confidence. After I graduated my goal was to attend a community college not too far and not too close. So I chose Kirkwood. I wanted/ want to be a registered nurse. I was very determined in high school, I made sure I was on honor roll every semester! I did not have a social network because I saw all the drama it cause in school.

My passion for healthcare cultivated because of my family. Throughout my childhood and adolescent years, I got an opportunity to volunteer helping around the nursing home where my mother worked as a licensed practical nurse. Looking back, on those experiences influenced my entire career in so many diverse ways. Learning ample amounts of wisdom from various honorable people. As a child I was always trying to help my mother, grandmother, aunts, my church take care of others in our family and the community. Once I graduated from high school I did not know if I was prepared for college. Likewise, I was not sure if I wanted to become a registered nurse and follow my mother’s footsteps. However, I did attend a technical training school and became a certified nursing assistant in 2005. During my five year gap year, I conducted research on several different areas and aspects of healthcare. Over the course of ten years I have had the opportunity to experience different segments of healthcare. From the different settings of healthcare, exploring different business opportunities offered in healthcare, and educational and technical skill trainings. These three topics really influenced my decision to pursue a healthcare career.

Life’s too short to wait and see what’s next, so let’s dive in and see my future. Many seniors often worry about tending a college after high school graduation. Just last week I started my senior year and I’m starting to get really excited. When I graduate in May, I plan on going to Hondros Community College in Columbus, Ohio to be a nurse practitioner. As I start college in the fall, there will be many setbacks, fears and people who motivate me.

When people ask me the question, “Jas, why do you want to be a nurse?” The first answer that comes to mind would be the generic answer, “Because I want to help people.” However, during the process of being in Lower Division and competing with almost 400 other students with the hopes of being accepted into Upper Division my mindset has changed. After studying my hardest through each class I am in and overcoming the challenges that come with each one, I am more determined than ever to be a nurse, more specifically a Traveling Registered Nurse, and I will not let anything stop me from reaching that goal. Ever since I was younger my parents have taught me to share, be caring, and always have a giving heart. As I went through high school I knew I wanted to be in the medical profession but I could not decide where. After attending a Career Center for two years and attaining my certification to be a Nursing Assistant, I knew nursing was the career I wanted to pursue. Nursing was the best fit for my personal values, financial commitment of the present and the future, and the ability to travel.

“We need to transfer her to the ICU”, said the attending while holding a nebulizer mask up to the infant’s face. It was organized chaos at its finest-- EKGs, X-rays, and labs were being drawn almost instantaneously. My 5-month-old patient 's respirations had become labored and needed care more advanced than we could perform on the inpatient cardiology unit. As the bedside nurse, I was responsible for communicating my assessment findings and concerns about the patient to the team.

The college degree I am pursuing through Excelsior College is the Associate in Applied Science for Nursing. I plan on going on after this for my Bachelor’s degree in nursing, and when I complete this then I will decide if I plan on going any further in my education. Having 7 children, who are all still at home, gives me everyday challenges in just time management alone. I am learning to adjust my schedule even with sleep to accommodate in achieving my goal. I do know any challenge that I may face I will overcome and that I can achieve anything I set out to do. As I went through LPN school I was a single mom, working full time, with 4 children at home, and was able to succeed successfully in that. I plan on doing this again with my degree for a registered nurse.

In this personal statement I will address my plans and aspirations for completing a graduate education. I believe that an adequate college education is a necessity in today’s society. There are numerous resources and opportunities available to those who choose to seek a college education. I am committed to continuing my education to achieve my career goal of becoming a family nurse practitioner. Several members of my family are in the healthcare field, as both doctors and nurses. I have had the privilege of growing up observing and learning about the field from a private practice perspective. From this, I developed my interest in the healthcare field and decided that I wanted to become a part of the healthcare field. I want to be able to make a difference in the world and in people’s lives. I have often heard about there being a nursing shortage and the need for more practicing nurses and advance practicing nurses. After researching and evaluating the different roles and job opportunities in healthcare, I determined that nursing is the specific area that is the best fit for me. By pursing my career goal to become a family nurse practitioner, I could make a difference in the world and people’s lives as well as help fill the need for nurses.

Keen on aiding the helpless, nursing the sick and feeding the poor as a child; I knew then, that a doctor I shall be. Accomplishing more for my country is what I intend to achieve as my long term goal. For now, focusing on gaining useful knowledge to get me one step closer to becoming an RN (registered nurse) is one of the many things I want this year at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). Furthermore, broadening my interests by discovering new passions and becoming more independent to learn more about myself; are also what I want to achieve. Lastly, engaging myself in activities aimed at improving me as a critical thinker and a writer will be my forefront. I am confident that as I go through this college experience; I will accomplish

I Believe that Nurses should not only Love what they do, I believe that true Nurses are born to do what they do. At an early age I felt a deep connection to the Nursing field; I would look at Nurses and really admire them. It was not the Uniform that they wore that I admired, but what the uniform itself represented. For me Nurses represented helping, caring, loving, kind people and I knew that I was born to wear one of those uniforms.

My reasons for applying for Adult Nursing come from personal experience. In my early teenage years I was diagnosed with scoliosis and spent a great deal of time with the spinal team and nurses at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. The nurses there were very compassionate, comforting and made me feel welcome during my stay. My inspiration from the nurses and my desire to help and care for people and to make them feel comfortable during their most vulnerable moments also made me realise that a career in nursing was for me. I like how fast paced the job is and going into work with the prospect of every day being different intrigues me. If I had a job as a nurse I would be living my life doing something I am fervent about. My interest in Mental Health Nursing became apparent to me when I attended the UWS Dumfries open day and was told about all the different situations that may be faced as a mental health nurse such as tackling conditions like depression and schizophrenia, which caught my attention. Mental Health nursing requires patience and empathy which I think are two qualities I could show within the job. I have done a lot of research into midwifery and discovered that midwives support patients not only