Why Ivy Tech Why Now - Essay Example

Section/# Why Ivy Tech – Why Now There are a number of reasons that prompted me to pursue a degree from Ivy Tech. This short personal narrative will help to explain some of the major points that drove, and continue to drive, me towards Ivy Tech in the pursuit of a better life for myself, my loved ones, help to ameliorate suffering through the correct practice of nursing, and the desire to complete personal goals I had set for myself. For purposes of analysis, this brief essay will focus on the driving motivation that encouraged me to pursue further education at Ivy Tech, reasons for choosing the major in which I did, my prior experience/excellence in the field, and both a challenge and advantage I will face in the field as compared to those that are taking classes together with me at Ivy Tech. Firstly, I chose to pursue an education at Ivy Tech out of the desire to better my own life both through hoping to receive a better job with better benefits as well as the desire to better the life that my family would be able to enjoy if I chose this given path. The saying goes that it “takes money to make money”; however, I view the investment I have made in Ivy Tech as the smartest investment and best money spent of my entire life as I am sure that the results of my education will continue to pay for themselves in the years to come. As such, the sacrifice in time and money that I am currently expending will doubtless yield a favorable reward and prove that the decisions I have made were the right ones. Additionally, as a parent, I have the innate desire to see my own family succeed and my own children to enjoy a better quality of life than I did. As such, I did not see my life taking this particular path before I enrolled in Ivy Tech. Without pursuing higher education and working continually to better myself for the sake of others as well as myself, there would be little if any opportunity for me to achieve a higher standard of living or quality of life. However, due to the fact that I have enrolled and am currently working towards pursuing a degree, I wholeheartedly believe that I have taken the rights steps in the right direction for the right reasons. In order to realize the American Dream for myself and my family it was necessary for me to take the first steps and pursue my goals with a decided determination. Secondly, I chose Ivy Tech in order to work directly in a field in which I could alleviate suffering. Nursing is one of the few fields that interest me due to the fact that I am able to make a direct – healthcare provider to patient – positive effect on the patients under my charge. Unlike jobs that are concentric around selling items or providing other services, nursing is a career and lifestyle that intrigues me due to the fact that I will be able to directly interact with and help to foster the health and recovery of the patients under my charge. Additionally, the field of nursing is not a new experience for me due to the fact that I have been a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for over four years now; however, like many jobs, I did not see greater growth potential in my position and wanted the freedom to be able to make greater and more important decisions. My prior experience taught me a great deal and was the encouragement for me to return to school in order to seek out greater educational opportunities; yet, I also learned that without a more advanced degree, I would continually be viewed as a “nobody” with relation to the nursing teams I worked on. Naturally, my desire to pursue further education at Ivy Tech is not merely the result of seeking out greater respect among my colleagues, but it grows out of an innate desire to better myself and prove to both myself and my peers that I am capable of achieving that which many of them already have. With respect to some of the challenges I will face upon completion of my degree is a very difficult job market. Although nursing graduates continue to be in a higher demand than many majors, the recent economic troubles have proven that nothing is a sure thing. As such, the future outlook for the medical community combined with the uncertainty of the economy is something that no one can be certain of. However, regardless of this fact, the fact remains that attaining a higher education and gaining greater skills is always a net positive with regards to personal betterment regardless of what the economy might do upon graduation or soon thereafter. Likewise one of the particular strengths that I bring to the program is the ability to keep my emotions out of the cases I am responsible for handling. In many new/young nursing graduates this is a very difficult feat to perform as they are tempted to become deeply emotionally entwined in their patient’s lives as well as their progression. This is not a practice that any of these recent graduates are able to keep up as they slowly burn out and cannot adequately perform their job functions alongside being so closely involved with their patients on an emotional level. Likewise, with my prior four years of experience in the field I believe I will make a valuable contribution given the fact that I already understand the complexities of the work and the emotional toll that is required. Furthermore, while working as a Certified Nursing Assistant, I believe I was able to find the right balance and mixture of providing exceptional professional health care while at the same time not allowing too great a degree of emotional attachment development between myself and my patients. Although this can sound as a type of cold-hearted detachment, it is a necessary trait that all medical professionals that regularly interact with sick and/or diseased patients must foster if they are to survive the daily and oftentimes taxing routine of nursing work. As such, the intention is not to maintain a cold and indifferent posture with relation to the patients under one’s care; instead, the goal is to provide the highest level of care to each and every patient without allowing yourself to become too emotionally attached and burn out too quickly. It is for these reasons that I believe that I will make a valuable contribution; not only to the program itself but to whatever firm I am fortunate enough to be employed by upon graduation. In many ways, I believe the nature of the forces that encourage and drive me towards achieving a higher education have given me a unique perspective and the ability to both empathize and understand the situations and perspectives of both my future patients as well as the co-workers who I am fortunate enough to work with. Read More