Future Goals and Reasons for Choosing the DNP Program - Essay Example

Future Goals and Reasons for Choosing the DNP Program My overall goal is to become a licensed and independent practitioner of medicine. My specific goals are: To practice as a clinician To teach in entry levels of nursing To cope with dynamic healthcare systems and services To incorporate technology in my practice My reasons for choosing the doctoral degree program include; adequate preparation for this program through a master's degree program in clinical Psychology. I also feel that this should be the next course of action in my career. I would like to be one of the members of the nursing profession who contribute to equality in the field. This is because education will put me at par with other medical professions. I realize that there is a shortage of nurses in the undeserved areas of medicine. I would like to contribute in improvement of this situation. I also believe that the doctorate will put me at an advantage economically, more so because it will increase the enumeration which I will receive. I also believe that there will be high chances of obtaining scholarships in this program to enable me become a professor in the field. The program is relatively new and has room for accommodating individuals like myself in its line. Leadership in my view is an essential part of any nursing career path. I intend on continuing to develop my leadership skills through ongoing educational pursue and via taking greater positions of responsibility. My current position as a Captain with the United States Army reserves has allowed me to put leadership knowledge into practice. I also feel that the DNP program will further enhance these skills. How I envision my role as doctoraly prepared practitioner I see myself as someone with wide and diverse knowledge in advanced practice with the ability to link classroom studies with clinical challenges. I also envision myself with the ability to integrate all the knowledge I will have obtained up to that level into my area of expertise in the health industry. I also believe that I will be able to research into various quarters that have been the cause of discrepancies in the health industry. Besides this, I will be able to cooperate with other fields of the profession to achieve effectiveness as a practioner. Some of the fields that I picture myself working with include administration and education. As I have taken on more responsibilities, I have become more cognizant of some of the problems with our health care system, and I plan to become more active toward creating and influencing a positive change. For example, I plan to advocate and to fight hard to force policy makers to take decisive steps to move today's bureaucracy driven, heavily regulated third-party payment system to a new patient-centered system of consumer choice and real market competition. I also envision myself as a competent manager of health care. This implies that I will have the ability to merge all the legal, ethical and professional requirements and standards during service provision. I believe that I will be able to provide adequate healthcare for all patients that I will deal with. This will be regardless of their background as I am ready to work and have worked with diverse population groupings during my practice. My position as a correctional nurse and a captain with the 6250th medical hospital, has given me the opportunity to work with a variety of patients from many cultures and backgrounds. I feel that this experience has enriched me and has allowed me to provide culturally sensitive care to the patients that I am entrusted to serve. Lastly, I envision my role as one who will be able to deliver changes in the field of healthcare delivery. I intend on doing this by affecting health policies in the industry and changing the attitude of service delivery. Professional experiences that contributed to nursing I will complete my bachelor's degree in nursing from Washington State University in May 2008. I also have a master degree from Chapman University in Clinical Psychology. Before I became a nurse, I was a county designated mental health professional for 12 years with Pierce County involuntary commitment. While working full time in this field, I attended nursing school full time to earn my RN license. At that time, I had no idea how many opportunities would be open to me after having earned RN degree. Since then, because of my background in both Psychology and nursing, and being fluent in Spanish, I have been offered many jobs and taken on greater positions of responsibilities. I have also been utilized as a consultant by my mental health peers to review cases that present an increase challenge because of the medical concerns that are also a part of the mental health diagnosis. Even today as a correctional nurse, I am called upon by mental health staff at the jail to help them with challenging cases that involve the coordination of both the medical staff and the mental health staff. I have also provided the mental health staff with training on the potential side effects of certain medications that are utilized in the correctional setting. This has helped in identifying potential side effect problems and minimizing discomfort for the patients we serve. Besides this, I have had practiced as a registered nurse for a good number of years. This has been my platform for having ambitions in the field. I have worked with several undeserving areas in health. I have worked with children and families as a mental counselor. I am also a certified mental health counselor with training in cultural diversity counseling. I have conducted couples counseling, and I have utilized my skills to assist my peers with work related conflicts. I was an ER nurse with Madigan Army Hospital providing care to acutely ill patients and implementing the nursing process in accordance with professional nursing standards. The job required that I collaborate with physicians and ancillary services to provide a multidisciplinary approach to patient and family care. There are a number of referees who can testify to my experience (refer to transcript attached and letters of recommendations). I have also completed 90% of my BSN degree in nursing. During this degree, I managed to obtain knowledge in the following areas; Nursing administration Nursing education Nursing informatics Nursing leadership My experience as a nurse, mental health, and my life experiences has allows me to become a ground breaker for my patients. This is because of the research skills I obtained from the masters degree program. In addition to this, I also believe that l have dedicated a lot of time in preparation for the doctorate program during subsequent years. I have engaged in a number of clinical activities that have exposed me to the challenges that exist in the field of nursing. I also know that just as important as education is the development of integrity and character. Someone once said that character is not what other say you are but what you do when the lights are out and no one is watching. I have taken this to heart and have made an effort to maintain a high level of ethics and to role model behaviors that communicate a sense of professionalism and integrity. Other aspects of my life As a child, I grew up in an environment of poverty in New York City. The environment was one where the odds were against my favor of ever getting out of poverty or being influence by crime and drugs. I was lucky in that at the age of thirteen, I discovered the importance of an education as my ticket out of poverty. I woke up and saw the difficulty and increase stress that I was placing on my mother, and I decided that I needed to change. Today, as I look back, I can see how I have matured. I have learned that what endures is not what you gather in terms of material position but what you contribute to your family and to the community. I have learned that is more important to listen then to always be the first to speak. I have learned humility. The value of teamwork and that leadership is not so much about leading as it is about creating a vision for others to follow. I realized along time ago that the only way l can help needy people is through treating them. I appreciate the fact that many people in our community lack basic needs like healthcare. If l qualify to practice, then l will do my best to give back to the community. I would love to make my community a better place to live in and nursing is the tool with which I can achieve this. I hope that one day, people will say, this nurse changed my life for the better as he not only treated my medical condition, but he also taught me something about living my life to the fullest. This is one the reason I wake up every morning. First and foremost is to serve God, serve my family, my community, and to acquire knowledge. I believe learning is a lifetime adventure. Every experience one undergoes can either break or make him/her stronger. I have had to fight for most of the rewards I have received in life. I worked my way through college (through full time jobs and raising a family). This meant that I could not loose sight of the bigger picture, so through consistent effort, I attained the highest possible aggregate points. I have also taken care of some of my siblings meaning that hard work is no stranger to my lifestyle. It becomes very challenging for nurses without a doctoral background to coordinate research, teaching and operations. My goal is to provide primary care to the inmates of the Pierce County Jail. This is certainly an underserved population that can have an impact on the community when they are not provided adequate health care. Untreated diseases like Tuberculosis, MRSA, and Hepatitis, can all have negative impact on the community in term of medical cost and add further strain to medical services. The DNP program provides a solution to this problem and enables nurses to gain the expertise to cope in today's world of undeserving medicine. The program offers an avenue to merge clinical skills with research skills in an exciting an innovative way. It also teaches leadership skills essential for practice and enables improvement of the quality of healthcare. It does not leave the technological aspect behind and is an excellent way to merge the nursing profession to the technological one. Lastly, the program provides for clinical population health and advanced practice. All these reasons have inspired me to pursue this program in advancement of my career path. I sincerely hope that you will give me this professional consideration. This will allow me to further serve my community and to continue to grow in character. Read More