Professional Goals (Short Term and Long Term) - Essay Example

127). The contemporary trends do amply testify to the fact that in the years to come, the United States of America is projected to come across a severe shortage of qualified nursing professionals, especially when a significant proportion of baby boomers are bound to age, leading to a commensurate rise in the demand for health care services (American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2012). Besides, a fast shifting population and rapidly changing industry trends have given rise to a soaring demand for qualified nursing professionals and administrators.

In the light of these developments and correlating them to my own aptitude and passion for nursing, I believe that if I affiliate to a Master’s Degree Program as a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator, it will give a positive and propitious turn to my overall professional life. I believe that short term and long term professional goals could pragmatically be configured and enunciated only in the light of an individual’s existing academic and professional credentials and achievements. Hence, to facilitate an insight into my ambition to pursue a Master’s Degree Program as a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator, it is imperative to elaborate on my current academic and professional qualifications.

I am a Registered Nurse with a Board Examination License from the State of Ohio. I have secured an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from Cincinnati Technical College’s, Bethesda School of Nursing. I was also affiliated to RN-BSN Program at Jacksonville University. I also secured a B.S. Health Care Administration from Suffield College. In the light of my aforementioned academic achievements and qualifications, I believe that aspiring for a Master’s Degree Program as a Clinical Nurse Specialist/Educator tends to be a very predictable, logical and deserving progression of my career aspirations and goals.

It is a fact that simply cannot be ignored that nursing like any other applied profession is not merely about degree and on paper qualifications. It is the actual work experience that hones a nursing professional’s skills and abilities and prepares one to graduate to higher academic achievements and aspirations (Donahue, 1996, p. 288). In that sense, I believe that my practical nursing career and experience amply bolster my future goals. I am a highly skilled nursing professional with 20 years practical experience in hospital, rehab and long term care.

I have a one year experience as a staff nurse on medical surgical unit from Bethesda Hospital, where I was responsible for supervision of nursing assistants and administering care to the patients as per the Nurse Practice Act and State/Federal regulations and also the hospital policy and procedures. I also served for a year as Staff Nurse to the Director of Nursing at Burlington House Alzheimer’s Center. I further added to my professional experience by being a Staff Nurse to the Director of Nursing for a period of 4 years at JUDSON Village Retirement Community.

I have also worked as a Nurse Manager at Maple Knoll Village rehab facility. For one full year I worked as a Director of Nurses for Liberty Matrix of Westwood. I have also accumulated ample experience as a Clinical Nurse1/Charge nurse dealing with the day to day functioning of unit activities, involving all disciplinaries including daily unit meetings and staff responsibilities. From January 2011 to November 2011, I served as a Nurse