Characteristics in Nursing - Personal Statement Example

My career goal is to research the best way to help nurses effectively use information systems in improving patient care. Subsequently, I seek to enroll for a Ph.D. in nursing to gain knowledge and expertise in the field. This way, I am certain that I will have a bigger impact on my nursing profession.

Born as Andrea Holloway on November 17, 1965, in Gainesville Florida, I am the first-born child to Rosa and Jesse Holloway. After graduating from Gainesville High School in 1982, I married my high school sweetheart Johnnie Doctor. However, he joined the U.S. Navy and immediately left for Japan on assignment. Being a newly wedded couple, I joined him in Japan, starting my life as a navy wife. During this time, I neither joined any organization nor continued with my education. During my first three years in Japan, I gave birth to my first child. Four years later Italy where my husband was on transfer, I gave birth to my second-born child.

Despite my passion for social work and caregiving, the thought of joining school for further studies in any related course never occurred to me. When my husband received shore duties, we relocated to Washington. It was only during this time that I contemplated resuming my studies. Having been away from the states for many years, I was used to living in Japan and Italy. In Washington however, I found life rather difficult, as I had nothing to do. I felt overwhelmed with boredom, having to remain indoors the whole day. In search of a solution, my husband and I decided that resuming my studies was the best idea. Although I had made up my mind on going back to school, I was still undecided about the course I would pursue. Having had a passion for caregiving and helping the sick, nursing was the most preferable career for me.

Immediately, I enrolled for my first degree at the University of District of Columbia. With the passion that I had for the subject, coupled with my ambitions and desire to pursue my interests, I invested considerable effort and time in my studies. After graduating with an average of 3.4 points in nursing, I felt motivated to further pursue the career of my dream. Fatefully, however, in 2001, the same year that I graduated from the university, my husband died in the September 11 attack on the United States. Devastated and alone with my children, I had to single-handedly provide for them. I felt confused, and trapped; with Jonnie gone, I had to do everything for my children.

While trying to get over my husband’s death, I decided to leave Washington, settling in South Carolina. Here, I decided to further pursue my course. During my first-degree course, the functioning of the heart was my biggest fascination. I was more interested in how the heart worked, and the reason why whenever it stopped, a person died. I believed that this was the most important organ in the human body, and as such, understanding its functioning would help me save more lives. Subsequently, I enrolled in cardiac nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina. To my excitement, the university opened an extensive heart and vascular unit. Therefore, I spent most of my time working in the Cath Lab. Within a year of dedication and hard work in the lab, I was promoted to a senior nurse. However, I had to move back to Washington after my eldest son got a full basketball scholarship at Georgetown University.

Motivated to help other people, and provide them with the best care, the last fourteen years of my cardiac nursing career have been a success. The joy that I get whenever helping the sick is overwhelming. Further, with students relying on me for guidance, I feel obliged to provide them with more training. The satisfaction that I get whenever attending to patients with heart problems is awesome. Since 2011, I have been working as an associate professor at the University of District of Columbia, Washington, DC. I also work as a Nurse Manager at the Potomac Cardiovascular Consultants in Woodbridge, VA. Earlier, I worked at the Star Institute, Fairfax, VA as a clinical medical and surgical PN and RN nursing instructor. I have also worked as a coordinator at the Inova Research Center and as a Heart Catheterization Lab Coordinator of Care at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Driven by results, I hope to contribute expertise in management, holistic patient care, and creative development processes, as well as a host of relevant skills regarding patient populations in various skilled care settings. Subsequently, I intend to research how to help nurses use health information systems to assist nurses with improving patient care. This is however not possible without quality and expertise training in the nursing field. It is with this regard that I seek to enroll for a Ph.D. in cardiac nursing.