Nursing Professional Development Plan - Research Paper Example

Introduction Nurses play multiple roles. They are not only a care provider, but they should also be an advocate, a communicator, a team member, a teacher, and a leader (Rosdahl & Kowalski, 2008, pp. 15-16). It is true that every nurse must know how to incorporate and integrate each role into the caring service that they provide; but because of the changing and complicating situation of the healthcare setting, nurses’ roles are now expanding. This trend has given birth to the existence of clinical nurse specialists who undergo advanced trainings and education to be capable of serving new executive roles and research responsibilities in addition to the ones mentioned above (“Clinical Nurse Specialist,” n.d.). Although I believe that it is not the position of a nurse that determines his or her efficiency as one, I can see that in having an administrative role as part of my professional goals, I cannot only develop my leadership skills but also influence those who are under my headship to perform not only for the benefit of the organization that we belong to but most importantly for the sake of the patients needing our care. Using a timeframe, and by formulating short-term and long-term goals, this paper will present my professional development plan and serve as my guide to reaching my goal of being a nurse leader/manager. BSN: Benefits of a Bachelor’s Degree In a study conducted to see the growth of the different nursing programs, it was found out that majority of the students in the year 2004 and 2005 have opted to take the associate degree in nursing (ADN) than the baccalaureate program (BSN) (“Executive Summary from the Nursing,” 2006). On the other hand, benefits of practicing as a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree exceed those of the registered nurses with ADN. True, graduating with an ADN is time and economically-practical. Due to the lesser time, effort and money (Percoco, 1998), which are demanded from those who opt for an ADN as compared to the BSN program, it is as well expected that there will be differences in the opportunities of those who graduate from the two different programs. According to a book by US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2010), the graduates of BSN, who need to spend four years in the degree, “receive more training in areas such as communication, leadership, and critical thinking, all of which are becoming more important as nursing practice becomes more complex” (p. 394). Two years of this time is spent for arts and sciences courses before pursuing the remaining two years for the nursing courses; these nursing courses “include typical content related to the care of patients with medical, surgical, pediatric, obstetric, and psychiatric conditions” (Cherry & Jacob, 2005, p. 81). Because of the extended time and its more intensive nature, baccalaureate degree students have more clinical experience in both hospital and non-hospital settings to prepare them for “a broader scope of nursing practice” (USBLS, 2010, p. 394). Moreover, students of this program are also developed in terms of community and public health, beginning research, management, and leadership like what has been pointed out earlier. Furthermore, a BSN degree graduate need not to spend more time for further training or education like what those ADN graduates do as the degree already serves as one of the tickets to practicing in specialty areas or for taking up a master’s program for another set of professional opportunities in the field (Cherry & Jacob, 2005, p. 81). Role Transition: Impact of BSN on Current Professional Role After understanding the benefits of a BSN degree to its takers, this part will consider the impact of being a BSN graduate to the current professional status that I am in and its effects in the possibility of achieving my short-term and long-term professional goals. I am the interim senior clinical manager of the Pediatric Emergency Department of the Cardon Children’s Medical Center. As I assume the role, the medical center’s human resources department is conducting standard procedures of application processing and conducting interviews to find a suitable permanent hire for the position. Being a graduate of an ADN and a current student of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, I could perceive that it would have been an advantage for me to have finished BSN first. Primarily, it was mentioned above that the degree would offer theories about leadership and management in a number of its courses which cannot be obtained in an ADN program. Although it may be helpful to show that I have the qualities of a good clinical nurse manager to gain approval from the ER staff that I am frequently working with and from the director of emergency services, and that it was not essentially required to be a graduate of baccalaureate degree holder first to be considered qualified, it is nevertheless apparent that those who have graduated from a BSN degree would be much more preferred than myself for a managing position. Besides this, I also know that I will not be able to achieve the rest of my professional goals unless I’d be a holder of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Hence, it is vital that I strive to finish my current baccalaureate education as one of my initial steps to implementing my professional plans. My Professional Development Plan There are many things to consider in making a professional development plan. In addition to the technical aspect of educational and training or experiences requirements, a person must also reflect on his or her strengths, threats, and the barriers that must be overcome to achieve the goals that are set. Yet, plans must be laid first to be able to narrow down and only focus on the things that must be given attention. My Goals. I have divided my goals into short and long-term ones. They are placed in a timeframe in a manner that it would be possible for me to take each relevant step necessary in achieving them in an appropriate time. Two of my short-term goals are: (1) finishing a baccalaureate degree in nursing which will take me 18 months to do so; and (2) becoming the permanent Senior Clinical Manager of Cardon Children’s Medical Center’s Pediatric Emergency Department which I plan to be by the end of this year. My long-term goals, on the other hand, include taking a master’s degree in nursing with concentration on leadership which will allow me to reach my other goal of becoming the Director of Emergency Services of the same institution. I plan to take a short time off before pursuing the master’s degree. Nevertheless, it will not put off my plan of becoming the director within seven years since it will only take four years to finish the master’s degree. If my short-term goal of position permanency will happen as planned, I deem it necessary to stay in the same position for at least three years. This strategy would enable me not only to develop new skills and knowledge about leadership besides the traits that I already have but also will get me exposed to the administrative processes of the bigger Banner Desert Medical Center community. I see it imperative that I take special leadership classes offered by the institution in addition to the continuing education programs I am and plan of attending since I will be working for and with it for a considerable part of my career. Skills, Knowledge, and Strengths. I believe that it is necessary to continually obtain, maintain, and even perfect my leadership skills among others to influence the rest of the staff of the emergency department in achieving the vision and mission laid before us in the delivery of emergency care; but I also know that as a leader/manager, I must as well be able to deal with the patients, with the employees of the other departments, and even with my superiors too. To do that, my communication skills must be well-rounded because I know that an effective leader is able to motivate his or her members using effective communication techniques. The Table 1 in Appendix A shows why it is important for me to do so. Other skills that a leader like me must need to master are interpersonal skills (since we will be in frequent contact with different people); the flexibility and adaptability into various situations; negotiation skills; performance of organizational tasks as part of an administrative role; and finally, time management (Unaeze, 2003, p. 112). Cherry and Jacob (2005), on the other hand, added that a nurse leader or manager should also have clinical expertise and advanced nursing knowledge to give direct supervision over patient care among others, especially when the assigned area is involved in giving direct care to patients (p. 387). Finally, I find it as an additional strength if I gain support from my peers, team members and even guidance from superior. I aim to have this by informing them what my organizational plans for the emergency department are. Barriers and Threats. Along with the skills and strengths, I know that I also have to acknowledge the presence of the barriers that can hinder me from attaining my professional goals. There are four things that I consider as hindrances of the career path I am planning to take. These are the lack of professional competence and commitment to the educational programs that I need to attain, the difference between my personal behavior, values and beliefs and the ones that the institution is expecting from me, and the uncertainty that the future holds about the consistency of the support that I will be getting from my working environment in relation to the current support that I am getting. Conclusion I see the authority of a nurse leader/manager as an advantage in effectively fulfilling my role as a nurse in the clinical setting. I do not only get to give appropriate emergency care but most importantly, I am able to influence a greater number of nurses as their nurse leader/manager; and I believe that there is no other way of achieving this ambition but through the professional plan that I have developed for myself. Through this, I will be able to fulfill my task as a nurse and be a leader that I have always wanted at the same time by taking each necessary step, and gaining and learning each trait, skill and knowledge that I should have. References Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R. (2005). Contemporary nursing: issues, trends, & management (3rd Ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby. Clinical nurse specialist. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.waldenbehavioralcare.com/clinical_nurse_specialist.asp Executive summary from the nursing data review, academic year 2004-2005 baccalaureate, associate degree and diploma programs. (2006). Nursing Education Perspectives, 27 (5), 287+. Percoco, T. A. (1998). Said another way: is the ADN graduate prepared to practice in community settings? Nursing Forum, 33 (3), 23. Rosdahl, C. B., & Kowalski, M. T. (2008). Textbook of basic nursing (9th Ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unaeze, F. E. (2003). Leadership or management: expectations for head of reference services in academic libraries. In K. Sarkodie-Mensah (Ed.), Managing the twenty-first century: reference department: challenges and prospects (pp. 105-118). Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Information Press. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010, January). Occupational outlook handbook. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.  WorldatWork. (2007). The WorldatWork handbook of compensation, benefits & total rewards. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Appendix A Benefits of Effective Communication From the Employee’s Perspective Provides necessary education Provides timely information Clarifies expectations Increases awareness Reinforces the decision to join and remain with the company From the Employer’s Perspective Helps achieve program goals Streamlines administration Changes employee attitudes and behavior Increases ability to understand and respond to employees Reinforces organization philosophy, culture and values Table 1. The Power of Communication (WorldatWork, 2007, p. 55)   Read More