Thinking About Your Goals As A Nurse

by: Robyn Knapp
As the student nurse approaches graduation, thoughts of beginning a career in nursing come to mind. A new nurse should think very seriously about their career goals. These include long term as well as short term goals. As with any path of life that an individual takes, it is not random. Each person that seeks an education does so with a set of plans and directionality for their immediate goals and long term. The idea of graduating from a nursing program once again dictates to the graduate that plans once again must be laid for the road ahead. Nothing worthwhile doing is done haphazardly. All things require preparation. Even as one contemplated going into the nursing field, certain pre-requisites had to be completed before hand. Graduating from a nursing program is another transition phase that must be approached with the same dedication and planning as was first applied. The short synopsis below is a sample of a career goal paper. Everyone will have their own unique career goal paper. Now is a good time to start thinking about career goals.

INTRODUCTION:

The field of nursing attracted me for several reasons. The first reason being, that a nurse is the front line person in caring for others and saving lives. The nurse will in many cases such as in the hospital or homecare environment discover the patient who needs emergency attention before the physician. It will be up to the nurse to respond accordingly within the scope of their practice and hospital procedures. Why does this facet of nursing attract me? Well, it is because that this type of responsibility is not too far off from the type of responsibility that a physician has, which is what I had hoped to become many years ago. Nurses did not have that crucial level of responsibility initially. Because of this, many patients died. For instance, a nurse from the past may not have known the therapeutic values of electrolytes and blood gases thereby putting the patient’s health in jeopardy. Now, in present times, the nurse must know all of the pertinent lab values and act upon any change immediately, either by calling the physician or implementing standing orders.

The other aspect of nursing that is also attractive to me in becoming a nurse, is that the nurse uses therapeutic communication and treats the patient’s response to real or perceived illness. This is the corner stone of which nursing is based on. The holistic approach is so successful in helping patients to heal. I am a firm believer that for an individual to be able to heal from without, they must first heal from within. Therefore the nurse can help clients to adapt and grow in a positive way rather than negative. Since all of nursing is now based on evidenced practice, it is exciting to be able to put the scientific method to use. There are now logical and provable reasons that a nurse should take a particular course of action.

These are just some of the reasons which have attracted me to the profession of nursing.

SHORT-TERM CAREER GOALS:

My short-term career goals consist of successfully passing Nursing 255, then passing the national board exam. Once this is accomplished, I hope to be work on a medical-surgical floor and hone my skills as a graduate nurse. I have chosen medical-surgical nursing as a starting point because this particular field will help me to develop my clinical skills.

LONG-TERM CAREER GOALS:

I hope to be an active member in the profession of nursing, joining the American Nurses Association, attending seminars and lobbying for the advancement of nurses to prescribe medication independently. Hopefully within the next five years or so I will have a degree as an advanced practice nurse in the field of family healthcare and be working in an emergency room.

PERSONAL GOALS

My personal goals are humble. Money has never been a goal, rather doing that which enriches the soul. I am thankful to my Lord that I have been given the opportunity to have made it thus far. I take care of my mother and help my family as best I can. I am happiest when I am helping others, and owe a large debt of gratitude to my instructors, who have given of themselves their wealth of knowledge and experience to help produce competent nurses. I hope to make them proud.

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