After working as a medical intensive care unit nurse for more than a year, I have chosen to further my studies to provide appropriate care to my patients. Initially, my goal was to be a CRNA, but most of my patients being those in septic or DKA, I have chosen to advance my career in this noble profession to continue delivering my services in the intensive care unit where my interest lies now.

Although, I have not been in the profession for so long, my goal and is serve my patients diligently and provide the most appropriate care. Nursing code of ethics commands we ensure no harm to our clients and advocate for their needs to improve their outcomes, and so advancing my education will improve my competence, enable me work in all changing health care environment and improve my integrity in the Medical intensive unit (Stacie & Jessica, 2017). Our profession allows long life learning and hence am passionate to always update and advance my skills to advocate for all my patients.

I future I may work to become a Family Nurse practitioner, and hence choosing this university is to ensure success in my career as Walden University has provided me that opportunity since the clear mission is to ensure we all become professionals with the ability to effect positive social change, and with vision to ensure we all are well equipped to provide solutions to societal challenges as well as any nursing practice problems with may face, by advancing our skills (Walden University, 2020).  A friend motivated me into joining Walden, but that has been my admiration, and am ready to walk my career with my university now. Walden appreciates diversity and hence am certain, to become skilled to provide care to patients from all backgrounds and walks of life and to have a deeper understanding of all that appertains to my noble profession in practice, decision making and remaining ethical.

WU offers the opportunity for us to interact with our peers through weekly interactions, and the opportunity to chat with our professors, and therefore I chose to engage and learn from my peers and instructors to achieve my goals, which to serve my patients with uttermost responsibility and to improve their lives, especially in the medical care intensive unit where I am currently working from. I chose to retire a nurse!  I chose Walden University. Forever Walden!

References

Stacie, H., & Jessica, N. (2017). Improving tissue integrity in intensive care unit patients. Journal of Nursing and Practice, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.36959/545/357

Walden University. (2020). Vision, Mission, and Goals. Retrieved June 1, 2020, 

from https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=172&navoid=59420

Discussion: Networking Opportunities

In this module, you begin laying the foundation for your academic and professional success. Your efforts begin with a vision that includes your own definition of success. Your vision may vary from those of your colleagues, but this does not mean you have to take these first steps alone.

Walden University and the College of Nursing also have a vision and mission, which include helping you to make your own vision a reality. Members of your new academic community, such as faculty, support teams, and fellow students, can also be helpful. Current practitioners and other member of the professional community can also help you to clarify your vision.

This Module’s Discussion asks you to consider how the Walden mission and vision as well as the College of Nursing’s mission and vision apply to your professional and academic goals. You will also begin to identify individuals and teams who can help you along the way as you begin designing the “blueprint”—your Academic Success and Professional Development Plan—that will guide you toward your own vision for academic and professional success.

To Prepare:

• Review the Walden and College of Nursing mission and vision statements, Walden’s goals and University Outcomes, and the MSN Program Learning Outcomes presented in this Module’s Learning Resources.
• Reflect on your professional and academic goals as they relate to your program/specialization.
• Consider how the information in these resources fit with your own goals and to your becoming a scholar-practitioner.
• Also consider academic and professional individuals and teams with whom you may collaborate in support of your efforts as a student at the university and as a professional within your organization and career.

By Day 3 of Week 1

Post a brief introduction of yourself to your colleagues. Include an explanation as to how Walden’s vision, mission, goals, and social change initiatives relate to your professional and academic goals and to your becoming a scholar-practitioner. Also include an explanation for how the Walden MSN Program Outcomes and perspectives relate to your professional and academic goals and to your becoming a scholar-practitioner.

By Day 6 of Week 1

Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ posts by suggesting additional individuals and/or teams with whom you wish to collaborate or by offering additional networking strategies.

Networking Opportunities

         I have been practicing as a registered nurse for only four years. I may not have the same amount of experience as many other students, but the experience that I do have is quality experience. I have been working in an Emergency Department (ED) since I completed my undergraduate studies. The hospital I work for has multiple campuses with a dedicated burn unit and a children’s hospital. We are also a level two trauma center (Emergency and Trauma, 2020). Since the majority of admitted patients flow through the ED, I am well versed in a variety of areas. I see patients requiring critical care, trauma services, burn services, and pediatrics.

      While functioning as an ED nurse over the past four years, I have been exposed to advanced practice nurses and have worked side by side with them on numerous occasions. I have also seen former colleagues study and earn master’s degrees. These degrees have allowed them to develop their careers by becoming more autonomous and successful advanced practicing nurses. Exploring this next step in my own career is something I have considered, and wrestled with, over the past two years. Only within the past few months have I decided to pursue a masters of science in nursing.

      Once I decided to advance my education and career, I began researching universities. I quickly discovered that with my current life situation, online schooling would work best for me due to the flexibility and convenience of online work. My only concern was the quality of education I could receive in an online program. After extensive research, both online and in-person, I found Walden University to be the most highly qualified and highly recommended university.

      The information most influential in my decision to choose Walden was the university’s vision statement, and emphasis on social change. I have a strong desire for the betterment of my community. Specifically, I want to address their health needs. The vision of Walden, as stated on their website, indicates that the overall achievement of their vision results in “greater global good” (Vision, Mission, and Goals, 2019). I have given serious thought to working in less fortunate countries with an advanced degree I am pursuing. Just as Vision, Mission, and Goals (2019) states, “Positive social change results in the improvement of human and social conditions.

      Similarly, my academic goals align with and will be fostered by Walden University. This is evident in part by their mission. Walden University is on a mission to “transform” students and to help them achieve their goals. In the mission statement, the term “scholar-practitioner” is used (Vision, Mission, and Goals, 2019). This is a term I previously had never heard. Upon investigating this term, I found that “lifelong learner” is part of that definition (Scholar-Practitioners, 2020). This is a principle I have been taught from my undergraduate experiences, and is an idea that stuck with me into my profession. Corresponding with that definition of scholar-practitioner, I strive for evidence-based practice. I want to continue learning and developing my practice as discoveries in my field are made. To achieve this mission, Walden has thoughtfully and precisely constructed their goals to achieve repeatable success. Most relatable to my academic goals are the “diverse learning approaches” (Vision, Misson, and Goals, 2019). I value a variety of educational methods and instructors. I feel that with this, I will be better prepared with academic rigor and professional success.

      The Masters in Science of Nursing learning outcomes seem to support my professional and academic goals further. While I find value in each of the learning outcomes, a few resonate deeply with me. As stated above, continuing in my path as a lifelong learner and incorporating evidence-based practice, as a professional, is vital to me. According to outcome numbers two and six, I will be given the opportunity of an education that nurtures those goals in me. Most importantly to me, however, is outcome number five. I feel that this outcome fits with the social change initiative that Walden is known for and that I have made evident I desire (Master of Science in Nursing, 2019).

      Overall, my main goal for pursuing a master level education is to promote social change by helping one patient at a time. I believe that positive change takes time. It does not happen overnight, but rather through acts of kindness, selflessness, and consistency. I want to be the type of provider interested in not only the individual but also the community and world. Knowing that the world is made up of communities and that communities are made up of people, the only way to create positive social change worldwide is through positive encounters with individuals: one person at a time.

References

Emergency & Trauma. Emergency & Trauma – Cabell Huntington Hospital – Huntington, WV. (2020). https://cabellhuntington.org/services/emergency-trauma/.

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). Walden University. (2019). https://catalog.waldenu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=172.

Scholar-Practitioners. Walden University. (2020). https://www.waldenu.edu/about/who-we-are/scholar-practitioner.

Vision, Mission, and Goals. Walden University. (2019). https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=172.