Introduction
In the context of constant health challenges, every healthcare worker must guarantee the population quality medical assistance, as well as an empathic approach. New technologies determine the need to improve knowledge crucial to a medic’s career. Nurses with a high level of professional training have better chances to achieve high-performance indicators and be capable of introducing new modern technologies and methods of conducting the medical and diagnostic process. To estimate the potential career challenges, as well as professional goals, one needs to develop a personal plan for improving one’s personal, social, and work characteristics. A proper and detailed plan of professional development allows its user to clearly see the major career milestones and potential achievements. Moreover, it helps determine the needs and requirements for completing each stage of career growth. Overall, a professional development plan is a powerful tool for assessing one’s perspectives and possible ways of improvement.
Factors Influencing My Decision to Obtain a BSN Degree
Being able to help people was the first of the many factors which influenced my decision to become a professional nurse. In hospitals, every staff member has their own work schedule, but no one will go home if they understand that people in their care need help. No nurse will leave anyone in pain or discomfort or uncared for. From there comes another point: one needs to be very well-versed in several subjects at least, in order to be real healthcare professional. The possibilities for explorations in the medical field are endless. Dickerson and Bernard (2018) claim that “any postlicensure education that supports the ongoing development of the RN is considered to be continuing nursing education” (p. 20). It takes four years to become a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and I wanted to dedicate myself to my professional career to the fullest.
Differences between The Role of the Baccalaureate and My Current Role
Seeing that I am yet a student, I have a lot more to learn in order to become a professional nurse. In my opinion, it is precisely the level of knowledge and skill that differs a baccalaureate nurse from an undergraduate. In addition, my current role does not place full responsibility for a patient’s well-being on me, as well as relieves me from certain professional duties. A baccalaureate nurse is also an accomplished professional with a full set of practical means to ensure the quality of their care. I have yet to develop these means, as well as gain knowledge and skill, in order to acquire the trust of my potential colleagues and patients.
New Opportunities Presented after Degree Completion
Of course, the first and, perhaps, most desirable opportunity is to become a full-fledged professional and get an official job at a hospital. Another valuable aspect of graduating is the ability to apply for a Master’s degree or some clinical study. Price and Reichert (2017), too, state that “adequate training and orientation when starting their career, and continuing education throughout their career, were of significant importance to student nurses” (p. 4). However, the opportunity I look forward to the most is the perspective of working at a hospital to provide care and support for the patients – and employ the attainments I have mastered for my degree.
Benner’s Model of Socialization
Benner’s theory offers a framework for describing, predicting, explaining, and controlling phenomena associated with the professional activities of nurses. The premise of the theory is the assertion that the competence of nursing staff depends on the continuous acquisition of experience, knowledge, and clinical skills, both at the academic and practical levels. Benner’s model of how a novice nurse progresses over time to become an expert has been successfully implemented in practice and teaching in a wide variety of clinical situations. I am yet in the Beginner stage, as I am still acquiring the knowledge I need in order to graduate successfully. I also had not had the opportunity to actually put my skills to work in a real healthcare institution. Moreover, as I have no work experience yet, I can only rely on the standard protocols and rules for every precedent or procedure I would perform.
Professional Short- and Long-Term Goals
My first short-term goal is to graduate successfully and obtain my legal nurse license, as those are the beginning steps to a professional career.
The second short-term goal is, as it seems only logical, to find a job at a healthcare institution. Personally, I would prefer to work in a hospital in order to immerse myself in the job to the fullest and experience the challenges and hardships of actual disease-fighting.
The long-term goal that I have set for myself is to continue my education in all the ways possible. I plan on attending additional courses and vocational education programs to keep up with the constant changes in the healthcare field.
Another long-term goal I would like to achieve is to enter a university program to become a doctor of medicine – it would be a logical continuation of mastering my medical skills, as well as a step up from being a nurse.
Challenges and Barriers to My Short- and Long-Term Goals
In pursuit of my short-term goals, I am most likely to experience the challenges and barriers every scholar does, including the inability to finish my education due to the pandemic, the insufficiency of knowledge, the lack of skills necessary for successful graduation or a job application. However, in my opinion, these challenges are relatively easy to overcome. The obstacles I could meet on the way to achieving my long-term goals seem much more difficult to go through me. For example, I could experience an inability to properly develop and train my skills due to external – such as lack of practice or my mentor’s ignorance – or internal factors. Anderson et al. (2018) add that “Registered Nurses are not aware that nursing standards require them to provide professional development to nursing students by teaching and supporting students when on their clinical placements.” (p. 2). In order to successfully overcome these barriers, I would need not only to find a proper balance between study and work but also to pay attention to the capabilities of my instructors.
Mentors and Support Systems Aiding Me in Overcoming These Challenges and Barriers
The first support system that would help me overcome the barrier of inattentive mentors is interprofessional education, where healthcare workers from different fields can engage in each other’s education. Shinners (2019) explains that “during formal continuing education, conventional patterns remained – physicians would educate physicians, and nurses educated nurses” (p. 191). However, in that case, I would suggest that doctors and nurses exchange their experiences too – it could lead to a greater amount of useful insights for both parties. Another partnering educational practice I find useful is shared faculty – a setting in which a nurse operates both as a clinical assistant and an academic educator. Shinners (2019) claims that “it helped to introduce clinical nurses to the role of adjunct faculty who can maintain clinical competence while teaching others, and provided a closer connection between clinical practice and academia” (p. 191). In my opinion, these two practices can positively affect students’ ability to continue their education, as well as help, build a strong network of mutual help between professional nurses.
References
Anderson, C., Moxham, L., & Broadbent, M. (2018). Teaching and supporting nursing students on clinical placements: Doing the right thing. Collegian, 25(2), 231–235. Web.
Dickerson, P. S., & Bernard, A. (2018). What’s in a Word? Understanding Terms in Continuing Nursing Education and Professional Development. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 49(1), 19–25. Web.
Price, S., & Reichert, C. (2017). The Importance of Continuing Professional Development to Career Satisfaction and Patient Care: Meeting the Needs of Novice to Mid- to Late-Career Nurses throughout Their Career Span. Administrative Sciences, 7(2), 17. Web.
Shinners, J. (2019). Continuing Education and Professional Development: Making the Connection. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 50(5), 191–192. Web.