NURS 6565 Week 1 Assignment Short And Long Term Professional Goals

Family nurse practitioner students (FNPS) need to develop realistic and professional goals because they are critical to guide our careers and make the transition from the role working as registered nurses to the advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) successful. As a new APRN, we will be a novice again the same way as we were when coming out of nursing school and we need to do everything that we can to make the transition simple and uncomplicated.

New APRN sometimes set unrealistic expectations making their role change more difficult and increasing their anxiety (Poje, 2016) and risk of failure in their new occupation. The purpose of writing this paper is to identify at least three short and three long term goals, describe why I selected them and how they relate to my professional career development, and create a strategic plan that describes how I might achieve each of those goals.

Three Short and Three Long-term Goals, why I Selected Them, and how They Relate to my Professional Career Development

FNPS need to come up with goals that certainly describe what they want to achieve or learn and they must be specific, measurable, achievable, appropriate and time-limited

(College of Nurses of Ontario [CNO], 2014).   They need to create and ensure that their goals are focused and present a clear idea of what they want to accomplish or want to master (CNO, 2014), and they include:

I have to learn to identify the different illnesses so that all patients will be protected from harm by knowing the signs and symptoms, causes, and how to diagnose and manage their condition by the end of 2018 as measured by a smaller number of misdiagnoses. I selected this goal because the majority of APRN coming out of school have so much to learn which is essential and connected to the development of their professional career.

Nurse practitioners (NP) have to be knowledgeable, so they can become excellent providers and be able to deliver safe, effective, and high quality of care for their patients (Flinter, 2012). If they do not have the knowledge to do their job, they can lose their license and not be able to work in this profession again.

I have to learn to manage time wisely so that I can do my job appropriately and will be able to go home on time by August 2018 as measured by having some free time after work to enjoy life. I selected this goal because many new APRNs that I know have a problem with time management.

They go to work for about 8-12 hours per day and have to stay over or go home to finish documenting all the clients that they saw because of the lack of time to do it during the office visit. If the problem continues for a long time, the APRN’s stress level goes up, and their career satisfaction goes down (Flinter, 2012) affecting their professional career development and making them want to quit their job.

I have to learn the necessary skills so that I can perform the proper procedures needed and will be able to take care of the patients correctly by the end of 2018 as measured by the number of successful procedures. I carefully chose this goal because I noticed that many APRN have to review the clinic’s policies and procedures manual or look up information on the internet frequently due to their lack of experience.

Having the necessary skills can help APRN become competent providers (Flinter, 2012) which are associated with the development of a better professional career. If providers are not skilled, clients will not want to return and see them negatively impacting their career.

I have to develop the confidence to educate patients so that they can and will learn what they need to know about their medications and conditions by the end 2020 as measured by not having to look up information all the time. I selected the goal because it is important that APRN knows everything about the different prescription drugs and disorders affecting people and be able to teach them to prevent complications.

When NP have confidence, patients will feel more comfortable having them as primary care providers (Flinter, 2012) which are associated with the advancement of their professional career.

I plan to work hard so that I can save money and will be able to have my own business by the middle of 2022 as measured by having my place of employment. I selected this goal because I would like to have my own business one day, be able to help patients, and not have to be in such a hurry to make money instead of taking care of clients like most clinics are doing nowadays.

The United States has a shortage of healthcare providers (Flinter, 2012) due to the challenges affecting APRNs occupation and the discontent with the duties and responsibilities impacting the advancement of the professional career. There are some things that I do not agree with, and by owning a business, some of those elements can be changed or improved.

I have to continue my education so that I will be able to obtain the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree by 2020 as measured by completing the program and getting a document to prove it. I picked this goal because that is what I want to do in the future and believe that it can be attainable when individuals work hard to get what they want in life. The DNP is not going to give me extra money for getting it in many places, but it will help me move forward with my professional career and open new opportunities.

NURS 6565 Week 1 – Strategic Plan Explaining how I Might Attain the Goals

One way to accomplish all of those goals is by creating an individualized plan that can assist me to achieve them. The goals number 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, which are about learning, gaining skills and confidence, and obtaining the DNP can be within the person’s reach and be achieved. APRN have to start going to clinical case conferences or workshop, taking online or in the classroom classes, reading journal articles, completing online training courses, reviewing case studies, going through a practice simulation, being mentored, and attending webinars (Thabault, Mylott, & Patterson, 2015 and CNO, 2014). 

Others include working as a team with medical assistants, nurses, NP, doctors, physician assistants, and shared personnel resources such as dieticians, managers, pharmacist, behaviorists, and diabetes educator (Flinter, 2012). Managing my time better by becoming regimented with it, adopting strategies that increase productivity (Perkel, 2015), keeping and redirecting patients to the task at hand, staying focused, establishing a routine and making changes as necessary, and not wasting time getting distracted.

The goal of having my own business can be reachable by working hard, stop wasting so much money on unnecessary things and buying what I need only, not going out as much to save money, eating at home and taking my lunch, and others. Doing those few things work great and save money because I am about to complete this program and I am debt free. APRN tends to make good money, but I noticed that the more money individuals make, the more that they tend to spend and that has to change to accomplish the goal.

NURS 6565 Week 1 – Summary

FNPS need to develop realistic and professional goals because they are critical to guide our careers and make the transition from the role working as registered nurses to the APRN successful. As a new APRN, we will be a novice again the same way as we were when coming out of nursing school and we need to do everything that we can to make the transition simple and uncomplicated. New APRN sometimes set unrealistic expectations making their role change more difficult and increasing their anxiety (Poje, 2016) and risk of failure in their new occupation.

The three short and three long-term goals consist of learning about the different conditions, managing time wisely, developing confidence, having my own business, and completing the DNP program within 1-5 years which are related to the development of my professional career. The goals can be achievable by coming up with the right strategic plan, evaluating, and making changes as needed to get them done.

NURS 6565 Week 1 Primary Care Journal

NURS 6565 Synthesis in Advanced Practice Care of Complex Patients in Primary Care Settings Professional Goals

Short-term goals and their impact

The short-term goals that I will set include; becoming a certified board member, choosing the patient population to serve as well as evaluating potential employers carefully. Becoming a certified board member will help me become more confident as a nursing practitioner, as well as boost my marketability in the competitive industry. In an effort to ensure that I become a certified board member in record time, I will undertake to apply for the exams before I leave RN and ensure that I am able to sit for them within three or four months after application.

The selection of the patient population encompasses the finding of the perfect position from which I will be able to grow and I will thus have to decide on a specific population that I will serve such as cardiac or the old age people. This will help ensure I am able to easily network within that given specialty area. The third goal that I will set is critical evaluation of the potential employers in which I will undertake to ask about job expectations, such as work hours, patients to be served as well as growth opportunities such as training programs.

This will help ensure I land an employer that offers growth opportunities as well as an enabling environment to hone my skills as a nursing practitioner (Masters, 2017).

Long-term Goals and Their Impact

These goals include; get my name out there, engaging in research as well as advancing my qualifications. In an effort to increase my marketability, I will ensure that I stay in touch with the various individuals that I completed my practice with and who are likely to help with recommendations in the event I decide to advance career-wise. I will also ensure that I engage other nursing practitioners who are in the field whether older or even younger and who might help in giving advice as well as recommending career opportunities that might help in my growth.

The engagement in research will help advance my understanding of contemporary issues and nursing topics while also giving me the chance to increase my marketability (Masters, 2017). This will add more value to my portfolio and thus increase my chances of advancing in the field. Academic qualifications will play a crucial role in ensuring I continuously hone my skills as well as improve my employability standings; it will also help me improve my leadership skills thus preparing me for a role as a nursing leader.

Strategic Plan

In an effort to ensure that I am able to achieve these goals I will set in place a strategic plan that will address the short-term as well as the long-term goals. In an effort to ensure that I meet all these goals I will start by cultivating a social change in my personal life and which will help prompt me to no longer think as a RN but a NP who has career goals and ambitions to fulfill. The social change that will be set in place will encompass modeling of ethical guidelines to help guide my conduct not only with my peers but also in my private social life (Catalano, 2015).

This will help ensure that I remain focused on my goals, with all distractions being slowly stemmed out. I will also become an active participant in both work forums and social forums, as a means of ensuring that I do not get distracted and engaged in vices that can easily deter me from meeting the goals through procrastination. I will lastly develop a personal mission statement and communicate the same to my parents who I will ask to evaluate the progress I am making from time to time, as a means of ensuring that I stay on course and do not deviate.

References

  • Catalano, J. T. (2015). Nursing now!: Today’s issues, tomorrow’s trends. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
  • Masters, K. (2017). Role development in professional nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.