As a nurse, I believe professional development can help preserve the decency and honor of profession among the society. Over the years, I have taken many different classes and have been able to develop my professional knowledge. My professional development plan will allow me to gauge my knowledge and establish goals for future learning understanding and accomplishment as a graduate student at Walden University. The objective of this paper is to establish and gain educational knowledge and experiences to develop my own personal plan to meet my educational goal needed for this course.
Education and Professional Background
My name is Diana Baker and I live in Frederick Maryland. It’s a small city which is part of the Baltimore- Washington metropolitan area. I have been living in Maryland for the last 12 years after my husband was stationed here from Germany by the military. I have been a military spouse for almost 15 years and this has opened many opportunities for meeting different people from all walk of fame in many different countries. I have a 19 years old son who is in his second year of college in Eastern Shore majoring in Business administration and Management. After moving here from Germany in 2005, I was overwhelmed and felt lost. I lost my beloved mother to terrible breast cancer 10 days after arriving in the United States. I thought my life was over but had to pick myself up and move on. I lived with my mother the last 9 months of her life and taking her to the Doctors office changed my life and I knew I wanted to be a nurse and make a difference. Being in a new country with a different culture was a challenge but I didn’t let that stop me from pursuing my dreams. I got a full-time job in a credit card company and in 2009 I decided to go back to school.
I enrolled myself in a community college for my associate’s degree in Nursing while still working full time in a credit card company. Choosing nursing as a career was a result of all my past experiences, I knew I wanted to make a difference in people’s life and nursing was the perfect match for me. Nursing has been the most respected fields in the world and those called to a nurse career are often said to be in a noble profession. So, nursing to me is a calling. I graduated with my associate degree in Nursing in 2013 and in 2014 I decided to go back to school and attain my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). It was not easy working and going to school full-time but I managed to finish my BSN in 2016 with a great GPA, which made it easy to transition and start my graduate classes at Walden University.
Since graduating with my Associate’s degree in Nursing, I have had the great privilege to work in Medical –Surg, Psychiatric, Emergency Room, and Neurology unit as a nurse. This has helped me acquire the nursing knowledge needed to give the patient the best quality care they all deserve. The job has given me the opportunity to get my Basic life support(BLS), Pediatric life support(PALS) and Advanced life support certificates(ACLS).Currently, I work in Neurology department where we perform EEG, Autonomic testing and EMG and I plan on getting those certificate as well. As a nurse, I have gained knowledge over the years through experience and study. Having worked in the Emergency room have taught me the competence in basic skills, knowledge, time management, prioritization, and critical thinking. There are always new changes in medicine, new expertise, and new research. I believe that advancing my nursing career in graduate level will heighten my capabilities to research and utilize new knowledge which will allow me to make a positive impact in my ever growing career.
Professional Goals
My eventual goal is to always attain core characteristics that define a successful nurse by making sure the patient and their family members have the best quality of care they all deserve. I plan to do this by obtaining my Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) specializing in leadership and management. As nurse leaders have the most direct impact on the care and services that patients and families receive throughout their healthcare experience, I believe Walden University will assist me in meeting my goals and carrying out the mission of the University. The school will prepare me to fulfill and be able to demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning and become a better nurse leader.
I believe that nurses should continue learning throughout their careers since we need to always stay up with the ever-changing medicine and healthcare trends. This is why I made the decision to further my education at Walden University and this will enable me to have a lasting and thriving career. As a nurse leader, another professional goal I have is the desire to serve others through mission trips in Africa through my local church. I have been fortunate enough to work with people from numerous cultural backgrounds and I believe this has uncovered the greatest motivation that has guided my heart in caring for underserved communities. The experience I gain through the mission trips will pave the way to rise in quality of care I give to my patient and become a better leader as well.
Course Orientation
One of the greatest learning goals I have accomplished through this course, in my opinion, is how to create the Professional Development Plan. As a nurse, I now know professional development plan is critical to the nursing profession and is essential for excellence in the healthcare field. I have also learned the different strategies needed to be a successful online student, like time management, planning, communication, and the use of technology in an online environment. In addition, I have also learned the importance of avoiding plagiarism with scholarly writing and maintaining academic integrity.
Over the years I have noticed that I have struggled with American Psychological Association (APA) style of writing. Walden University is the right choice for me since they offer several resources on how to be successful with APA formatting. The actions I will take to grow is using the tools, resources, and services offered through the Walden Writing center and attending different webinars offered to all the students to help me grow as a scholarly writer.
Practicum Goal
Since I enrolled in my MSN program at Walden University, my choice of practicum experience has been a consideration because it was one of the requirements needed for the application process. I contacted a friend of mine, major Drakes who is an Officer in Charge (OIC), at the Wounded Warrior Amputee Clinic at Walter Reed Medical Hospital. Major Drakes has been my role model and he agreed to be my preceptor with my practicum. Major Drakes holds an MSN degree and 18 years’ experience as a Nurse serving the United State Army currently working at the amputee clinic. The Amputee clinic is dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of America’s sons and daughters recovering from injuries sustained in service. During my practicum with the wounded warrior, I would like to join the Wounded Warrior Mentor Program (WWMP), which its main focus is to assist wounded and injured soldiers including their spouses and children to transition to a new productive life and profession after they leave the military treatment facilities. I believe that our wounded warrior deserve all the help they need and we need to do more for them for the sacrifice they made for us and our country. Since WWMP is an all-volunteer program and it’s not part of any federal program, I will recruit more nurses to become volunteer and mentors and assist our wounded warriors and their family members as their start the journey of their new changed lives forever.
Summary
I look forward to this exciting journey ahead of me at Walden University as I pursue my MSN degree in Leadership and management. I hope the knowledge and the experience I have obtained throughout my career and education has prepared me to be successful as a student. Walden University is well equipped and will provide me with the resources, knowledge, and tools needed to be a successful leader.
