NR 451 Week 8: Your Future!

Now that you are very close to completing this major accomplishment in your nursing career, what are your plans for your future? Please share your plans to keep up to date in your chosen specialty and nursing in general. What professional and nursing organizations do you plan to actively participate? Have you considered continuing your education to pursue a graduate degree?

I currently work in Pediatrics.  I really feel that this is where my heart is.  I recently transferred from the clinic setting to acute care at the hospital.  I would like to work for a year and then study for my certification exam.  I will start the masters program in about three years.  Right now I just want to focus on my skills and knowledge withing the pediatric realm of nursing.  That is one area that I have not worked in my 22+ years. I just never had it in my heart to be able to. My hats off to you as you work towards your masters and that Certification! That’s an awesome goal! And I wish you the best! NR 451 Week 8: Your Future!

I will be sitting on a beach by Wednesday taking a much needed vacation myself! 

I am so proud of you, Keep up the great work, All the best in your certification exam, and all the best in your future endeavors. 

As this session comes to a close, I can’t help but think of all the possibilities that are available for nurses. I never imagined obtaining my bachelor’s degree but, I will be a BSN-prepared nurse at the end of this week. I have already begun my research to determine which university will best meet my needs as I progress forward and obtain my Family Nurse Practitioner licensure. I am excited about the growing possibilities in nursing and am so very happy that I chose a career in healthcare.

Currently, I am not a certified emergency nurse. I am planning to take the exam next month. “Achieving and maintaining certification validates the knowledge required for competent practice, which can make a difference to health care administrators, employers, nurse and physician colleagues, patients, and, perhaps most important, to the emergency nurse” (American College of Emergency Physicians, n.d.). The field of medicine is constantly changing and it is important to stay up-to-date with the advances in healthcare. Nurses are consistently striving for more autonomy and advocating for themselves and the patient. “The dynamic nature of the healthcare practice environment and the growing body of nursing research provide both the impetus and the opportunity for nursing to ensure competent nursing practice in all settings for all healthcare consumers, and to promote ongoing professional development that enhances the quality of nursing practice” (American Nurses Association, 2015, p. 49).

Nursing has come a long way. In the early to mid-1800s, “physicians began scattered efforts to ‘train’ low-status women to assist them with menial tasks” (A Timeline of Nursing Education, n.d.). Now, staff nurses collaborate with the physician to provide the best possible outcomes for the patient. “New roles are empowering nurses to play a greater role in improving patient experiences and population health and lowering costs” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2015). By obtaining my Doctorates of Nursing Practice, I will be able to assist patients even more. I am eager to pursue my dreams of being an excellent provider.

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References:

A Timeline of Nursing Education. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https:// www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2016/09/06/a-timeline-of-nursing-education/

American College of Emergency Physicians. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.acep.org/Clinical—Practice-Management/Emergency-Nurse-Certifications-Do-Make-a-Difference/

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2015). Nurses take on new and expanded roles in healthcare. http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2015/01/nurses-take-on-new-and-expanded-roles-in-health-care.html.

I am also researching universities to attend from to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. I have been a RN for over 13 years and never thought I would go back to school, but look at me now!

You’re right to say that nursing has come a long way. I have always been interested in the history of things and finding interesting facts. After some research, I found some fun facts about nursing. I’ll share a few. The nurse’s cap was patterned after a nun’s habit so hair would be kept neatly in place. It was phased out because of infection control issues. Nepal, Italy has one of the lowest nurse per capita.

They have only 5 nurses for every 100,000 people. And we just think we work short staffed! James Derham was a slave owned by several physicians, who worked as a nurse. He bought his freedom with his nursing salary. He later became the first African-American physician. Mary Todd Lincoln was the only first lady to volunteer as a nurse. She helped in Union hospitals during the civil war (20 Fun Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Nursing, 2017). It is important to know our history. It is amazing to see how far the nursing profession has come and its evolution doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

As you stated, it is important for healthcare professionals to stay up-to-date on the advances in our professions. One of the most important attributes to grow is your curiosity. This is a powerful tool to utilize to stay up to date on changes (Staying current, 2014). Curiosity turns into research. Research turns into evidence. Then what do we have? Evidence-based practice! And that’s how we can give the best care.

Reference

20 Fun Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Nursing. (2017, February 09). Retrieved October 12, 2017, from https://www.nursebuff.com/facts-about-nursing/Links to an external site.

Staying current. (2014, April 27). Retrieved October 12, 2017, from https://www.nurse.com/blog/2014/04/28/staying-current/

I have to agree with you all. I have been a nurse for over 22 years. And I was very content with my associate degree. I have done well with it but wanted to “secure” that more with a BA degree so here we are, almost done! 

nursing has came such a long long way. I mean I would have never imaged I would be working at home in my PJ’s everyday??!! Who does that as a nurse??!!! Nursing really has an expanded base of opportunities these days and we are utilized in so many “non-facility” areas. 

So never doubt where you can go! I wish you all the best! 

Here’s more on Work at home jobs for nurses, if any one is interesting. 

https://www.realhomejobsnow.com/work-from-home-nursing-jobs/Links to an external site.

I wish you all the best. I appreciate the link ,as I will be taking a break from the education scene, in order to pay off some of the accrued debt I have taken on. Since my daughter is in the first year of college in Chicago, I am also helping her financially to keep student loans at a minimum, as much as possible.  I had actually been contemplating a part time job I could do from home as a supplement to her student loan debt. In the NICU setting, there are periods of what we call feast and famine. Sometimes you can get all the overtime you want. The census tends to fluctuate and we also have periods of low census where we are required to take ATO due to low acuity. A part time job would be perfect. Thanks again.  