Help with Personal Goal statement for FNP program!!!

fdt2283 · Dec 2, 2013

Could I please have feedback on my essay because I am really nervous about submitting it.

Thanks

Personal Goal Statement

It is hard to imagine that I have come this far. I grew up in a household where both my parents were illiterate, we were on public assistance, and we moved constantly to avoid physical harm from my own brother. I always knew from an early age that I would accomplish great things. I learned that health care was one of my interests and strong points when my mom became ill and I was the one that could read the instructions on the medication as well as administer it. It was like this intense thrill for me and helping people just seemed to come natural to me. It was then that I realized that health care was a perfect fit for me.

The first step in the process of reaching my goal was to realize what I wanted to do in health care. I volunteered that summer at a local hospital and was able to experience various jobs in the health care field. During that summer, I received my first "hands on" experience and my first direct contact with many healthcare professionals. Through my investigation I realized that I wanted to be in charge of patient care and so I decided that becoming a physician would be the natural choice I worked hard in school and graduated number five in my class from my high school that was a magnet school for health professions. All my hard work paid off because I was accepted into numerous colleges and one of them being Southern Methodist University a very prestigious private school. This was my first time living on my own in the dorm room and working part time, but I was doing fine. This all changed when my dad got sick with prostate cancer, my mom needed money just to make ends meet so I had to start working full time, and I was diagnosed with cervical cancer myself. My world came crashing down, my grades plummeted, and I was an emotional wreck. The more I tried to climb out of my hole it seemed like I fell deeper and deeper into this black hole with no end in sight. When I was already at a very low point in my life I was hit with the greatest blow of all I was dismissed from SMU. What am I going to do? Am I going to accomplish my goal after all? I had always been a good student because it just came natural to me so for me to be dismissed from school I was embarrassed and flabbergasted. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown when all of a sudden I took a deep breath, went to church , and prayed. I realized that I knew that I could do better than that and that I would not let my dream die. So I applied to the University of Texas at Arlington and to my amazement I was accepted. It was at the moment that I realized there was hope that I could still accomplish my dream. So I went to school and worked hard and not only did I earned over a 3.0 for the first semester, but I was on the dean's list. My confidence was back and I realized that my dream was just within arms reach.

The only problem was I was not sure that being a physician was the right dream for me anymore and that's when I remembered hearing about nurse practitioner. I did my research and realized that it was more of a fit for me because my situation in life had changed I was not a 18 year old that was just starting college with a clean slate, but a 22 year old with a blemished past. I also wanted a career that gave me the opportunity to treat and heal patients without being in school for a lifetime and I realized that becoming a nurse practitioner was now the perfect fit for me. I decided to major in Interdisciplinary studies because it allows me to take my prerequisites for nursing school and increase my GPA. Now I had all the basic parts to form a plan that could get me accepted into nursing school and on the road to my future career as a nurse practitioner. Another important part of my plan was getting shadowing experience. So I called around and found a Nurse practitioner staffing agency that gave me permission to shadow their NPs. These experiences helped me solidify my career choice. I walked around with the NPs and realized that they work independently with their patients and only used doctors for consultations. I was excited and intrigued when I was asked to help them perform some of their procedures like suturing and draining abscesses. I felt this sense of calmness because it was as if I was that little girl again placing bandages on my mom and administering her meds because it felt like it came natural to me. I was born to be a nurse practitioner.

I attended the University of Texas at Arlington and received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2013. While working towards my nursing degree I worked full time and maintained a GPA of 3.4. I take great pride in knowing that I am able to balance various areas of my life even under stressful circumstances. Therefore, I feel confident that I will be able to take on the challenge of graduate school while continuing with bedside nursing part time. I am excited to become involved with the evolution of the nurse practitioner field. I have a genuine interest in learning how to become a knowledgeable provider of care for patients from one end of the lifespan to the other. My goal is to someday work with patients in the primary care setting and to connect with patients on a level that can promote them to take interest in taking their personal health into their own hands. My strong interpersonal skills as well as my natural sympathetic nature will help me form a relationship of trust with my patients. With the escalation of chronic illnesses and co-morbidities along with longer life expectancies, the need for early health promotion and disease prevention in families across the life span is even greater. Family nurse practitioners are an excellent resource to closing the gaps to quality healthcare that result from issues like high patient loads and inadequate staff support. I feel that being a family nurse practitioner will also enable me to treat a larger segment of the population in high need areas. As an advanced practitioner, I would have time to build trusting relationships with families, educate them on proper administration of medicine, and help them overcome any learning or related health barriers. My goal is not only to provide healthcare to families in a primary care setting but also to offer counseling and teaching in areas of health promotion, chronic disease management, and disease prevention.

Throughout my more than ten year career in healthcare, I have made numerous connections with healthcare professionals that will be ideal candidates for clinical preceptors. I have already contacted several nurse practitioners and physicians that have agreed to act as my preceptor for the family nurse practitioner program. I know that University of Cincinnati is highly known for preparing family nurse practitioners and will provide me with the very best skills and tools to successfully treat patients of any age. I feel that this online program will allow me to continue working while continuing my education. My goal is to get accepted into the University of Cincinnati nurse practitioner program, successfully complete the program, and find me my dream job working as a family nurse practitioner and making a difference in the lives of many.