I'm applying to a post-Master's FNP certificate program, and they want a one-page "goal statement." I have a very rough draft, but I feel like it's missing something and need some feedback/help on how to improve it. I'm pasting it below (leaving out the personal identifiers) ... appreciate any constructive help/suggestions! Thanks.
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I see many low-income patients at the Women’s Clinic at [_____ Hospital], many of whom also have a low level of education. I do not earn as much money as my friends who work in other hospitals, but I love my job and feel a great sense of personal fulfillment working with the patient population at [_______]. I want to expand my role by becoming a nurse practitioner.
Most physicians do not have the time to educate patients about disease prevention and health maintenance. I feel privileged when a patient seeks me out after not understanding what a physician said to her. It demonstrates that I have earned her trust, and she knows that if I do not know the answer to her question I will find someone who does.
When I think back to when I first started nursing school, I remember thinking, “I’d never want to be at [______ Hospital]. It seems like such a scary place!” Now I cannot imagine working with any other patient population. I am honored to work with the disadvantaged and I want to continue working with this patient population for the rest of my career.
Being a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) will allow me to expand my role and better serve my patients. More often than not, it is the nurses who are recommending medication dosages to the physicians at the Women’s Clinic. The physician just signs the order. Lately I have found myself often thinking, “If I were a nurse practitioner I could just write the order myself and save my patients a lot of time!”
I have many goals relating to how I want to practice. I am especially interested in diabetes since I have type I diabetes myself. I have found that the gestational and type II diabetics I work with now are comforted when they learn that their nurse understands what it is like to take daily injections and monitor her blood sugar.
I want to continue working with the underserved and in chronic disease management. I also realize that the fastest growing population in the United States is the elderly, so I would like to further explore working with that population as well. I look forward to being exposed to the different practice areas (adult, pediatrics, and women’s health) in the FNP program at [____].
Finally, I look forward to becoming more politically active. Working for the County of [_________] has exposed me to the political aspect of nursing—namely activism and patient advocacy in light of continued financial cuts to public health. I plan to continue lobbying against budget cuts and fight to save nurses’ jobs.
As someone who reads admissions essays (not for a FNP program) - I would likely pass over this one - these are my thoughts -
Do admissions committees really place a high value on these? I had to write a 500 word goal statement (post-masters). Well, I can do it in fewer than that, "My goal is to be a nurse practitioner. Perhaps that is the reason I'm applying to your program versus the anthropology department."
Zenman - I am not sure how much each program values personal statements. I read essays for a school of medicine applicants (this does include most of the residency programs, too). Although, it might not be obvious in my posts - my first career is in technical writing. I can tell you that every single applicant who makes it to interviewing has their personal statement read and given a score. I read them (after 1 person) and then someone reads them after me. We write 1 to 2 sentences after giving the essay a score - I generally am looking for grammar, level of writing, etc. The other people who read are looking for other things (content and relevance to goals of the program the applicant is applying for) in the essay. So, yes, some schools do actually read the essay and it is scored - I do know that sometimes complete applications are literally thrown out based on an essay. I personally have recommended at least 2 go that way.
Good luck NTPinky - let me know if you need any more help.
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zenman
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Do admissions committees really place a high value on these? I had to write a 500 word goal statement (post-masters). Well, I can do it in fewer than that, "My goal is to be a nurse practitioner. Perhaps that is the reason I'm applying to your program versus the anthropology department."