Why did you select an academic program in the Health & Science field?
Consider both
internal and external influences
I chose an academic program in this field because I believe there are more career opportunities
when one becomes a registered nurse. An external influence is that the health market is short of
health experts and becoming a part of the health experts is my goal. On the other hand, the
internal influences include that being a registered nurse is a ladder to becoming a leader in a
healthcare setting and lead other nurses. Becoming a nurse leader is my long term objective and
becoming a registered nurse will be a pathway to become a nurse leader later in life. Another
external influences include the pay of registered nurses which is typically comfortable and it
even gets better when a person becomes a nurse leader as they can get very high salaries. Lastly,
in nursing there is versatility and flexibility (Mather et al., 2018).
What industry certification are related to your career field? Are there any which you are
interested in pursuing?
Certifications that are related to my career field are Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Adult
Nurse Practitioner. I am more interested in pursuing certification for Acute Care Nurse
Practitioner because my interest is in caring for patients with acute conditions because I can
work in different environments that include operating rooms, urgent care clinics, and emergency
rooms. Also, with that certification, I can care for both adults and children. Both certifications
are related but I would like to pursue the ACNP (Mather et al., 2018).
What internships or apprenticeships are related to your major? Do any of them interest
you? Consider the potential tittles, companies, and things you might learn.
Nurse internship program can be provided in several settings that include long-term care
facilities, hospitals, and clinics. These internship programs provide a student with opportunities
to gain diversified experience working with different colleagues and taking care of different
patients presenting different health needs. A student is therefore able to gain experience in the
real world and gain skills that will be useful in their nursing career in the long-term (Wei et al.,
2021). The hospital I would like to work in is the Mayo Clinic because of the friendly
environment it has for its employees. I might learn how to take care of patients from different
cultures and backgrounds and how to offer the best available care to patients.
What kinds of career opportunities are there in your field? Consider the potential tittles
and companies for whom you may work. Which do you find most interesting?
There are many career opportunities in my field. The first career opportunity is nurse
practitioner. The role of a nurse practitioner is to provide both primary and specialty care
to patients and often collaborate with doctors when carrying out their tasks (Sandehang et
al., 2019).
Another career opportunity is a nurse researcher. The role of a nurse researcher is
creating reports based on research in view of examination and exploration gathered in the
nursing field. The aim of nurse researchers is to improve the healthcare and medical
services by providing evidence based information and knowledge (Sandehang et al.,
2019).
Another career opportunity is critical care nurse. Their role is to provide care to patients
in the intensive care units. They achieve this by collaborating with other healthcare
professionals in the hospitals.
The career path I find most interesting is the nurse researcher because I would like to
improve healthcare services through conducting researches and analyzing data on the best
evidence based practices to use to improve patient outcomes.
What have you discovered about your academic program that you didn’t know before?
I have discovered that I need professional skills in computer and I should have excellent writing
skills since I will be writing many reports about patients and also when conducting researches. I
am computer literate but there is a higher level of proficiency required which I will have to work
on. I have had a better understanding of what it is to become a registered nurse and the necessary
certifications and qualifications that are required. I have also discovered that in nursing,
communication skills are critical.
References
Mather, C. A., Cummings, E. A., & Gale, F. (2018). Advancing mobile learning in Australian
healthcare environments: nursing profession organisation perspectives and leadership
challenges. BMC Nursing, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-018-0313-z
Sandehang, P. M., Hariyati, R. T. S., & Rachmawati, I. N. (2019). Nurse career mapping: a
qualitative case study of a new hospital. BMC Nursing, 18(S1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-019-0353-z
Wei, L. Z., Zhou, S. S., Hu, S., Zhou, Z., & Chen, J. (2021). Influences of nursing students’
career planning, internship experience, and other factors on professional identity. Nurse
Education Today, 99, 104781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104781
