Becoming a Nurse is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. For fifteen years I have dedicated my life to the service of others. I have been a fierce patient advocate. I have seen life in it's highest ups and it's lowest downs. I have laughed with patients, cried with patients, comforted them when they were scared, listened when they needed a shoulder. I have provided for their basic needs when they were unable to with the deepest sense of compassion for the delicacy of human life. I have done so without judgement or prejudice because I have a personal belief that we are all fighting a battle and deserve to be loved and validated. With all of this, I am integrating an evolving personal philosophy of nursing and healthcare into my nursing practice. 

     Three years ago I began my journey to become a Family Nurse Practitioner, hungry for an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those I serve. I observed the changing landscape of healthcare and knew that if I gained more knowledge, I could help promote health and well-being in a more comprehensive manner and become a partner in health to my patients. In addition, I could be part of the solution of cost effective, accessible, quality care that people around me need-and I could do it with my passion and drive and love for my profession so that when people think of a Nurse Practitioner, they see everything our profession stands for and they trust me in theirs or their family members' care and they respect me as an integral part of their health care team. 

     My master's education was definitely more difficult than I imagined it to be. It opened up my mind in ways I didn't know it could. It made me push myself to do things I did not know I could do. There were times that I didn't think I could do it or that I was smart enough or good enough. I provided journals through my adult and geriatric rotation that show my journey to learning and confidence. I am finishing this program as a single mom of two boys while still working part time as an RN and I am extremely proud of that.  

     The classes were challenging and thought provoking and my clinicals gave me insight on the type of nurse practitioner I may want to be. I got to see what I am good at and what I need help with. I found out that just because I have had this education does note not mean that I will not continuously be learning. I know that this is only a foundation and I will only continue to grow as I get more experience. At this point I am looking at going back to get certification as a  Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner either as a post-masters certificate or DNP which speaks to designing a strategy that promotes lifelong learning of self and peers that incorporates professional nursing standards and accountability for practice.  

     Overall, my education highlighted research and the importance of evidence based practice in my new role as an APRN. From a strong foundation of pathophysiology, pharmacology, and health assessment, each subsequent course provided comprehensive training in family health.  

I have included examples of assignments that show my dedication to this role and my practice at the highest level of accountability.

     The first assignment is the family history write up that shows an essential skill for an APRN in patient interview and acquisition of critical information. This was a very comprehensive family history with a genogram creation. Another assignment that exemplifies this essential APRN skill is my pediatric history and physical write up. It is a comprehensive interview of a pediatric patient. These assignments show that I am prepared to conduct a comprehensive and systematic assessment as a foundation for decision making. Both of these interview type assignments helped me get more comfortable with asking the questions needed for a comprehensive interview as well as learn how to put the information into written form. The family history taught me about the genogram which I had never had to complete before. 

     The adult education program that my group and I completed at the Kingsport Senior Center on Medication Safety as well as the education piece on nutrition at Girls, Inc, shows my competency in applying learning and teaching principles to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health education programs for individuals or groups in a variety of settings. This is extremely important as we become advanced practitioners in the community.

     Another assignment that I am extremely proud of is the Women's health issue and research paper that I wrote on Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health. In this assignment we were to pick a women's issue from Healthy People 2020 and research why this issue was an objective. Doing this research was eye-opening. I knew that people in the LGBT community faced disparities but I never knew to what extent. This research and realization actually sparked an interest in me that may lead me to a niche in my career as a premier healthcare provider for LGBT patients by providing a welcoming environment for affirmative care to a population in such desperate need.  This assignment is an example of how my education has prepared me to use epidemiological, social, and environmental data in drawing inferences regarding the health status of patient populations and interventions to promote and preserve health and healthy lifestyles. 

      

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