Growing up in a close rural community in Ireland, we learned at a young age the importance of helping the less fortunate. My parents also taught me the importance of teamwork and dedication. Growing up on a farm, I learned that everyone must work together for the benefit of the greater good. I moved to the United States when I was 19 in search of more opportunities. After working many medial jobs, I discovered that my true passion was working directly with people. Caring for others became a calling to me and becoming registered nurse became my focus in life. My journey began at the local community college. After completing forty credits I transferred to a bachelor degree program. Attending evening classed while working two jobs, with no family in the country was difficult. With a strong work ethic and determination, I successfully handled the challenges that I faced and became more resilient.
Having worked as a registered nurse for almost four years, I have decided that I am ready to further my education. Health care is constantly evolving are with a greater need for advanced degree nurses. Throughout my time working in the hospital setting, education had become an area that interests me. All aspects of education within the hospital interest me, whether it involves patients, nursing students or new employees. Unfortunately, with constant financial cuts within health care, nurses often find themselves with very little time to spend educating their patients. I have decided to peruse my MSN in education so that I can eventually teach at a college level. Working for only six months in my first position as a registered nurse, I was faced with the challenge of being the charge nurse. Being in a leadership role seemed to come naturally. Some staff member’s refuse to take the role of charge nurse because they fear having more responsibility. Being challenged within my role as a nurse is something I enjoy. Working well in a team environment and taking a leadership role, has lead new graduate nurses using me as a mentor.
My primary long- term goal is to graduate with my Masters in Nursing Education. With my MSN, I plan to pursue a leadership role in nursing. Pursing my master’s will be extremely challenging. Having two young children and working full time, my schedule is full. Setting short term goals and achieving each one will be the key to fulfilling my long term goals. I plan to on focusing on each class at a time, with some scheduled breaks in between. “Persist. Stick to whatever you are doing until you complete it. Keep moving ahead.”(Carter, Bishop, & Lymann Kravits, 2011). This statement definitely relates to my mentality when pursuing goals set for myeself. Having evaluated the type of learner I am, I realize that I need to follow a strict schedule, get plenty of rest and allot time for recreation and fun. A short term goal that I have set is to obtain a day position at my current place of employment. Working nights for the past four years has taken a toll on me both physically and mentally leaving me feeling exhausted and unmotivated. I believe that, to be successful within our professional life, we must feel fulfilled within our personal life. In order to gain a more normalcy within my personal life I have applied for a day position on my floor. Day positions are difficult to obtain because there are always nurses waiting to transition from nights to days and the positions are given to those with most seniority.
Some of the greatest challenges that I will face when reaching my goals are; managing my time, maintaining the necessary motivation to reach my goals, and battling procrastination. As I stated earlier, my life is extremely busy. I work full-time and spend the rest of my time raising my family. Time is precious commodity and if I do not manage my time effectively I probably will fail in achieving my long term goal of obtaining my MSN. I found an excellent article outlining strategies for better time management. The most useful strategies that I will be using are; setting priorities, staying organized avoiding procrastination and preventing external distractions. “Much like money, time is both valuable and limited. It must be protected, used wisely, and budgeted” (Chapman & Ruperd, 2012 page 2). I have found that creating a monthly schedule by using my smart phone, and setting deadlines for each week’s assignment reduce my level of stress and give me a feeling of accomplishment when my goals are met.
Remaining motivated and enthusiastic will be daunting challenge. Lack of encouragement from family members and negative reactions regarding my decision to further my education are some obstacles that could lead to my failure. Unfortunately, my husband is not enthusiastic regarding my decision to further my education. He feels that our lives are already too stressful and cannot visualize how my degree will benefit the family. It is difficult for me to maintain a positive attitude and stay motivated, but if I do not, I will surely lose track of my goals and possibly give up on them. I will need to push myself harder and constantly remind myself why I am pursuing my goals. Rewarding myself when I achieve short term goals and staying focused will help me to stay on track. Making time for my family by maintaining a set schedule will prevent stressful situations from arising.
Avoiding procrastination is a challenge I face every day. Certain tasks that I feel are difficult; seem to cause an innate fear of failure, which leads to procrastination. I used to be very critical of myself and would become very frustrated when I procrastinated over tasks. Having researched procrastination, I have found that there are many reasons people procrastinate, and perfectionism is one of them (Carter, Bishop, & Lymann Kravits, 2011). To prevent myself from avoiding assignments I have found it useful to begin by outlining the assignment on paper first. I gather the assigned reading material, read it thoroughly, and highlighting key points. Oftentimes the first step seems to be the hardest to take. Sitting down and forcing myself to begin is an accomplishment. Useful tools to avoid procrastination are; analyzing the negative effects of it, setting reasonable goals for myself, forcing myself to get started, asking for help if needed, not expecting perfectionism and reward myself when tasks are accomplished (Carter, Bishop, & Lymann Kravits, 2011).
There are many barriers that can lead to ineffective communication. In nursing, the most important part of our job is to build a therapeutic relationship with our patients. “Therapeutic communication skills are essential for nurses to promote healing in patients, but also physical and emotional well-being of their patients” (Tan Jia Xing, 2009). Due to time constraints and external barriers, developing a therapeutic relationship can be difficult. To develop communication skills we should begin by analyzing if we are effective communicators. We must ask ourselves if we are culturally sensitive, using proper body language and actively listening to our patients. I have found that to build a therapeutic relationship with my patient I must decrease external distractions, be aware of my body language and engage in the conversation. Being flexible and managing my time efficiently are important. Nurses can easily become task-oriented and lose sight of the importance of communicating effectively with their patients. Personally I have found that when my patients feel that they can openly communicate with me, they are less anxious and are more comfortable. Being in the hospital can cause great distress for people; financially, physically and mentally. Due to security concerns within the hospital, patients cannot leave the floor, and begin to feel institutionalized. When I meet my patients for the first time, I approach them with a smile and introduce myself. I try to build a rapport with them by using open ended questioning. A tool that I use to make patients feel more comfortable is humor. Laughter can be the greatest medicine there is. No matter how stressful work is, I truly believe that maintaining a calm demeanor is vital. Our patients are greatly affected by our behavior toward them. When staffs are aggressive toward a confused patient, they are met with aggressive behavior. It can be difficult to remain patient within certain situations, especially if you are tired, hungry and feeling overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed it is important for us to ask for assistance, remove ourselves from the situation, or take a short break.
Some strategies I will use to improve my communication are, to use proper body language, be more self-aware and manage my time more efficiently. Taking the time to stop and face my body toward patients when I speak to them conveys a message that you interested in what they are saying and that you care. I am guilty of multi-tasking all the time, and find myself cleaning patient’s rooms whilst they are talking to me. Another strategy that I can use to improve my listening skills is to stop thinking about what I am going to say and listen carefully without interrupting. A nursing instructor once gave the class a useful piece of advice. She stated ‘remember, when you are speaking to a patient, the conversation should be about them, not you!’. I think we are all guilty of changing the topic of conversation and interrupting. Self-awareness is a tool that I use in communicating effectively with my patients. I try to be aware of my mood, body language, and tone of voice. Patients are greatly affected by how we communicate with them. To achieve my goals I must believe in myself. To stay focused I have to manage my time effectively. Strategies that I will use to stay on track when achieving my goals are; maintain a schedule, set myself short and long term goals, get sufficient rest, make time for leisurely activities, reward myself and avoid procrastination. Constantly re-evaluating and adapting my plan when necessary will help me to achieve my personal and professional goals. I truly believe that my determination and perseverance will get me through.