Goals
Career Goals 2021-2022
I have not always wanted to choose nursing as my desired career, but as I started working in healthcare I have realized that I have a passion for nursing. This developed during my time working in a nursing home and being able to connect and care for the residents. It always made me happy to know that the little things I did for the residents helped them physically or emotionally. Creating those relationships really inspired me to become a nurse so that I can continue to make others' days better. While nursing is my passion, I also find that it comes naturally to me. Because of this, I am sure that nursing is the best career option for me. All of the goals that I have listed align with my passions and what I want for myself in short-term and in long-term. I feel that with this internship and with future opportunities, I am already working toward these goals because it has helped me identify my specific interests in nursing. Since beginning this internship, I have had discussions with the nurses on the unit that have guided my specific goals and career path to trauma nursing and eventually becoming a professor. Along with this, my career values are strong enough to keep me moving towards these goals after I graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. This year specifically, I will continue to make connections with professionals I meet at my internship site and through establishing relationships with my professors/instructors. For the rest of my time at IUPUI, I can continue to establish those relationships with future professors/instructors as well as make connections through clubs and organizations on campus.
In order to reach my goals this spring semester, I need to continue establishing relationships with my professors. I will continue attending their office hours and review sessions so that I ca both enhance my learning and get help to grow professionally. I can also use this time to enquiry about job opportunities for next year, or after this internship id over. I can start by revising my resume, including adding the internship and my newly acquired skills. Even though I cannot be in my desired career for a couple more years, I can do these tasks to help guide me in the directions that I need to take. This also include building my nursing skills in class and in clinical, which is a crucial component of being a nurse. Doing this, I will be on track to achieving my goal to become a nurse.
My time at my internship has not affected my career planning too much. After conversations with the nurses I have changed my goals from wanting to be a travel nurse to continuing my education to receive my Masters in Science of Nursing. I have changed my direction as far as short-term, work-related goals. I originally wanted to find a job on campus, but I was generously offered a job to continue working for the CRC. I believe that I have always made informed decisions about my job preferences, so I only gained more career-related knowledge during my time at the CRC. I am now able to make better informed decisions regarding my career based on my newly acquired knowledge and experiences at the CRC.
Become a travel nurse before settling at a facility.
I chose this goal because I am passionate about traveling and gaining knowledge from different viewpoints. Even though this is not something I want to do long-term, I would still like to gain experience as a travel nurse while I am young.
Continue my education to receive my Master of Science of Nursing (MSN) degree to become a nurse practitioner.
I chose this goal because I want to have more options as I continue in my nursing career. I also want to care for patients on a different level, with having more responsibility. It has always been my goal to receive the highest level of education in my desired career, so I think this goal starts me in the right direction.
Attain a competency level of an expert in my profession.
I chose this goal because I want to become knowledgeable in my profession so that I can make strategic, expert decisions. It is important to me that I become proficient at every job I do. Within 5-10 years of practicing as a nurse I would like to reach an expert level of competency.
Continue practicing my abilities as a nursing student in workplace enviroments during breaks.
I chose this goals because I want to be continuously practicing my abilities as a nursing student so that when it is time to go back to classes, I will be prepared. This will give me an opportunity to develop new skills and practice old ones without the stress of schoolwork. By doing this, I hope to enter my future career as a competent and well-practiced novice nurse so that I can start out confident in my abilities.
Internship Goals
This internship has lead me on a path that has considerably helped me attain career and academic goals. I applied to this program wanting to gain professional experience and to broaden my options for future employment potential, which began as soon I have been given assignments to work on in both the administrative and clinical aspects of this site. While I continue to work toward these goals, I have also used this internship for personal reflection that I hope will later prove significant. I am currently receiving the experience I originally wanted to gain through the following goals that I have set for myself. As of now, my current big goal is to pass the NCLEX when I finish school so that I can start working as a nurse. To do this, I should seek out opportunities that can help me grow professionally and as an individual. Above all, I need to focus on learning as much as I can in all my classes and experiences for me to achieve this goal.
Apply skills learned from this internship to classroom, clinical, and professional opportunities.
To reach this goal, I have gained a hands-on nursing learning experience from the CRC nursing staff. I also have learned how to follow research protocols from a nursing perspective through following flowsheets and orders. By noting the day-to-day workings within the unit, I can relate them to what I learn in the classroom in the future. If I continue to apply these skills throughout my time as an undergraduate student, I will be able to carry them with me as a nurse.
Establish connections and build relationships from the internship to aide me in growing professionally.
To reach this goal, I have started observing relationships between principal investigators, their study teams, and the CRC nursing staff. Through various interactions, I will also build relationships with professionals within these practices. Through time I can learn and recognize researchers and their study teams, and possibly include them in my network when searching for a job in my desired professional career.
Gain better professional practices within the workplace that strengthen communication and problem-solving skills.
To reach this goal, I have been observing the nursing staff and study their teams to understand how they communicate to better resolve errors or challenging situations. I can initiate a review of situations and then ask the nursing staff questions about how to improve when an error does arise. By practicing this, I can use this strategy when I become a nurse and find myself needing to resolve an error.
Other goals: Find a workflow necessary as a nurse as I learn how to follow flowsheets and document correctly.
To reach this goal, I will need to spend time on the unit observing nurses and practicing the kind of workflow used on the unit. I can also practice following the flowsheets and documenting with the help of a mentor so that I know I am correctly understanding how it is done. Using my previous skills of active learning, I will be able to achieve this goal over time by working with the nurses and mentors on the unit.