Personal vision statement:
Within the next five years, I plan to have already been traveling around and to have furthered my education. The immediate goal is to graduate with my Bachelor’s degree in cardiopulmonary science. I will then take and pass my licensure exam and then get a job around this area. Then, I will work as a respiratory therapist for however long I need for experience and then I want to travel. After I travel, I have thought to further my education whether it will fit into the timeline of five years, I am not sure. I also do not really know what I would do when I further my education, I just know I will want to do something more. I could also see myself at some point becoming a supervisor or something of that sort at one point.
Personal mission statement:
For any of my goals to be achieved in my future as a respiratory therapist, I first have to finish up my fifth and last semester in the program at ETSU and graduate this upcoming May. I will then try to immediately take my licensure exam. I have already begun some networking while in school for future employers because every day is like a job interview when we go around on our clinical rotations. I meet current therapists and supervisors at all of the hospitals around here that I could possibly apply to when I graduate. Therefore, when I pick the hospitals I want to apply too, I will already be familiar with how it runs at that specific location and hopefully the ones who interview me will remember my name or face increasing my chances at getting the job I will want.
Factors critical for success:
There are plenty of factors that can contribute to my success. I think motivation and my family are two of the key factors for me. My family has always been there for me all throughout school and everything I do and that is what helps keep me motivated to push myself. I am very thankful to have such a supportive family. I believe I have already come as far as I have because of them being so supportive and I am very thankful for it. I also think that hands on experiences and learning benefit me the best. I plan to take out as much of next semesters clinical rotations as I can since it will be the last semester until I graduate. That will be the time to ask as many questions as I can think of and try to see and do as much as I can because next thing I know, it will be time for me to know how to do everything on my own as a therapist.
Measurable goals and action steps:
The immediate and primary goal is to finish my final semester and graduate in May. I will have my last full time semester and I will also continue with my part time job to save money to pay for my licensure exam and any other fees that could arise. After the completion of my degree, I will find a job in this area as a new hire RRT and gain experience. After I have worked at that hospital for however long is needed, I will look into becoming a traveling RRT and/or move to a bigger city. I love this area and have grown up here, however, I think at that point it will be time for a change. I would probably travel and do that for however long I like before I decided to find the place I want to settle down in and possibly start a family. Both of those will require a lot of planning and research whenever that time comes. After that is probably when I would further my education if I still want to by getting a Master’s degree or just gaining more certifications. In order to achieve those, I would have to prepare myself mentally to get back into the school mode and be prepared to have to study and take the time I know it takes for school.
Desired results:
I will be a first-time college graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in my immediate family when I am handed this diploma in May. That is such an honor to me because I know how proud it will make my parents and how proud of myself I will be. Achieving that will always give me motivation to get to the places I want to be because I know I can do it and will always have a great support system. I will try to gain more connections at the hospital I start at in hopes that it will help me land the job I want in my future that I will settle down in. And who knows, I may end up deciding I want to have some sort of administration role at some point and gaining all of that traveling experience will help set me up to succeed in that one day. I think it is important to set goals and have visions, but I have learned to not be so dedicated to only one goal without giving some leniency. I think it helps to have an open-minded attitude that the goals we set now in five years could be close to what we wanted or be something completely different than we would have ever thought. I will know I am close to my vision whenever I wake up for work and just love what I do, even on the bad days. Five years ago, I never would have thought that I would have gone to respiratory therapy school, but here I am about to graduate in it and I love it. That is why I like to have an idea of what my future could look like, but I take things more day by day because things change so much and that is how we get to the places we are meant to be.