NETWORKING

Tera Kapke

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Dr. Gatlin and Classmates,

    My name is Tera. I currently work in the emergency department and occasionally on the med-surg floor at a small critical access hospital. I have been a nurse for eight years, and six of those years have been as a registered nurse. I have always wanted to be a nurse practitioner. I was originally referred to Walden by a preceptor that I had in nursing school. The first thing that drew me to the school was that it had an RN-MSN program, as I only had my ADN. My academic goal is to get the most out of my classes that I can, to learn as much as I can, so that I can be an excellent nurse practitioner. My professional goal, is to be a family nurse practitioner (FNP) and work in a family practice clinic, as well as in the emergency department. I also eventually want to get a post-master’s certificate to be an acute care nurse practitioner as well.      Walden’s vision statement states that it’s vision for graduates is to have knowledge in applying “solutions of critical societal changes” (Student Catalog – Academics at Walden University, n.d., p. 31). As a practitioner, I want to have a positive effect on patient’s that I interact with. I also want to ensure that patients are getting the proper care and education that they need to be the healthiest version of themselves that they can be; which will help reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations. I also hope to be a practitioner that effects positive social change, because I want and have a goal to promote all of my patient’s health and well-being the best that I can. Along with promoting my patient’s health, I also hope to promote and improve whatever organization that I work for as a whole. I truly believe that everyone deserves to have the best care that they can receive, regardless of their ability to pay, their culture, or any other factors. My beliefs as a practitioner will hopefully aid in my goal to promote health equity and improve patient outcomes, which is listed in the College of Nursing’s mission (College of Nursing – Academics at Walden University, n.d.).      The two outcomes in the MSN Program Learning Outcomes from MSN – College of Nursing – Academics at Walden University (n.d.) that stood out to me the most are “synthesize organizational/systems leadership for cost-effective specialist nursing practice that contributes to high-quality healthcare delivery, advancement of the nursing profession, and social change” (para. 1) and “integratively assess, diagnose, plan, implement, and evaluate cost-effective healthcare strategies that reduce health disparities by patient/population advocacy for access to specialist nursing care” (para. 3). I understand that I will never know everything, but I enjoy expanding my knowledge and continuing to learn and hope that it will benefit all of the patient’s that I will care for. As I mentioned previously, I believe in health equity for everyone. One of the key goals of Healthy People 2030 is to achieve health equity (Khor et al., 2023, p. 418) and I hope to be a part of that.      As a student, I have joined Sigma Theta Tau and plan to join American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). I plan to test through AANP for my NP certification. Through Walden, I can collaborate with my student success advisor, field experience, and my instructors as needed to aid in my success throughout my journey in school. I work with an excellent team of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians who have all been supportive of my journey this far that I can collaborate with. Networking is important because I am hoping that once I finish school and pass boards, that I can acquire a job at the facility that I work at currently. The providers all work at the clinic, and the mid-levels are primary coverage for the ED with a physician as back-up. However, I also know quite a few people at two other critical access hospitals in nearby towns that I would hopefully be able to continue networking at potentially have a job opportunity at one of them as well. The preceptor from nursing school that I previously mentioned also owns her own clinic now and has been looking to expand to add providers, which could also be another potential opportunity for me. 

 

References

Academics: College of nursing: College of nursing. College of Nursing - College of Nursing - Academics at Walden University. (n.d.).  https://academics.waldenu.edu/catalog/nursing Links to an external site.

Academics: College of nursing: Master of science in nursing (MSN). Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) - College of Nursing - Academics at Walden University. (n.d.).  https://academics.waldenu.edu/catalog/nursing/master-science/nursing#s-lg-box-29662482 Links to an external site.

Academics: Student catalog, Handbook, and University Guidebooks: Student Catalog, Student Handbook, and University Guidebooks. Student Catalog, Student Handbook, and University Guidebooks - Student Catalog, Handbook, and University Guidebooks - Academics at Walden University. (n.d.).  https://academics.waldenu.edu/catalog-handbook?catoid=172&navoid=59420 Links to an external site.

Khor, S., Elsisi, Z. A., & Carlson, J. J. (2023). How much does the US Public Value Equity in health? A systematic review. Value in Health, 26(3), 418–426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2022.08.009