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Discussion 1 I have been a nurse for six years; this is a second career for me. I worked for the USPS as a shop steward for 20 years. They were offering an early out incentive, so I took the money and pursued a career in Nursing. I’m currently a travel nurse and really enjoy going new places and seeing new things. My experience is very broad; I’ve been in the float pool for the past 3 years so I can work pretty much anywhere. I’d say I prefer working in a clinic setting. The patients come and leave, opposed to bedside nursing. With that being said, the clinical setting would allow me a healthy work life balance and I can be more settled.

While I was deciding on which NP program to chose from, I knew I picked the right college on day one. I’ve never had so much interaction and follow up with advising and its greatly appreciated. The phone calls checking to see if I’m able to access my courses and how are things going I know I made the right choice. In doing so, the staff is trained to be helpful as well as knowledgeable and actually take their time to answer all questions and concerns. This vision of having a positive impact on society will surely help me provide culturally competent care in the community. And the same helpfulness and kind demeanor goes along way, and I will say that’s my take away.

One of Walden’s goals is “ to produce graduates who are scholarly, reflective practitioners and agents of positive social change (Walden, 2019)”. I relate to this because I want to serve the community and foster a positive impact on my community. The curriculum and resources that the college offers will help my transition from nurse to student effortless. I feel confident in my ability to be that change that my impoverished community needs. Networking is very important in all professions, but its very crucial in nursing. Talking with people and just being my genuine self, has put my resume on some desks and I have bypassed the entire hiring process. Networking and building strong relationships, has given me face time calls from nurses when both my grandparents were in the hospital with Covid. Not being able to visit your loved ones was hard, but having friends that ironically worked on that unit. Relieved my family and their concerns. Furthermore, networking will hopefully a lot me a clinical site with ease and I can get my required hours without having to pay. And I hope to one day be able to offer that to another student nurse practitioner.

References:

Walden University. (n.d.a) Vision, mission and goals. Retrieved Nov 29, 2021,fromhttps://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=57&navoid=7946


Walden University. (n.d.b). Master of Science in

Discussion 2 My journey in nursing started 23 years ago. I began as a registered nurse for 12 years and worked in various settings such as pediatric ICU, medical-surgical, telemetry, long-term care and ER. I was motivated to pursue my MSN because of a nurse practitioner I worked with. She made such a great impression on me regarding managing her patients and collaborating with other physicians. I told myself that I wanted to do similar things as well. After three years of being an NP, I decided to pursue post-graduate studies to advance my scholarly understanding of research and how it applies to clinical practice.

Walden's mission and vision resonate with me to transform their graduates into knowledgeable scholars and become a catalyst of change in the community (Walden University, n.d.). A university's epitome of learning outcome should be how students apply their knowledge in the community and make a positive change. After completing the post master's certificate in psychiatry at Walden University, I will provide a broader scope of care to my patients. The addition of knowledge in psychiatry with my primary care experience will offer seamless care to patients who have an underlying mental health condition. As a result, it improves patient safety by preventing fragmented care and duplication of services. The primary care behavioral health model is a framework where mental health services are integrated into the primary care setting (Rural Information Hub, n.d.). This model increases access to care and prevents stigma associated with mental health. I plan to pioneer this change in our clinic.

As I continue my journey as a nurse practitioner, I find it particularly important to establish connections with other professionals. In every person I meet, I regard it as an opportunity for networking . I found my current job through a referral, and it has been a great place to work ever since. The stories I hear from my conversations with others provide additional learning that can impact my career or knowledge either by improving my practice or getting an insight on how to deal with situations that I have never encountered before. Having been in the nursing field for a considerable amount of time, I met mentors who have enlightened me in my career path. The mentors I found are successful colleagues in research, medicine, and education whom I am always grateful and excited to collaborate with.

Rural Information Hub (n.d.). Primary care behavioral health model. Retrieved December 4, 2021, from https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/services-integration/2/primary-care-behavioral-health