Personal Statement: A Career As A Mental Health Nurse

Profile Essay While working several shifts in an Alzheimer's unit in a local care facility, I had the opportunity to meet a registered nurse named Sarah. Sarah had plenty of insight on what it is like being a nurse in a facility. During my observations of her duties I witnessed many things that opened my eyes as to what I want in my future career choices.

Nursing has become a very dynamic role as it is constantly changing and evolving. The number of people entering the nursing field continues to increase. The responsibilities nurses are held accountable for are very diverse and demanding. Mental health nursing is one of the many diverse fields a nurse must be educated in. A nurse must be competent in attending to a patient’s mental health as it is something that pertains to all patients regardless of race, origin, or religion. “There is growing recognition that health services must move beyond the responsibility of simply providing clinical and curative services to increasing attention on the benefits of promoting mental health and well-being” (Wand and White, 2007, p. 404). The focus of this

A career as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner is a natural extension of my personal, educational, and research experiences. Although my path to nursing has not been a straight line, every experience that put me on this path has shaped my passion and dedication to psychiatric nursing.

Growing up with parents very passionate about the health care field has had a tremendous influence on my decision to pursue the health sciences. This was because of two things: my interest in helping others and my fascination with science. I was always been interested with science in grade school mostly because it interested me to see how living organisms functioned. This was especially true when it came to the human body. Helping others has also always been a passion of mine for as long as I remember. It always has given me great joy helping others to be happy or feel better about themselves in any way possible. So it made sense for me to go into college as a Nursing major. My mom has always been a huge inspiration in my life, so it made sense to me to strive to be a nurse just like her.

I have decided to study Mental health nursing to fulfill a life-long desire of helping people with disabilities. This I believe will be the start of a long and flourishing career in working in the medical field and will give me a real sense of job satisfaction. I am very much interested in gaining a career in nursing as I feel it will place me in a position where I can anticipate making progress, whilst learning from others more experienced than me. Nursing is a lifelong learning experience and a profession I long to be a part of; I have come to learn that with nursing you never really stop learning and acquiring new skills and the role teaches you new things every day. I have some of my family in the nursing field and this has encouraged me to pursue this dream. I have seen how

Nursing, and everything that it entails, cannot be easily described in just one simple word or phrase. It goes beyond the meaning of a profession and the stereotypical definition of treating the ill. Nursing is the “protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (American Nurses Association, 2010, p. 1). Therefore, it is a career that requires dedication, passion, critical thinking, and knowledge. It demands commitment and an understanding of its core values and concepts, as well as the nurse’s own personal philosophy and principles.

Growing up I have always had the passion to help people but my interest in mental health nursing came about whilst serving in the army when I had the opportunity to experience first-hand the immerse contribution psychiatrist nurse made in the life of a close friend of mine who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder which had driven him to the point of severe depression. Personally I wanted to do more for my friend and his family. I did all my best to support him through the crisis by providing him a listening ear, encouraging and continually offering him reassurance. My experience with my friend made me to understand and appreciate the importance of being sensitive and responsive to the needs of people will mental illness. This experience led me to take up part time job as a carer in a nursing home for people suffering with dementia. In my line of work, I always make sure I listen and talk with service users in a way that makes them feel respected, valued and safe. I always sort to establish rapport with the service users in order to adequately identify and attend to their needs. I believe that supporting service users to maximise their potentials helps them to live independent lives

This is a personal statement for my application to the Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration in the Ball State School of Nursing. My personal statement provides details on my personal background and the unique impact that Family Nurse Practitioners have had on my life. I describe my undergraduate studies and how I firsthand gained interest as well as insight on the skills of a Family Nurse Practitioner. I go into detail about my aspiration to be a Family Nurse Practitioner to directly affect the patient care of a variety of patient populations. The personal statement connects qualities of my current practice as a Registered Nurse to the proficiencies of a Family Nurse Practitioner. I describe my learning habits and how the plan of study that Ball State offers coincides with my current work life. I conclude by describing the skills I attain and connect those skills to the Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration at Ball State.

I took an interest in nursing four years ago. During this time my grandmother, who was my best friend fell and broke her hip. She was 100 years old so after her fall there wasn't much she could do on her own. It was heartbreaking to see the most strongest and independent person I know become so weak and depressed. I then made it my duty to take care of her when my mom or uncles couldn't. The things I saw disturbing a few years ago such as cleaning someones private parts and changing their dressing on rashes became something I didn't mind doing. My only concern was making sure she was comfortable. It was an amazing feeling when I helped her maintain hygiene, clean her bed, take her down the street in her wheelchair for some sun, serve her food

Its another regular Monday morning, off goes my alarm, time for work. Picking out a cartoon themed shirt took up most of my morning, Tinker Bell it is. I check the time 7:30 on the dot, time for work! I grab a sweater, bags and car keys heading out the door. I head for Dunkin Donuts awaiting my daily coffee coolatta and Boston cream donut.” It 's hot out today” i mumbled to myself as i rolled down the windows letting some fresh air in. I 'm heading to the Jamaica Plain Health Center. I check the time 7:55, “ I 'm almost there” I mumble to myself. I park my car in the parking lot, grab my things and make my way inside. I greet my coworkers and ready myself for the busy day.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” As a child, this question always triggered a sense of excitement for me. I would always yell “doctor” without second guessing myself. My strong interest in math and science always seemed to drive my career path towards the medical field. I said I wanted to become a doctor so often that now I cannot think of anything else as a career option.

Are you interested in being a Registered Nurse? To become a Registered Nurse also known as RN it requires education, skills, and interest. For instance, an RN must be able to detect changes in symptoms, health, or pain. Furthermore, a Registered Nurse should have critical thinking skills, communication skills, and organization skills. Anyways, three colleges in San Diego are San Diego State University, School of Nursing, and San Diego City college. An RN that is more experienced has the potential for raises or promotions than a new RN. Every RN is paid differently based on their experience/education. Therefore, RN 's handle plenty of tasks and the majority of the registered nurses have a different education so each gets paid different amounts.

There is a high significance for a nursing student completing their degree in nursing to start their career as a nurse practitioner. Nursing students must prepare to become nationally certified by an accredited body upon completion of their schooling in order to advance their career (AANP, 2016). This academic accreditation process helps to show that the students have met the requirements to practice as a Nurse Practitioner in their population focus testing. The scope of practice will be affected based on the certification that the practitioner obtains. If the Nurse Practitioner obtains a certification as a nurse specialists in pediatrics, oncology, geriatrics, emergency medicine, etc. there are scopes and standards of practices that the practitioner must not act outside of (ANA, 2016). There are also state regulation scopes of practices that allow for Nurse Practitioners to practice independently, with reduced practice, and with restricted practice. Along with these practice environments, Nurse Practitioners must abide by facility and institutional policy and procedures that outline their scope of practice (ANA, 2016). There are very few states that still allow Nurse Practitioners to practice without a national certification. These states in the future may require the nurses however to in fact take national certification as more employers and third party insurers for malpractice are looking

I have work as a certified nursing assistant in the surgery unit and we have already implemented most if not all these patient safety measures. As a nurse, I will continue to practice and perform these safety measure that I have learned from my colleagues. Any patient that enters my unit will be asked to identify themselves. Patient will be asked to say their name and date of birth, while I make sure that their information is accurate on their arm band. Next step in the process, is to attain a medical history, from their current medication, health history and any allergies. This information is important because it will give an idea to how to properly care for the patient. I will be able to figure out what type of medication, for example

My life goal of being a nurse practitioner affected my choice of destination in history. If I could go back in time, I would go back to Hickory, North Carolina in June of 1944, which is only thirty minutes away from my home in Taylorsville, North Carolina. This small town became the center of the largest polio outbreak in the United States. “Polio” is short for “poliomyelitis”, a disease that targets the leg, arm, stomach and muscles of the back. If polio paralyzes the chest muscles of the victim, it can be fatal by not allowing the person to breathe. At this time there was no reliable cure for polio, but most people did recover with at least a partial return of their mobility. Beginning in 1916, large outbreaks of polio swept through cities and towns, crippling and killing thousands. Most years saw “summer outbreaks” that would seem to stop with the cold weather. When polio hit this small, western North Carolina town