Caring as Calling: How I View My Career in Healthcare, Admission Essay Example

In reflecting on why furthering my education in nursing is so meaningful to me, I am compelled to make something of a contrast. That is, it is not that I am motivated to provide care for those in need, but that I cannot conceive of any other way of life. As I see it, to be a nurse is not to engage in an occupation, but to be true to a calling. Nursing ultimately translates to a giving beyond training and skill; it means an investment of the energies and concerns that go to the heart of what the nurse is as a human being, if only because anything less is not true nursing. I feel that we who pursue this calling do so because no other direction or career so powerfully allows for an expression of the self. Nurses are what they are, not so much because of the duties they perform, but because of what drives the need to do the work. It is a motivation beyond motivation because it reflects the core of the nurse’s being, and this is how I personally feel about pursuing my path in learning and nursing.

The learning itself, of course, is by no means incidental to the process of fulfilling this need. Deep commitment to caring for others is both excellent and necessary, but even the greatest level of care is meaningless without knowledge. The passion must be validated by skill and learning if the work is to have true impact for good. A profound sense of this responsibility, I believe, is what will greatly go to my success in healthcare. I perceive the work as both a privilege and an obligation. There is no greater honor in humanity than easing suffering and promoting wellness, and this may only be attained through an equally important dedication to acquiring skill and knowledge. We who work in healthcare are the holders of a great trust, as those in need rely on expertise as much as they require empathy and consideration. From my personal experience, the most admirable healthcare providers I have known reflect this crucial combination. They care deeply, and they demonstrate that care through the skills they diligently, and consistently, seek to acquire. No other formula could enable me to be the healthcare provider I wish to be, and knowing this reality, I am confident, will assure me the satisfaction of success in my field. I know from life experience that focus and commitment bring rewards, as I know that, the more I devote my energies to learning, the more enabled I am to succeed.

A significant part of this devotion to learning relies on choices made beforehand, and my interest in Clarkson is not, I assure you, arrived at randomly. Given the importance of the matter to me, I conducted extensive research as to which school could most offer what I require to move forward in healthcare, and Clarkson College impressed me on a variety of levels. Most encouraging to me is the comprehensive nature of the programs. While there is a necessary emphasis on technical education, there is as well the opportunity to engage in study tailored for individual development and goals. The latest advances in medical technology are instructed, and no serious student of healthcare can afford to neglect such study. At the same time, I have an impression of a school that is as committed to the core principles of healthcare as I am. On a more pragmatic level, and going to Clarkson’s awareness of modern concerns, the business of healthcare is also an important study offered. All these components combine to make Clarkson as perfectly reflective of my own needs and ambitions as I could desire in a school.

Let me conclude by acknowledging that I am fully aware of a critical fact: the road I pursue is not easy. I am sure I will face demands and challenges which will truly test my commitment and my abilities. Nonetheless, these challenges themselves are essential, if I am to become the healthcare provider I intend to be. Excellence derives from effort and focus and, when excellence in learning is achieved, the deep caring of the nurse can be best practiced. This is the formula I hold to, for only this formula will permit me to achieve my real goal. It will, in other words, enable me to “answer the call,” and make that calling in healthcare my life.