Graduate Nursing Education, Essay Example

During my 17 years experience as a professional nurse, I have worked in different departments including Medical Surgery, Telemetry, Pulmonary, GI, Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant, Stem Cell, and Hospice. These experiences have not only provided me with diverse knowledge and skills but also helped me better understand the issues faced by the nursing profession as well as the emerging trends. The demand for nursing services continue to increase at a rapid pace due to aging population but at the same time patients also have higher expectations. This made me realized that advanced academic credentials coupled with my vast experience will not only help me meet or achieve the expectations of patients under my care but will also help me achieve my true potential as a professional nurse.

I chose the nursing career because it not only complemented my skills and strengths but also matched my interests and professional aspirations. I started my career in the nursing profession as a nursing manager and supervisor but was not satisfied with my work. I wanted to make direct impact in the lives of others and knew that an administrative career path is not the solution. I often observed nurses providing care to their patients and their professional and ethical conduct always distinguished them from other professionals. The selfless nursing professionals finally convinced me that I belonged to the service side of the nursing profession. It is no surprise that my performance went up significantly after joining the service aspect of the nursing profession because it is a better fit to my strengths and personal values.

My philosophy about graduate nursing education is that it should take a balanced approach to academic theories and real-world observations. I regularly read professional publications to stay up-to-date on the current and emerging trends and have observed that more and more healthcare organizations, even non-profit ones are now being run in a business-like manner. This is because the demand for healthcare services often exceeds the resources of the healthcare organizations which has forced them to achieve greater operating efficiencies. In addition, more and more organizations are involving nursing staff in strategic planning process due to their understanding of operating activities. Thus, today nurses are not only expected to demonstrate technical proficiency but also soft skills such as communication skills, teamwork, and leadership skills.

I also believe that the program’s curriculum should continue to evolve over the years to reflect emerging trends. For example, the aging population trend is not only limited to the U.S. but also faced by other industrial nations including England, France, Germany, and Japan. The cross-cultural travel will only increase over time due to the forces of globalization. Thus, graduate programs could also incorporate courses on cross-cultural skills. Similarly, the demand for foreign skilled nursing professionals has also been increasing in the U.S., thus, graduate nursing programs should provide ample networking opportunities to their students in order to gain competitive advantage in the competitive healthcare sector. In addition, they could also sign student exchange programs with international universities to expose their students to nursing profession’s best practices in other countries.