Running head: DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GOALS 1

Developing Educational and Professional Goals

Ellen Gilliam

Old Dominion University

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Developing Educational and Professional Goals

Introduction

Rewind to March 7, 2013. I was holding my mom’s hand while being wheeled to the

operating room at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to undergo my second open heart

surgery. I have no recollection of my first surgery since I was just nine days old, but I distinctly

remember telling my mom not to worry if I passed away during this surgery because I would be

in heaven with my Papa. Apparently heaven wasn’t ready for me yet and I woke up to a smiling

nurse with compassion in her eyes looking down at me while being transported out of the

Intensive Care Unit to the Cardiac Care Unit. This experience and the days that followed were

what led me to nursing. Today, I am a student nurse in my first semester of nursing school with

a desire to pass on that same smile of compassion and hope to others (Ellen Gilliam, SN).

I was born with a congenital heart disease called Coarctation of the Aorta. I’ve had two

open heart surgeries and two minimally invasive heart surgeries, making me no stranger to

hospitals and health care professionals. My most recent heart surgery in 2013 was when I

realized the impact a nurse has on not just your physical, but mental and emotional experience in

the hospital. I connected with all of my nurses, as they put my worries to rest, gave me hope,

and did everything possible to keep me comfortable. A nurse is there when you are at your

weakest. A nurse is there when you are at your most vulnerable. And, a nurse is there during

your most frightening moments. A nurse is there when you mentally cannot be there. The nurse

is your advocate. Those concepts embody everything I want to be for as many people as I can. I

want to aid in their holistic healing and be their personal advocate.

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Examination of Journey

Other than my own personal experience with nurses due to my congenital heart disease,

another factor that influenced my decision to attain my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)

included my church community. I am a believer of God. He didn’t take me to heaven in 2013

for a purpose. I believe I was put on this earth to spread His love to His people and one of the

best ways I can accomplish this is through the hands of a nurse. Serving others and putting their

needs before my own in that moment and time when they are most vulnerable is a selfless act of

love in my eyes. My church sends groups of to other countries to do missionary work and that is

where I realized my inspiration to do missionary nursing at some point in my life as well.

Educational and Professional goals

One educational goal I hope to achieve while enrolled in the BSN program is to become a

confident leader, especially in group projects. I tend to be shy and do not want to rub anyone the

wrong way but I know as a nurse portraying leadership it is a great attribute to have when it

comes to collaborating with your scope of healthcare professionals and colleagues. A few ways I

can achieve being confident as a leader is communicating my ideas with my group as well as

taking the group leader positions more often, and not just when I’m asked to.

Another educational goal I hope to achieve is to become more comfortable with public

speaking when presenting my work via video and/or participating in conference calls with my

instructor and colleagues. I can achieve this by doing more of it. I will look into the camera

rather than staring at my computer screen, be able to summarize thoughts and ideas without

reading right off of my paper or the screen, and make it more of a collaborative experience with

whomever is watching.
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A professional goal I hope to achieve during or after completion of the BSN program is

to identify a clinical focus, which I think will either be in cardiology or palliative care. I believe

I will be able to do this after learning and researching about each clinical area in the appropriate

courses. Another professional goal I hope to achieve after completion of the BSN program is to

continue my education and pursue my Master’s degree so that I may one day teach others

aspiring nurses how to become a great nurse and positively attribute to the nursing shortage. I

will achieve this after taking a few years off from taking college courses and strengthen my skills

through hands on work experience as an RN, BSN as well as travel the world.

Self-assessment

Strengths I bring to the program include my motivation, self-discipline, communication

skills, and my writing skills. Weaknesses I am bringing to the program are procrastination and

sometimes ineffectively balancing my heavy workload with both the associates program and the

BSN program. I will use my motivation to keep going even when things get hard and hectic, like

they are right now. When my motivation runs out I will have the self-discipline to continue to do

what I need to do now in order to be successful in the future. I will use my communication skills

to effectively communicate with my professors about my education as well as my colleagues in

group projects. I will prevent my weaknesses from causing me to fail my BSN courses by

getting ahead of schedule during spring break and trying to stay ahead from then out. Each week

I will fill out my daily planner and set time frames to focus on and study for each program.

Conclusion

The introspection aspect of this paper was a great reminder of why I have chosen to

become a nurse and help people at their most vulnerable. I know that at the end of this

wonderful part of my journey my hard work will pay off. The self reflection aspect of this paper
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really helped me to evaluate where I am in my nursing journey at this moment. It allows me to

pat myself on the back for the things I have accomplished this far, but also helps me see where I

need to improve and the changes I need to make in order to be more successful. I want to be that

caring, compassionate nurse that I woke up to after my heart surgery in 2013 and bring hope to

others.

“I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form

of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a

member of the academic community it is responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the

Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.”

Ellen Gilliam