Hughes 1

Career Pathways Assessment Follow Up

Rachel Hughes
Old Dominion University
 Hughes 2

At the start of my nursing education, I had many educational and personal goals. My first

goal was to pass every nursing course. I unfortunately did not accomplish this goal. There have

been a few courses that I have had to retake. This was due to poor time management, lack of

focus, and personal distractions. I have learned a lot about myself through these failures and have

made necessary changes in my life to ensure that this will not happen again. I had hoped to

graduate with my RN and BSN simultaneously, however I have had to slow down the pace of my

BSN courses.

My second goal was to obtain an RN position within the first year after graduation. I am

happy to report that after obtaining my RN diploma in 2018 and passing the NCLEX, I was

offered a RN position at a local hospital. I was eager to start work right away. I applied to many

different units and was offered multiple different positions. Another goal of mine was to work in

the Emergency Department. However, after clinical rotations in the ED I found that it was not

the type of nursing for me. I am currently working as an orthopedic nurse at Sentara Leigh

Hospital in Norfolk, VA. Although my nursing education was a long and rocky road, I am proud

of the accomplishments I have made, and I will continue to set new goals for myself to achieve.