Professional

Development
Sydney Carskadon
University of Arizona, College of Nursing
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Graduating December 2023
Direct Patient Care Abilities
• Strengths: • Areas for Improvement
• Intrapersonal communication • Skills: IVs, Foley

• Critical Thinking • Time Management

• Problem Solving • Confidence

• Short-Term Goals:
• Successfully place an IV 75% of the time at the end of new
graduate orientation.
• Develop professional, trusting relationships with other members
of the interpersonal care team within first year of working as a
Registered Nurse.
Direct Patient Care Abilities
• Long-Term Goals:
• Become a certified ICU nurse within 4 years of working as a
Registered Nurse.
• Become Legal Nurse Consultant Certified within 5 years of
working as a Registered Nurse.

• Integrative Modality
• “Integrative nursing is person-centered and relationship-
based”(Kreitzer, 2015)
• Take patients outdoors
• Animal or Music therapy
Unit Leadership Abilities
• Strengths: • Areas for Improvement:
• Eager and quick to learn • Delegation

• Clear communication • Assertiveness

• Lead by example
• Teamwork

• Short-Term Goals: • Long-Term Goals:

• Participate in a QI project • Become a charge nurse

• Become a preceptor • Attain Nursing Case

Management Certification
Professional Development Goals
• Short-Term Goals:
• Work on an ICU within 2 years as an RN.
• Attain the Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Certification
• Long-Term Goals:
• Work on an Intensive Care Unit for at least 2 years.
• Attain the Informatics Nursing Certification
Leadership Book

“It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be”
• This book focuses on growth and development from who you are
now into the person and leader you want to be in the future(Arden,
2003).
• My Weakness: being a perfectionist and feeling as though I’ve failed
when I make a mistake. This book explains that there would be no
progress in a world without failures.
Leadership Book

• My Strength: I strive to always keep learning and bettering

myself, and this book provides examples of how to do so.
• Lesson for Future Practice: drive and passion trump talent when
working towards goals.
Leadership Shadowing Experience
Charge Nurse
• I chose to shadow a charge nurse because this is a position I am
interested in pursuing in the future.
• Tasks: pre-shift huddle, adequate staffing and patient load, conflict
management
• This experience taught the importance of time management, effective
communication, and teamwork.
• Because of this experience, I will continue to develop my leadership
and time management skills to one day become a charge nurse.
Professional Activity
American Heart Association Lifelong Learning Courses
• Courses: a variety of lessons pertaining to cardiovascular health.
• Why this activity: I completed my preceptorship on a telemetry unit
and felt that learning more about cardiology would be beneficial in
that setting.
• I learned about a range of cardiovascular diseases and how health
disparities can impact certain groups, for example pregnant women.
• I will be able to use this new knowledge of cardiology and
cardiovascular diseases during my upcoming preceptorship as well as
in my professional nursing career to provide the best care possible to
my patients.
Continuing Education Opportunities/Goals

Personal Aspirations:
• Excel as a new grad on the Neuro-Trauma Care Unit
• Transition onto an adult ICU or NICU
Potential Opportunities:
• ICU or NICU nurse, Nursing Informatics, CRNA or NP
Short-Term Goals:
• Attain Neonatal Resuscitation Program certification.
• Shadow a CRNA or NP prior to applying to programs
Long-Term Goal:
• Apply for CRNA or NP program within 5 years of working as an RN.
• Work as a case manager within the hospital
Timeline of Goals
Develop professional relationships with
Informatics Nursing Certification
the interpersonal care team

Neonatal Resuscitation Certification Legal Nurse Consultant Certified

Participate in QI project Apply to CRNA school

Work on an ICU

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Become a preceptor Become certified ICU nurse Become charge nurse
Shadow CRNA

Successfully place an IV 75% of the time Work on an ICU for at least 2 years

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Certification Nursing Case Management Certification

References

American Heart Association. (n.d.). Lifelong Learning. https://professional.heart.org/en/education

Arden, P. (2003). It's not how good you are it's how good you want to be. New York, NY: Phaidon

Press

Kreitzer, M. J. (2015). Integrative nursing: application of principles across clinical settings. Rambam Maimonides Medical

Journal, 6(2), https://doi.org/10.5041/RMMJ.10200