Transitioning from Student to Nurse Leader Essay

Becoming a professional nurse takes a long time, and some students may become so accustomed to the rigors of an academic regimen that they are ill-prepared to enter the workforce after graduation. Therefore, it is important to develop viable plans for the future before the pinning ceremony is performed and the diplomas are handed out. To this end, the purpose of this paper is to provide a clear vision for the future by setting achievable goals and formulating appropriate strategies for achieving these goals through the creation of a one-year and five-year professional nursing career plan. The one-year plan describes my plans immediately following graduation including the identification of selected potential employers• and the details concerning what is required to apply for these positions. In addition, a description of the ways in which I intend to maintain a holistic balance in my personal and professional life during the first year and over the course of five years is followed by the Identification of relevant known stressors and anticipated challenges together with corresponding plans for managing each of them during the first year and at five years. Finally, the paper presents a plan for lifelong learning and educational development during the first year and at five years and concludes with a summary of my for contributing to the professional nursing community and my general community in a healthcare professional role during the first year and at five years.

Transition into the professional nursing role

The state where I will be seeking employment following graduation as a registered nurse is New Jersey. The criteria for becoming a registered nurse in this state include the following (1) graduation from a registered nursing program that has been approved by the New Jersey Board of Nursing; (2) pass a background check and (3) pass the NCLEX-RN examination (Nursing school degrees, 2019). Applications are accepted online or through the U.S. mails. Assuming these criteria are satisfied, I intend to seek employment with the health care organizations described below, including the respective motivators and detractors for each.

Saint Peters University Hospital, New Brunswick

This health care organization is a 478-bed acute care teaching hospital (About Saint Peters University Hospital, 2019) with much to offer newly graduated registered nurses (RNs). For example, the hospital features a new graduate program for nurses, the staff is well known for being highly supportive of new nursing graduates and they even pay for otherwise-costly certifications (i.e., progressive care ICU and medical-surgical) after completing the required minimum number of hours of work.

At present, though, the RN jobs that are available at Saint Peters are in the emergency department which employs a high ratio of new graduate nurses. This staffing arrangement appears to represent a significant detractor since it indicates that recent graduate nurses rather than…

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…work my way up from a medical surgical unit/emergency department to collect my nursing foundation skills so that I can advance to a telemetry floor where I can focus in on my specialty and one day secure employment in an ICU unit.

Although it is possible to secure employment directly in an ICU unit, I feel it is important for me and my patients that I gain additional experiences prior to entering this specialty area. In addition, by the end of my first year in nursing, I intend to have received my medical-surgical certification followed 4 months later by securing my progressive care certification. Over the first 5 years of my nursing career, I also intend to formalize plans concerning which route of master’s degree nursing is most appropriate. Although I intend to pursue an advanced nursing career, it remains uncertain at this point whether this means a nurse practitioner in family care or mental health or education position, but this determination will be completed by the end of my 5-year plan.

Professional contributions

During my first 5 years following graduation, my personal contributions to a professional nursing community will include membership in the American Nurses Association and participating in their online communities of interest. Likewise, my ongoing learning will be directed at developing monitoring skills to identify opportunities for improving the quality of nursing care In addition, I also intend to continue…