Master’s-Level Nursing Practice
I started my graduate studies at King University in the Fall of 2014. I had been a registered nurse for over 17 years. Somewhere over the course of those 17 years I became very discontent with my career. I am not sure when this happened, but I think it was shortly after I left my first love, pediatic and neonatal nursing. After 10 years of practice in pediatric and neonatal nursing, I relocated to a rural area where I worked in a small critical access hospital. I quickly learned I preferred taking care of little people much more than big people. After this move I continued to move around quite a bit and soon found myself no longer caring for patients directly anymore. I was a clinical science consultant for a pharmaceutical company, and it was in this role I learned that I loved the business side of healthcare. We were in the midst of healthcare reform and things were changing rapidly. This is when my discontment turned to a yearning to learn more.
I began my education at King learning about informatics and leadership. I learned about leadership theory and styles, servant leadership, effective communication, conflict resolution, ethics, and current trends and issues. Next was nursing theory and research. During this semester I came to better understand my worldview and identified a nursing theorist (see Theory of Goal Attainment below). I learned to critically analyze and evaluate research. After that, I studied continuous quality improvement where I learned to provide safe, effective and efficient care to clients through knowledge learned about guiding complex health care delivery and focusing on improvement of systems. I enhanced my ability to become fiscally accountable for my nursing practice while providing high-quality patient care through my studies in finance for nurse managers (see Business Plan below). Social, Cultural & Political Perspectives on Healthcare & Delivery Systems was my favorite class in the program because I am very interested in politics and healthcare reform (see Letter to Policy Maker below).
Finally, it was during my practicum where I can say I finally found contentment again. I looked forward to every practicum day with anticipation and wonder. I could not have asked for a better preceptor. I performed an assessment of my organization. Practicum continued the next two semesters and my strategic project really pulled everything together for me. I applied all that I had learned, not only academically, but experientially through my years of nursing (See Clinical Journals below). I also enjoyed research seminar where I assisted the research coordinator at Wellmont Cancer Institute. This is where you see the real life impact research has on patients. Work in research has to be meticulous, and at times it is tedious, but the work is so very meaningful and important.
Looking back, I now see that my discontentment grew because I stopped learning. My plan going forward is to continually grow and develop professionally. I immediately plan to become active participant in the American Nurses Association and Tennessee Nurses Association. I am contemplating pursuing my doctorate in nursing, but first I need some work experience as a nurse executive. I will pursue a career in project management or program coordination focusing on population health. I want to continue to make a difference in patients' lives by improving the care they receive.
Theory of Goal Attainment for Theoretical Basis of Nursing Practice (video)
Business Plan for Financial/Accounting Issues for Nurse Managers (paper)
Letter to Policy Maker for Soc, Cul & Poli Perspectives on Healthcare & Delivery Systems (paper)
Organizational Assessment for Transformational Strategies I (paper)
Clinical Journal I for Transformational Strategies I (paper)
Clinical Journal II for Transformational Strategies II (paper)
Clinical Journal III for Transformational Strategies III (in progress)