Developing Educational and Professional Goals

Developing Educational and Professional Goals

Erin Keim

Old Dominion University

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I have been a nurse for 1 years. I started taking prerequisites at J.

Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, VA back in 2011. When I

decided to take the plunge into nursing school, I was working as a nanny for a

family with two sweet boys. I already had a bachelors degree in Elementary

Education, which I got when I was young.

After graduating from college in 2004, I moved to Saipan to teach 5 th grade

for 3 years. Even then, I knew that I loved helping people and loved kids, but

didnt think that teaching would be a good fit for me long-term. Even in college, I

wasnt 100% sure of what I wanted to do. I just knew that my parents expected me

to figure it out. I pretended for a while.

I come from a big family of nurses: my mom is an OR nurse/director of

surgeries, my grandmother is a nurse, and I have two aunts who are nurse

practioners. I guess you could say that my family expected at least one of the kids

to be in the medical field. For that reason, I tried to avoid nursing. I wasnt totally

against it, I just wanted to explore a little and find out what I wanted to do, not

what my family wanted me to do.

Ive always loved helping people and loved challenges. I have worked retail

most of my life, worked as a teacher, and nanny for two separate families. Those

areas were not challenging for me and I became quite stagnant. While working as

a nanny, I decided to take that huge step in going to nursing school. I knew it

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wouldnt be easy and that my whole life would change. I did not know which area

of nursing I would want to do, but I was excited to find out. My dad always told

me that I had the compassion and love for people to be a nurse. He said I was

always very nurturing and patient with people, even as a kid.

In order to go to nursing school, I had to quit my full-time job as a nanny

and work part-time at my retail jobs. Thankfully, I met a wonderful guy who I was

engaged to right before starting nursing school and who I married after my second

semester of school who was extremely supportive of my drive to become a nurse.

After graduating from JSRCC in July of 2014, I accepted a job on a Neuro

floor at the hospital I was a patient care tech at. Its been over a year since

working there, and since then, Ive been working on my Bachelors degree. I

worked on my prerequisites through JSRCC again due to the cost. I finally

transferred to ODU this January and will hopefully graduate next Spring.

I wanted to get my BSN because I know how important it is to continue on

with my education. While in nursing school for my Associates, my professors

repeatedly stressed the importance of at least getting our Bachelors degree. I

know many places are pushing towards everyone having their Bachelors degree

by 2020. I knew I wanted to get my BSN, but figured now would be perfect before

there is a surge in applicants and before I have kids. Many of my co-workers are

working on their Bachelors degree and quite a few on their MSN.

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When I think about what I want to get out of my BSN, I think about how

important it is in every career, to be able to write well. I want to be able to express

my thoughts more concisely. Another goal I was thinking about is to be able to

test better. Nursing school tests were horrible and my anxiety got the best of me. I

want to focus on test-taking strategies and overcoming my anxiety.

Some professional goals I look forward to obtaining while working on my

BSN and even afterwards is the ability to move on towards either being a nurse

practicioner or a CRNA. I dont plan to stay on the unit I am currently working on

for too much longer, so I need to figure out my interest and work towards that. I

need to explore areas that interest me so that I know what my next move will be.

I love taking online classes and actually prefer them over traditional face-to-

face classes, but I have found that I should take the more difficult math classes in

person. Online classes are faster paced and require more independent work. I

think one of the strengths I have is the ability to take online classes and stay ahead

with work. Its very rare that I get behind and I have never turned anything in late.

Because of that, I know that I can continue taking online courses and be rather

successful in them.

One weakness that I pointed out earlier is my test-taking. Before nursing

school, I did average to above average on tests. During and after nursing school,

tests became very difficult and my anxiety got in the way. My studying strategies

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may need to change to accommodate this anxiety, but that is what I want and need

to work on.

In conclusion, nursing is an exciting career full of opportunities and

challenges that I am looking forward to every day. In nursing, every day is

different: you meet new patients, learn about new illnesses/diseases, meet new

challenges that can be overwhelming, and make a difference. I am looking

forward to accomplishing my goals of better test-taking as well as professional

development of advancing my education.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away in November so he wont be around to

see this in person. But, I know that I will try my best to make him proud and to

work hard. He always taught me to work hard and to never give up. That is what I

will do.

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.

Erin Keim 03/03/16