Personal Goals Essay Example for Free

Personal Goals Essay My goal in life is to become a neonatal nurse practioner; this not only accomplishes my long-term professional goal but a long-term personal goal as well; I want to provide for my family, and set an example for my children. To teach them that if they work hard and never give up they can accomplish anything. My professional short term goal is to be able to stop my two in the morning paper route and become employed by the local children’s hospital; giving back to a wonderful profession that helped me when my two littlest were in the NICU. My personal short term goal is to pass my courses as they come here at University of Phoenix, and gain the necessary knowledge to become the best nurse and mother I can possibly be. The skills I need to accomplish these are good time management, attention to detail, compassion, and persistence. I hope to be able to pass these qualities on to my children, but also use them in my professional life as well. To accomplish these goals there are a lot of milestones to achieve along the way. First I had to receive my ADN-RN degree; this was something I did not know if I could accomplish. With the loving support, understanding and help from my family I graduated and made the Dean’s list, all while pregnant, working a full time job and taking care of 4 other children. Next milestone, after six years, was deciding to back to school to obtain my BSN, this too will be an uphill climb but I will accomplish it. It took me forever to get all the paper work in order, get the financial aid needed, get my transcripts from my other university, but through it all I was helped by the wonderful staff here at University of Phoenix. After all that are my Masters degree and my NNP license my final milestones as my professional goals are concerned but just the beginning of the rest of my career. Along the way my personal milestones will be to get into a house that I do not rent, watch my children go off to college themselves and enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty house. By doing these things, taking one step at a time and enjoying he moments I will be gaining the necessary skills to not only be a great nurse but a great teacher to my children; good study habits, time management, determination, and will to accomplish the goal at hand will be needed in both my profession and as a mom. According to Anonymous 2002, â€Å"nearly 40,000 low-birth-weight babies are born each year in the United States, there will continue to be a market for neonatal nurses. † This saddens me to think of all the babies in the NICU, but also reassures me that I will always have opportunity to be employed and able to take care of m y family. Salaries vary by region but may start â€Å"in the upper $30’s to $40’s† (Anonymous 2002). This financial security will allow me to not only support my family, get a house of my own, but also continue my education with minimal stress. Putting in my due diligence not only academically but personally helps alleviate doing everything last minute. By setting aside a few hours a day for rigorous studies allows me to budget the rest of my time accordingly between my children, me and research to improve my career. I recommend a planner or calendar of some sort to keep you accountable for how your day is spent. Remember the dishes will be there, the laundry will eventually get folded, the paper will get written but time with your family can never be replaced, so make sure to schedule that time as well. It helps sometimes to step back regroup and get a perspective of why you are doing this and relax. According to Harvey and Leslie (2006) â€Å"†¦senior neonatal nurses can do much to develop an evidence and research culture on units and to guide program development. † This milestone is also a great goal of mine, to be able to make a difference in neonatal evidence based practice. To apply my knowledge, do research, better a prognosis and pass it on to the next generation of nurses. This should be a goal of every nurse to improve the medical field while being advocates for our patients. By building good time management skills now while I am still in school will help me prepare to continue doing so in my professional and personal life. In Harvey and Leslie (2006) it also states, â€Å"by developing a substantial community of people embedded in clinical settings and universities who can address these diverse issues surrounding research leadership, neonatal nursing will move to a new era of evidence based practice. In conclusion, I want to make a difference this is my short and long term professional and personal goal. To help my fellow student succeed in their endeavors when possible, but to also see my own children grow, prosper and head out into the world themselves. Cappleman (2004) describes â€Å"the process of initiating, maintaining, and eventually terminating the professional-family relationships. † I want the families to be comfortable talking with health care professionals as people not just doctors and nurses; to ask questions, learn how to care for their infants on their own. Cappleman (2004) witnessed â€Å"teaching mothers how to interpret their infants’ behavior, and helping them to acquire skills in caring for them, are therefore essential nursing activities. † I recommend becoming more than just a nurse to our patients; become a confidant, friend, mentor, shoulder to cry on giving them the necessary tools to eventually take care of themselves, but also making them feel comfortable in asking questions and talking to us when necessary. By breaking down these barriers we not only care for the medical needs but emotional and psychological as well. When we allow ourselves to become in tune with our patients by sharing of ourselves, our fears it shows that we are people too. This allows us to be more caring and sincere in our personal lives to show compassion and understanding for those around us. Although there is no formal training, time management issues, obstacles and milestones I have accomplished with difficulty, and more to come, my goal remains to become a neonatal nurse practioner, be an example to my children and make a difference in the world.