Growing up I always knew that I wanted to work with children, from that stemmed my first career choice of becoming a Pediatrician. As I began my career planning in High school the realization of how long it would take to become a doctor discouraged me. I once again changed my career goals to becoming a teacher, and then finally to a nurse who could assist with the delivery of babies. Making the right choice was important to me and that explains the ever changing career decisions. After doing some research I decided that a nurse midwife was along the lines of where I want to be. Completing this the personal career development plan will not only help me see my goals on paper but will give me something to look back on when I have acquired all the goals I set to accomplish. I. Short Term goals
My first short term goal is to complete the bachelor program here at Jacksonville University to obtain my Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. My second short term goal may be far-fetched, but I plan on completing this program within a year. With that goal in mind, I know one of the obstacles I will run into is time management. How do I plan to accomplish this goal in such short time? By planning, organizing and managing. II. Long term goals
My long term goals includes obtaining my master’s degree in nursing to become a Nurse Practitioner with a specialty in women’s health. I plan to accomplish this within the next 5 years. III. Mentor Selection
The first step to me becoming a nurse started with my cousin who encouraged me to enroll into an LPN program with her. We completed the program together then moved to Gainesville, Florida to continue our educational goals. She enrolled into prerequisite classes for the RN program at Santé Fe Community College. I enrolled into the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery. To make a long story short I did not attend the first day of class but instead move back home to West Palm Beach. My cousin, however continued on with her goals and today is working as a Family Nurse Practitioner and will be complete with her doctorate in nursing in December of this year. My cousin is an inspiration to me and has been my mentor since I return to nursing school. I chose her as my mentor because the position she holds as a nurse practitioner is what I aspire to become. However, my personal goal is to specialize in women’s health. IV. Plans for transition to this role 1. Obtain Bachelor of nursing degree 2. Obtain Masters of nursing degree 3. Complete Nurse Practitioner exam 4. Complete certification for specialty a. Role responsibilities includes but are not limited to counseling and educating patients, gathering information pertaining to patient’s medical history, conducting physical exams, ordering and performing necessary tests to provide diagnoses and prescribe treatment. Nurse practitioners also have a limited ability to prescribe medication to their patients. b. To become a nurse practitioner you must obtain a master’s degree and then complete the certification exam. If the nurse would like work in a specialty area they will have to obtain additional certification. c. I am not sure what the availability for this role will be once I complete the necessary programs but I predict that the demand for nurses will continue to be a necessity. The position my cousin hold as a FNP starting salary is close to 70,000, my cousin’s salary is 80,000 and she has been a FNP for 2 years now. The national average salary for the position of a women’s health practitioner is close to 80,000. d. The pros of this role for me is the ability to provide care without the direct supervisor of a doctor with the ability to open my own practice. The cons are the added stress that comes with this role of being on call and having to make some medical decisions without direct consult of