Hello, this is my first draft of my personal statement and I am really stuck! Thank you for any advice.
As a young child I aspired to become a neonatal intensive care nurse. Although my interests and professional goals have expanded beyond neonatal care, I have never waivered in my determination or dedication to the nursing profession. Nursing is an exciting, ever-changing, and demanding field with doctorally prepared nurses as the leaders of this profession.
As a registered nurse, I was a team-member in the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in northeast Kansas. While caring for the smallest of patients, I was struck by the need for improvement in prenatal care and improved education and support for the breastfeeding NICU mother. I began my graduate career in the nurse midwifery track, but realized that my strengths and passion were in primary care; I finished my master's degree in the family nurse practitioner track. While in the FNP program, I was visiting my family when my son was seen at a rural urgent care and I was inspired to spend my capstone semester at that site.
Although I had never considered rural healthcare prior to that rotation, following graduation I accepted a position in a rural critical access hospital in Jefferson County, KS. My time has been spent providing in-patient care, covering the emergency room, and providing care in the family practice clinic. The hospital is primarily staffed by mid-level providers, which has allowed for many unique and challenging learning opportunities. As an underserved county, our patients face many barriers to healthcare including limited financial and educational resources. My current clinical projects include: developing guidelines and teaching tools for prenatal care based on ACOG recommendations, grant writing in cooperation with the county health department for additional funding to provide care to the uninsured and underinsured in the county, implementing the Vaccines for Children Program, and starting the only breastfeeding support group in the county.
As a docorally prepared nurse, I plan to continue to improve the healthcare for those in rural communities, particularly in the area of maternal-child nursing. I hope to continue to encourage preventive and primary care for women, particularly prenatal care, and to promote breastfeeding support and education.
As a young child I aspired to become a neonatal intensive care nurse. Although my interests and professional goals have expanded beyond neonatal care, I have never waivered in my determination or dedication to the nursing profession. Nursing is an exciting, ever-changing, and demanding field with doctorally prepared nurses as the leaders of this profession.
As a registered nurse, I was a team-member in the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in northeast Kansas. While caring for the smallest of patients, I was struck by the need for improvement in prenatal care and improved education and support for the breastfeeding NICU mother. I began my graduate career in the nurse midwifery track, but realized that my strengths and passion were in primary care; I finished my master's degree in the family nurse practitioner track. While in the FNP program, I was visiting my family when my son was seen at a rural urgent care and I was inspired to spend my capstone semester at that site.
Although I had never considered rural healthcare prior to that rotation, following graduation I accepted a position in a rural critical access hospital in Jefferson County, KS. My time has been spent providing in-patient care, covering the emergency room, and providing care in the family practice clinic. The hospital is primarily staffed by mid-level providers, which has allowed for many unique and challenging learning opportunities. As an underserved county, our patients face many barriers to healthcare including limited financial and educational resources. My current clinical projects include: developing guidelines and teaching tools for prenatal care based on ACOG recommendations, grant writing in cooperation with the county health department for additional funding to provide care to the uninsured and underinsured in the county, implementing the Vaccines for Children Program, and starting the only breastfeeding support group in the county.
As a docorally prepared nurse, I plan to continue to improve the healthcare for those in rural communities, particularly in the area of maternal-child nursing. I hope to continue to encourage preventive and primary care for women, particularly prenatal care, and to promote breastfeeding support and education.
