University Nursing Career Plan: A 5-Year Progression Roadmap

This report presents a comprehensive 5-year career plan developed by a nursing student aspiring to become a scrub nurse. The plan begins with the completion of a Bachelor of Nursing to become a Registered Nurse, followed by gaining practical experience and developing essential skills such as communication, stress management, and organizational abilities. The student intends to pursue a Graduate Nursing Program and a Master's degree to further enhance leadership and management skills. The plan includes strategies for skill development, educational qualifications, and ongoing evaluation to ensure the achievement of career goals. The student emphasizes the importance of adhering to nursing standards, reflective analysis, and continuous learning to achieve professional growth and success in the healthcare sector. The student aims to validate the career plan by obtaining required certifications, gathering supervisor feedback, and engaging in continuous professional development.

Running head: NURSING
NURSING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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A common perception of development of career is it starts with a college degree.
However, in practical situations, career development is an ongoing process which requires
practical experience of the work (Yilmaz et al., 2016). It is true, that a degree is the first step
of a career, but the development needs additional requirements beyond college degree. Career
management refers to the planning of career development which helps to understand and
measure each and every aspect of the career (Yilmaz et al., 2016. In this essay, a five year
career plan for scrub nurse is discussed. The discussion is supported by several published
literature retrieved from Google scholar and PubMed.
During the upcoming five years I wish to engage myself thoroughly in this profession
to gain experience and skills which can support me further to become a scrub nurse. To
achieve the goal the first step is to complete Bachelor of nursing to become a Registered
nurse. As I am at my second year of my academic studies with in two years I need to
complete my Bachelors in Nursing. At this time, my focus is on developing a detail oriented
understanding about the theoretical aspects of this fields (Reed & Shearer, 2017). After
completion I will join as a registered nurse. During these years, I need to develop several
skills to achieve my goal. Scrub nurses requires numerous skills to provide proper care to the
patients. Several studies reported that communicational skills one of the most important part
of becoming an operation room nurse (Riley, 2015). In operation rooms patients feel anxious
and adequate communication with the nurses can help the patient to feel comfortable (Riley,
2015). I believe I am good at my communications. However, I need to develop metalinguistic
skills to support my communicational skills. The need of an operational nurse in a hospital
can occur in any time. As a scrub nurse it is important to be dedicated to the job. As a nursing
student, I understood the importance and impact of nursing in treatment which motivates me
to carry forward my career as a nurse.

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Apart from these there are several skills required to become a scrub nurse. After the
completion of my bachelor’s degree, I will get a chance to work as a registered nurse which
will help me to develop several skills which are related with the practical situation. It is
important to have an experience of two years as a registered nurse to become an Operating
room nurse. During that time, I want to gain more practical based clinical nursing knowledge
which will influence me to achieve my goal. Apart from that, there are several practical
related skills which can be developed by working in a practical situation. Firstly, I need to
develop stress management skills (Blomberg et al., 2016). It is an essential necessity of a
scrub nurse to manage stress related to the operational room. Several studies reported that,
implementation of mindfulness mediation in nursing helps to develop stress management
skills (Ratanasiripong et al., 2015). Apart from that, adequate knowledge of the situation also
involves in reducing working related stress. Organizational skills are also important in case of
scrub nurses. It is not possible to develop understanding of the organizational skills required
in a practical scenario. Therefore, involving in situations as a registered nurse will help me to
develop organizational skills (Moore & Cunningham, 2016). Apart from that, detail oriented
observations are highly required for a scrub nurse. As a registered nurse, it is possible to
understand each and every detail of a patient and interpret the information. Finally, critical
thinking is an important aspect of nursing and it is also important in case of scrub nurses.
Critical thinking can be developed during the practice years as a registered nurses (Zuriguel
et al., 2015). Therefore, during my three years as a registered nurse I will focus on developing
the mentioned skills to achieve my goal.
It is important to achieve these skills as a registered nurse. I will join communication
skill development classes so that I can able to communicate in more than one language.
Several studies reported that, communication in more than one language ensures therapeutic
relationship with a patient (Ji, Taibi & Crezee, 2019). Occupational stress is an important

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factor in healthcare which is related to treatment mediated errors. Primarily I will
communicate with my supervisors regarding my stress related issues and implement their
inputs during practical situations. Thereafter, I will engage in several clinical situations which
will help me to habituate with the situations and in turn reduce the stress. Critical thinking
refers to the application of reasoning to make a decision. The skill can be developed by
implementing several steps such data collection, data organization, evaluation and analysis.
Reflection analysis in specific situations helps to develop critical thinking skills (Zuriguel et
al., 2015). During my practice as a registered nurse, I will engage to develop critical thinking.
Organizational skills are also crucial for scrub nurses and I will involve in developing my
organizational skills by asking help from my supervisor. Moreover, experience of the
situation will also influence my development of organizational skills. Nursing and midwifery
Board of Australia (2019) highlighted several standards for registered nurse and along with
my own development I will meet their standards and follow the rules and regulations to gain
a overall knowledge of the nursing practice.
The third step to achieve my goal is to join in a Graduate Nursing Program. After
completion of my bachelor’s degree and gaining experience as a registered nurse, it is
important to complete my master’s in Nursing. The duration of the course is two years and
during these two years it is possible to receive training in an operating room. During my
masters, I will focus on developing my leadership and management skills along with the
detail oriented theoretical and practical knowledge.
It is important to measure and evaluate my career plan which will help me to reach
my goal. I have planned my five years as per the required standards for nursing practice. I am
following the national standards and concentrating on the required skills mentioned at the
standards to become a nursing professional (Nursing and midwifery Board of Australia,
2019). Apart from that, I have planned to involve in reflective analysis of different situations

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which will help me to understand my drawbacks and also help me to find out the way reduce
my drawbacks and become professional (Choperena et al., 2019). Moreover, regular
communication with the supervisors will also help me to develop the understanding of
professional nursing. Therefore, the mentioned steps can validate my career plan.
Apart from the validation of the plan, it is also important to gather information
regarding my accomplishments. In this case, the first step of my accomplishment will be
confirmed by the complication of my bachelor’s degree certificate. This will help me to get a
license for registered nurse. That will confirm my accomplishment of second step. Thirdly,
during my two years of nursing practice, the input from my supervisors and my own analysis
of my work will help me to understand my eligibility to become a scrub nurse. Finally, after
two years of masters in Nursing, the graduation certificate will confirm my eligibility to
become an operation room nurse.
Several studies reported the importance of leadership in nursing. It can influence the
nursing practice. Development of nursing leadership needs a clear understanding on the
nursing standards along with organizational skills to manage the practical situations. Apart
from following the nursing standards, my focus is on engaging more and more with my
supervisor to understand the organization skills required for adequate nursing practice. A
proper understanding of the standards will help me to implement it in practical situations and
a clear understanding of the practical situations will support the effective implementation
(Porter-O'Grady & Malloch, 2015). Therefore, I will focus on continuous learning and detail
oriented observation along with analysis of my responses to develop leadership skills which
will help me to become professional and achieve my goals.
To conclude, scrub nurses play a major role in healthcare sector. They involves in
critical cases where adequate skills are highly necessary. I wish to develop all of these skills

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to become a scrub nurse. My dedication towards the profession and understanding on
important of nursing motivates me to face the challenges related to this field. The five year
career plan will help me to develop a detail knowledge and skills related to nursing
profession which will further help me to achieve my goal.

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Reference
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