Reflective Essay: Exploring Career Opportunities in Nursing Field

This reflective essay delves into the author's nursing career aspirations, aligning them with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations for the future of nursing. The essay highlights the significance of increasing the proportion of nurses with baccalaureate degrees, doubling the number of nurses with doctorates, and promoting lifelong learning. The author, a medical-surgical nurse, expresses a desire to become a nursing educator or manager to encourage others to pursue higher education. The essay also emphasizes the need for nurses to adapt to the ever-changing healthcare landscape through continuous learning and professional development. The author identifies areas for personal improvement, such as catheter maintenance and infection control, and outlines plans to address these weaknesses through workshops and programs. The essay concludes with a commitment to enhancing skills and providing better patient care, reflecting on the importance of theoretical and practical knowledge in the nursing field.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Reflective essay
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY
The reflective journal is a very potent tool for identification of the personal strength
and weakness of the professional in terms of professional practice (Ning et al., 2017). The
reflective tool helps the professional build on their strengths and identify personal
weaknesses so that they can be adequately addressed. In this essay, the reflective essay will
explore my job market opportunities and how my expertise can fit into IOM Future of
Nursing recommendations.
IOM stands for Institute of Medicine which has initiated a very important and
effective campaigning for how nurses’ responsibilities, roles and education can be improved
or modified to address the needs of the a diverse and aging population along with responding
to the ever-changing and complex health care system of the present day scenario. There are
five critical recommendation areas where the report is aiming to foster positive change by
informing and improving the roles, responsibilities and scope of practice (Ulrich, 2015). The
three most notable recommendations include Increase the proportion of nurses with a
baccalaureate degree to 80% by 2020, double the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020,
and ensure that nurses engage in lifelong learning. Each of the recommendation addresses the
myriad of roles and responsibilities of the nurses and their scope of practice effectively.
These three recommendations are linked with the financial stability of the nurses and
attaining professional growth in the field.
However, the first recommendation is discussing increasing the rate of baccalaureate
degree by 80% in 2020. The need for educated nursing workforce is increasing every day and
as the staffing shortage is a grave challenge for the present day health workforce. As a
medical surgical nurse myself, I have myself encountered the pressing need for higher
educated nurses in the post-surgical nursing background. As a nurse myself I would like to
develop skills and expertise in becoming nursing educators or nursing managers so that I can

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY
educate, motivate and persuade deserving and passionate candidates to opt for baccalaureate
degrees in the nursing field (Redmond, 2017).
Another very important aspect is the lack of doctorate level education among the
nurses in almost all nursing sectors. Hence, my primary focus will be to complete post-
graduation and then opt for doctorate and enhance my credibility to avail such opportunities.
In the meantime I also would like to advocate a very important aspect of nursing practice
among my peers, the importance of lifelong learning. nursing is a ever changing domain of
profession, and with new direction, standards and care approaches being introduced every
day, adapting to the new and improved ways of caring is crucial for the nurses. Hence, I
would like to advocate and spread awareness among my peers and other nurses to integrate
the concept of lifelong learning in everyday practice to ensure informed care (Brown &
Schmidt, 2016).
Although, I understand that in order to achieve these goals I would have to enhance
my knowledge, both theoretical and practical, skillset, and expertise. I would attempt to join
multiple online and offline programs to improve my communication, therapeutic engagement
and cultural sensitivity. With respect to my own personal domain, medical surgical nursing, I
struggle with catheter maintenance and infection control the most. I would be taking the
assistance of the continuous professional development programs and workshops to ensure
better understanding of the aspects. I believe these goals would help me become more expert
and focussed on my nursing field and I will be able to provide better care to my patients in
the future.

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY
References:
Brown, J.M. & Schmidt, N.A., 2016. Service–Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education:
Where is the Reflection?. Journal of professional nursing, 32(1), pp.48-53.
Ning, L.I., Wang, Q., Luo, Y. & Liao, J., (2017). Effects of reflection diary training on
nurse's clinical decision-making capability. Modern Clinical Nursing, 16(1), pp.66-
69.
Redmond, B. (2017). Reflection in action: Developing reflective practice in health and social
services. Routledge.
Ulrich, B. (2015). Progress on the 2010 IOM future of nursing report and future
needs. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 42(6), 527-529.