A full-time nurse since 2006 and deeply engaged in the day-to-day activity of the nursing staff of our ICU since 2007, I am very excited about and anxious to become a part of how Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are coming to play increasingly significant roles in the U.S. health care system across the nation, especially in my State of California. Serving as a Nursing Instructor and Simulation Coordinator since 2011 at XXXX University in Los Angeles, CA, has provided me with enormous opportunities to learn about nursing education and administration.
I have watched closely and could not be more pleased with how the passage of the Affordable Care Act has expanded healthcare coverage to millions of Americans who were previously uninsured. Since disparities in healthcare coverage between the rich and the poor have always been something that has bothered me personally and professionally, I hope to see our nation progress to the point someday when everyone has healthcare coverage. And I look forward to doing what I can to contribute to the process as an APRN. The APRNs of my state, California, distinguish themselves by their enormous diversity, with nurses from all parts of the world serving our state’s communities. For example, I was born and raised in the Philippines and sometimes found myself speaking Tagalog at my hospital. I am also at an intermediate level in Spanish, and increasingly I find myself in positions where this language is beneficial. It is the duty of every APRN and those who aspire to progress to that professional level, such as me, to be primarily concerned with the underserved in our communities. This is why I am making rapid progress towards fluency in Spanish.
I moved permanently to the USA shortly after completing my bachelor's degree from the University of the Philippines in Development Studies, an interest that I continue to have, a particular passion and concern for the Developing World. Here in America, I earned my AS Degree in Nursing in 2006 and then my MS in 2012. I am certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a skilled nursing facility while completing my pre-licensure nursing degree. I am certified by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), in critical care (CCRN). and by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) in Medical-Surgical Nursing. I see the role of the APRN as increasingly important as our population ages, with APRNs at the forefront to alleviate the need for increased access to primary care physicians (Vleet & Paradise, 2014).
Eventually, I hope to continue my studies in a DNP program after gaining further experience working as an FNP. I hope to make essential contributions to my community as an FNP with efforts on behalf of ethnic minority members of the underserved, Asians and Hispanics, Black people, and the homeless population in general. I look forward to many decades of professional giving as an FNP. I hope to someday collaborate with other healthcare providers and Nurse Practitioners to set up a free clinic and provide health education for at-risk and needy populations.
I hope to earn my doctorate and be a teacher of nurses, later in my career back home in the Philippines and in America. I look forward to participating in research studies into health issues in general, particularly the relationship between a healthy diet and efforts at public health education, controlling diabetes, and preventing hypertension for Filipinos. My passion for these areas is because my sister was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at 14, and my father died at only fifty-nine because of hypertension and coronary artery disease.
My experience as a volunteer has also prepared me to excel, in serving food at the Union Rescue Mission in San Fernando Valley and with Project Angel Food, preparing meals for people struggling with a life-threatening disease.
References
American Academy of Nursing. (2010). Implementing health care reform - issues for nursing. Retrieved from ww.aannet.org/assets/docs/implementinghealthcarereform.pdf
FNP Personal Statement Samples