My passion for nursing is a direct result of my volunteer work, simple things from collecting food for the community food pantry to supporting respite care at the local hospital; I have struggled as a single mom with a sickly child. Yet, I am undaunted and have prepared myself for service in nursing by doing things like shoveling sidewalks for shut-in elders in my neighborhood and cultivating empathy and patience. By the time I began studying to become a Nurse Assistant First Responder, my path was confirmed.
I was enormously proud the day that I obtained an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certificate. As an EMT in the emergency room, I got to observe a wide spectrum of human behavior and illness up close. Throughout my undergraduate years, I have done significant research about nursing leadership and completed my Bachelor of Science-Nursing (BSN) program.
My perspective and mission are a particularly good fit with ____’s Nurse Practitioner Program and the way that it emphasizes an integrated approach to nursing, helping me to better understand nursing within its environment, considering its cultural and ethical contexts. I have also learned how to integrate therapeutic communication skills with the knowledge of healthcare systems, helping to better prepare myself for a long and distinguished career in the implementation of new healthcare technologies.
I have received an intensive education in caring during the five years that I spent as a staff nurse at XXXX Hospital and later as a preceptor and charge nurse, assisting patients from all over the world who have had nothing in common other than suffering from various cardiac irregularities. I have come to better understand the imperative of constantly enhancing our cultural sensitivity to people from all cultural and educational backgrounds. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been able to put into practice and test most of what I have learned in my BSN Program at XXXX.
I have especially labored to expand my awareness of those aspects of nursing that are not immediately involved with the physical care of patients. I created and presented a poster on heart failure at the Nurses Poster Fair, which is being used even today to educate nursing and other units at the Mayo Clinic. I also chaired the Cardiovascular Practice and Quality and Safety committees, which helped me to maintain the big-picture view of nursing. In 2007, I was awarded the Karis Award and recognized for exceptional overall performance reflecting the values of Mayo Clinic.
By the end of 2007, I applied to and became a Nurse Liaison or Physician Extender at the Cardiology 4 Service Unit. I coordinated and collaborated with mid-level providers (NPs, PAs) and Cardiologists, learning from their knowledge, and inspired by their passion. I enhanced my multi-tasking and effective time management skills planning discharge and follow-up services and appointments to ensure continuity of care for our patients throughout their hospital stay and beyond. I relished the challenges, which continued to fuel my desire to become a nurse practitioner.
Florence Nightingale rightly observed that nursing staff need to take care of themselves too, especially if they are to become increasingly more compassionate and effective at helping patients find healing resolutions to life’s many challenges. In 2008, shortly after I had had our last child, I decided to work closer to home and accepted a position at the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit) at the Franciscan Health Care section of the Mayo Health System in XXXX, XX. I feel strongly that becoming a more effective mother has also continued to inspire me to become an increasingly effective nurse practitioner.
Given my strong cardiology background, I have become the coordinator for surgical services and have been placed in charge of the BLS, ACLS, and Mock code competencies for staff in Day Surgery, OR, Anesthesia, and Recovery. I also am an instructor for the AHA and teach BLS, ACLS, and First Aid classes in the hospital and the community. I am an integral part of the Medication Reconciliation, Post-operative Pneumonia, and Infusion Therapy Expert Teams.
I wish to expand my knowledge of nursing and focus my community service efforts. The Department of Nursing at ____ University is rigorous, especially the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, and I crave its breadth, and well-designed coursework emphasizing the theoretical and practical aspects of advanced nursing care. I am convinced that your program will help me achieve my goals.
Thank you for considering my application.
NP Personal Statement, Nurse Practitioner