Week 10: Post-Assessment and Career Planning

In Week 3, you completed a certification exam study plan based on your practice exam results. Now that you have implemented the plan throughout the quarter, do you feel more prepared for the certification exam? Hopefully, you do. This week, it is time to test your hard work and dedication and take your final exam. If there are still areas for which you want to improve your score, note those areas and create an updated study plan to use after this course is over. This week, you also submit your Career Planner, which includes a cover letter, resume, philosophy statement, and letters of recommendation that you can use as you pursue your next professional role.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Create a nurse practitioner career planner
• Identify resources that support personal career development
• Evaluate mastery of nurse practitioner knowledge in preparation for the nurse practitioner national certification examination

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Assignment: Nurse Practitioner Professional Career Planner

As you approach the end of your Master of Science in Nursing program and prepare for a career as a nurse practitioner, you will want to create a cover letter, resume, and portfolio that best represent your knowledge, skills, and abilities as a professional in the field of nursing.

For this Assignment, you will create a Career Planner that you can use as you pursue your next professional role.

To Prepare:

• Review the Career Planner Guide.
• Seek out resources on cover letters, resumes, and other professional resources, as needed. The Walden University Career Planning and Development site has information on many topics of relevance.
• Develop a cover letter, resume, philosophy statement, and other professional resources that meet the requirements outlined in the Career Planner Guide.

By Day 7

Submit Cover Letter, Resume, Personal Philosophy Statement and Long/Short term goals.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Week 10 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 10 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

SAMPLE PAPER

Cover Letter, Resume and Portfolio

Student’s Name

Institution of Affiliation

Course Name

Date
Professional Nursing Portfolio

Personal Philosophy Statement

My personal philosophy guides my decisions and practice in the entire period in the nursing profession. It is based on the provision of compassionate, empathetic, competent and optimal holistic care based on the skills and knowledge acquired during training. This philosophy is based on the beliefs and values that I acquired in my upbringing during the period of early childhood and are characterized by: respect for one another, compassion and trust. These are the values that inspired me to pursue nursing as a career and they still inspire me to provide the much needed care to communities, families and friends and contribute towards universal healthcare.

I personally believe that, in order to maintain this philosophy, education has a significant role. Lifelong learning to gain additional knowledge that can be applied in clinical settings is paramount to being a highly competent nurse. Continuous learning has also been evidenced to result to high quality patient outcomes since skills that can improve the care provided to patients are also acquired. I also believe that the ethnic background, cultural beliefs and sexual orientation of families and patients need to be respected in order to meet care goals. This belief enhances my ability to provide culturally competent care as a contribution towards eliminating healthcare disparities.

To contribute towards the growth of the nursing profession, I vow to uphold the nursing ethical code as outlined by the American Nurses Association and the Joint Commission Standards in providing highly competent care, upholding patient confidentiality and observing patient’s rights. Apart from striving to be an educator, I look forward to being an advocate and disease awareness promoter in order to encourage good healthcare practices and strong values within the communities that I serve. From a personal perspective, nursing is more than just a career. I consider it to be a privilege for someone who is passionate about using their skills and knowledge to assist those who are not able to help themselves.

Cover Letter

Date

(Name of the Hiring Manager)

(Company)

(Address)

(City, State)

Dear Mr., Mrs., Ms. (Name of Hiring Manager)

I am pleased to write this application in reference to the position of a nurse practitioner dated (official date of advertisement) on (official website name). I am certain that based on my academic qualifications and professional experience; I am the most ideal candidate for this position.

I have a Master’s Degree in Nursing (Family Nurse Practitioner) and more than 5 years of proven experience working efficiently and effectively managing both staff and patients. I am calm, patient, trustworthy and extremely organized. I am passionate about providing patient-centric culturally competent care to meet different population and healthcare needs. Besides, I possess the necessary leadership skills to inspire colleague staff members in providing highly standardized care.

In my current role as a registered nurse at Genesis Health Care System, Park Place Center, I have the role of conducting health assessments, evaluating medical conditions, developing care plans coordinating the management of the workforce. During this period, I have been recognized as an individual who is dedicated, ambitious, and highly reliable with the ability to work effectively with minimal supervision. In addition my 5 years’ experience as a wellness registered nurse at St. Francis Medical Center has played a great role in helping me to fulfill my clinical duties by implementing the skills and knowledge that I obtained while training. I have so far been recommended by the institution’s leadership as a highly proficient and hardworking registered nurse with the ability to handle complex problems.

I strongly believe that having a relationship with your organization will undoubtedly be of mutual benefit since I am in search of a work environment that is challenging and can provide the necessary opportunity where I can effectively exercise my skills. I am looking forward to hearing from you and would live to share more about my skills and abilities in an interview. Find attached a detailed account of my profession experience, achievements and professional objective in an attached resume.

Sincerely,

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(Name)

RESUME

(Name), BSN, RN

(P.O Box Address)

(Physical Address)

(Phone Number)

(Email)

OBJECTIVE

A hardworking, patient-oriented and empathetic registered nurse with extensive experience in: counseling, nursing, medical assistance and patient care. This also includes abilities to exceed hospital’s objective. Developed strong psychiatric-evaluation and treatment-planning skills through clinical rotations at Lyneoa Veterans Hospital and Career Hospital to be able to prevent illness, promote good health and focus on the  overall care of patients. Have a proven record of responsibility and reliability. Able to maintain calm and professionalism in critical incidents, uphold sensitivity in addressing the diverse needs of patients in varied situations. Educate patients and the public on different medical conditions, treat those who are ill and assist in their rehabilitation. Give advice and emotional support to patient’s families and use considerable judgment to provide a wide range of services while observing ethical and professional nursing practices.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Nursing skills and abilities: comprehensive knowledge in nursing techniques, practices, procedures and theory in medical-surgical nursing.

Strong analytical skills: capable of assessing conditions and implementing the most appropriate interventions to address them, a highly effective problem solver with the ability to implement solutions to complex problems.

Exceptional organization skills: consistently recognized by colleagues for having cross-discipline talents, flexible to work in fast-paced environments and possess the ability to plan and develop projects.

Dynamic communication and interpersonal skills: exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with proficiency to make sound judgments, exudes confidence in establishing rapport with patients, staff, physicians and family.

Team player: able to initiate action and follow-up to conclusion of any tasks, flexible to priority and direction changes and can assume additional responsibilities when needed, motivate others in achieving medical objectives.

Computer competency: well conversant with Microsoft excel and Microsoft word

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

St. Francis Medical Center                                                                April 2013 – Present

Wellness Registered Nurse

• Oversee the wellness of those who participate in the Nursing Practice Act
• Responsible for the good health and wellbeing of community participants through public health education on healthy lifestyles.
• Make periodic updates on the health of those who participate in wellness programs, educate them on how to identifying early signs of complications, how best they can manage symptoms and educating them on their specific treatment regimens.
• Regularly review medications, make the necessary updates and monitor the overall mental and physical states of participants. Based on the progress, provide preventive direct care interventions.
• Take blood pressure, heart rate, weights and respiratory rates of patients on dialysis and those with CHF.
• Conduct wellness assessments on participants and ensure that they closely interact and coordinate with healthcare providers for good health outcomes
• Respect, show compassion and empathy to patients, communicate respectfully with colleagues, family members and patients.

Trent Center and Luther Arms (Assisted Living Program)                    2011-2013

Nursing Supervisor/Registered Nurse

• Managed resources and personnel who provided nursing services to ensure that the needs of patients were adequately met.
• Ensured the continuum of care for the residents.
• Helped to evaluate the needs of the residents and made appropriate referrals, administered medications and provided community services to ensure optimal care.
• Held regular in-service training for staff as well as nurses as needed by the facility’s standard procedures.

Princeton Health care- Marwick Rehabilitation                                       2009-2010

Registered Nurse

• Helped in the: development, maintenance, implementation and updating of   the medical records of resident patients.
• Thoroughly assessed residents immediately after admission, made care plans and counseled families and colleague staff on the needs of residents.
• Utilized the nursing process to assess patients, develop care plans and implement physician orders on residents.

Genesis Health Care System, Park Place Center                          2008-Present

Registered Nurse

• Administer medications to patients, treated wounds and monitored those who were on peritoneal dialysis.
• Conducted health assessments and recorded the medical history of patients, gave advice and emotional support to family members and patients.
• Helped in conducting diagnostic tests, analyzing results and promoting the overall health of communities through public health education on the signs and symptoms of various illnesses, prevention and follow-up.

Willow Creek Rehabilitation and Health Care Center                               2001 – 2008

Certified Nursing Assistant

• CAN with undoubted expertise in providing care to patients, helping patients to perform activities and enjoy daily life.
• Helped Registered Nurses to take and record vital signs, kept them informed on details regarding patient care and progress.
• Gave emotional support to patients and their families to help in the healing process.

Osu Children’s Home                                                                                       1996 – 1998

Administrative Social Worker

• Helped children and their families to cope with issues in their daily lives, issues related to relationships, solving problems within families and at personal level.
• Gave clients with disabilities, those suffering from life-threatening illnesses, social problems (unemployment, inadequate housing and substance abuse).
• Provided advice  to families that experienced serious domestic conflicts  which
• Provided advices to families that had serious domestic conflicts that at times involved child abuse.
• Engaged in research, assumed the role of an advocate to ensure improved services and participated in systems design which involved policy development and planning.

St. John Middle School                                                                                     1993 – 1994

Certified Trained Teacher

• Promote the social and intellectual development of children in early childhood.
• Ensured that students are provided with the appropriate environment and tools to develop in all aspects.
• Assumed the roles of a coach and a facilitator by using individual instructions and classroom presentations to assist students in learning and concept application in various subjects.
• Conducted the planning, evaluation and assigning of lessons and grading of tests.
• Listened to oral presentations made by learners and ensured that discipline was maintained within the classroom.
• Periodically observed and evaluated the performance of learners and ensured the educational and personal development of learners.

EDUCATION

Walden University                                                               Expected Completion (2017-2019)   

Advance nurse Practitioner-FNP

Grand Canyon University                                                   2015-2017      

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Raritan Valley Community College                                   2006-2008

Associate Degree in Nursing

University of Ghana                                                             1994-1996

Degree in Social Administration

Ada Teaching Training College                                          1989-1992

Post-Secondary Teaching Certification        

LICESURE AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Registered Nurse License RN, BSN, FNP (student) – New Jersey Board of Nursing
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification and First Aid Certification, 2019, New Jersey- Updated and Current
• Basic Life Support, (BLS) and AED, 2019, New Jersey-Updated and Current
• Certified Nursing Assistant

• License Social Worker
• Certified Trained Teacher

References

Cover Letter Advice (n.d.). Nurse practitioner cover letter sample 1. Retrieved from http://www.coverletter.us/nurse-practitioner-cover-letter/

Dahring, R. (2013). Cover letter caveats. Retrieved from http://nurse-practitioners-and- physician-assistants.advanceweb.com/Columns/Career-Coach/Cover-Letter-Caveats.aspx

Porche, D. J. & Danna, D. (2015). Cover letter & resume preparation: Every detail is important when applying for a job. Advance healthcare network for NPs & PAs.

Ulrich, D. L., & Stalter, A. M. (2015). Securing your first clinical nursing position. Nursing2018, 45(8), 60-63.