Professional Portfolio/Professional Goals
This professional portfolio will be used as a forum to display personal achievements and qualifications for Karen Snyder in preparation for employment as a nurse educator. A goals statement, demographic information, current certifications and references will be included. Integration of the National League for Nursing (NLN) 8 core competencies and Boyer’s model of scholarship showing how these competencies and scholarships have been met through education at Grand Canyon University.
A professional portfolio is an opportunity for advanced practice nurses to present their accomplishments as well as competence. Nurse educators often work independently and can be a subject of inquiry (Casey & Egan, 2010). A portfolio is used to justify competency, a vehicle for self-assessment, to steer future goals, show personal insight into the profession and highlight accomplishments (Billings & Kowalski, 2008, Casey & Egan, 2010). The professional portfolio is an excellent tool to promote career advancement and confirm accomplishments (Mullen, 2007).
Professional Goals
Nursing for me is a calling. I never remember wanting to be anything else. I have worked in numerous areas of nursing and the role as teachers has been the most intriguing for me. Nurses teach both in a formal and informal way. Teaching in nursing cannot be compared to any other profession that teaches because you are facilitating knowledge that will impact their life. Whether it is caring for a loved one at home, a newly diagnosed adolescent diabetic or a student trying to understand the procedure for giving an injection, the information taught is with them for the rest of their lives. This is a very important task by the nurse in an educator role, and should not be taken lightly.
My role as a nurse has led me down many roads and presented many opportunities. I reached a point in my personal life where I was able to pursue additional education to obtain my Master’s degree as a nurse educator. To obtain this goal has been a great triumph for me. To be able to facilitate the next generation of nurses in their career will give me great satisfaction. The profession of nursing has been a gift that I look forward to passing on.
The learning environment is important to how a student learns. My goals are to use evidence-based practice strategies to apply critical thinking, cultural awareness, technology, global impact and nursing history into the lessons. My goal as a nurse educator is to pass my love of nursing on to others by being an example of a nurse who sees the value of education, incorporating critical thinking into learning and evaluating learning so that I am sure that I am providing education in a manner that is effective. An effective educator is more than someone who has knowledge in a particular subject. My overall goal is to provide an environment where students feel empowered to learn and are willing to explore new ways of learning. This will be accomplished by using evidence-based strategies for teaching such as asking students to think critically, use different modes of technology to learn and being a role model for the students to follow by continuing my own adventure of life-long learning.
Future career goals as a nurse educator is to continue the learning process personally, continue to teach parents in the care of their children’s medical needs and work as adjunct faculty teaching an online class in community health, nursing theory or ethics. It is important to make learning a continuous event. As learning venues, technology and student populations’ change it is important to keep up with the changing times. I would also like to participate in curriculum design and evaluation. Learning is exciting and I look forward to playing an active role as a nurse educator.
References
Billings, D., & Kowalski, K. (2008). Developing your career as a nurse educator: The professional portfolio. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 39(12), 532-533. Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Casey, D., & Egan, D. (2010, ). The use of professional portfolios and profiles for career enhancement. British Journal of Community Nursing, 15(11), 547-552. Retrieved from EBSCOhost
Mullen, P. (2007, March 28). The good portfolio. Nursing Standard, 21(29), 62-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost