Factors Influencing My Decision to Obtain a BSN Degree
Considering current trends, nurses are increasingly required to know and possess complex information and have a diversified experience. Moreover, the ability to give a competent assessment of the probable result of patient care and, of course, the provision of qualified medical care to patients also plays an important role. These are the main factors that influence my decision to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
The desire to help people in providing them with qualified medical care is the main incentive for me to get a bachelor’s degree. I believe that to achieve this goal, it is necessary to obtain the maximum amount of valuable knowledge that can be provided by professors of a higher institution. The experience gained after completing the educational course can be effectively applied by me in my further future practice of working as a nurse in a healthcare organization.
How the Role of the Baccalaureate Differs from My Current Role
The role of a baccalaureate differs from my current role in that the peculiarity of obtaining such an education is the training of not just professional nurses for practical healthcare but also qualified managers and scientific and pedagogical personnel. In the education system, these specialists are in great demand, as teachers in medical schools and colleges, as well as in demand in private medical institutions. However, it should be borne in mind that the goal of higher nursing education should not only be to provide the industry with highly qualified nursing personnel. In addition to being ready to perform professional duties, modern nurses should have the ability to quickly adapt to innovative changes in medicine, which is ensured by the level of general cultural and personal development and the depth of fundamental training.
New Opportunities after Degree Completion
In addition, according to research results, a higher level of education increases loyalty to the chosen profession. If graduate students are compatible with their job, they develop a psychological identification and commitment, directly affecting motivation and effort for career growth (Jyoti et al., 2020). Holding the same positions and receiving the same salary, bachelor nurses are less likely to leave the profession than employees with a lower level of professional education. Considering modern trends, nurses are increasingly required to know and possess complex information, have diversified experience, the ability to give a competent assessment of the possible result of patient care, and, of course, provide qualified medical care to patients. All this, taken together, requires the development of specially adapted training programs, improving the structure of higher nursing education.
Despite this, there are some difficulties that can occur after obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Its presence does not always give legal advantages in the distribution of positions. It can be considered a competitive advantage in the labor market under similar conditions, making it possible to get a higher-paid, more status-based workplace. Sometimes Bachelor of Nursing after graduation face the problem of employment due to lack of work experience, which has a more significant impact on the possibility of obtaining a job.
The work of a doctor in the United States is almost the most prestigious job. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in nursing, many opportunities will open for me. Since studying at the nursing department includes practice in hospitals, schools, municipal agencies, where students also learn the basics of health protection, medical ethics, and other subjects, I can be hired in more prestigious healthcare institutions.
Models of Socialization
The main goal of higher education is the realization of the student’s personal and professional potential. The process of professional socialization itself begins even before entering a higher educational institution when an individual must identify his personality with his future professional activity. Thanks to professional socialization and all the mechanisms carried out with its help; the individual is prepared for practical professional activity. Therefore, based on my existing experience and education, as well as a great interest in medicine and healthcare, I put myself in the role of a nurse. Thus, my professional socialization is necessary to adapt to constantly changing conditions successfully. In addition, socialization itself implies that I should master new knowledge and skills in the nursing profession, as well as skills that will define me as a future professional. Socialization also allows being aware of oneself, not to be afraid to try new ways of working and gaining experience.
I believe that I am at the stage of adaptation since I am transitioning into a professional nurse. At this step, the assimilation of the norms and rules of behavior applicable in this group takes place. A person’s stay in an organization and his work in it are associated with his participation in many processes, and productive participation requires a high degree of familiarization with these processes and the structures within which they occur. Professional adaptation is associated with familiarization with other specialists in the medical field, more general socio-cultural values and norms of the organization, but it is not limited to socialization as a whole and coincides with it only partially.
Long-Term and Short-Term Goals
One of my long-term goals is the subsequent acquisition of professional knowledge and experience, the formation of skills and abilities, and a medical specialist’s professionally valuable qualities. Besides, obtaining the skill to operate in a group appears to be the leading long-term goal because communication among the medical personnel directly affects the work and the proficiency of medical care. Short-term goals may include obtaining practical knowledge about working in a hospital. These may include building a work schedule, working in one of the hospital departments, or how to diagnose a patient more correctly and effectively without involving unnecessary examinations.
Challenges, Barriers, and Support System
One of the difficulties that may arise when achieving my goals is the stressful situations that I might often have to face when working in a medical institution. In addition to the nerves associated with entering a new workplace, conflicts may arise between employees or between nurses and patients. A new job brings many changes and problems to life, and it is quite natural to experience a stressful state because of this. My support system can be formed from colleagues, friends, or relatives who would undoubtedly be able to help me. Talking about what is bothering people and finding resources, advice, and support should be helpful also.
The field of medicine is one of the most difficult in psychological terms. According to research, the stress in the work of a nurse is the most severe, and most graduate and professional students are having higher than average rates of depression (Hoying et al., 2020). Not everyone will be able to stoically perceive what is happening within the walls of hospitals day after day: employees of such institutions should be able to abstract from the medical reality and perceive it from a professional point of view. This area of employment leaves an imprint on the psyche and nervous system.
The difficulty that a novice nurse may face may be working on an irregular schedule. In addition, there may be constant excessive physical and emotional stress. Partlak Günüşen et al. highlight that “witnessing traumatic experiences while giving care, especially when providing end of life care, may cause secondary traumatic stress” (2019, p.1). The medical staff has a high level of responsibility, while they themselves risk getting infected by infectious patients. Increasingly, health workers are being subjected to aggressive attitudes from inadequate people, and it is also worth preparing for an arrogant attitude on the part of doctors, neglect of patients and their relatives. A psychologist can help in the fight against stress and simple fear of appearing to be a poorly skilled professional, due to which graduates are afraid to ask even simple questions when they come to the workplace. In addition, senior doctors who have been working in this field for a long time can become mentors for novice specialists. Due to their experience, they can give helpful advice on how to cope with any problematic situations.
The profession of a nurse has always been considered an honorable, respected one. It is with the junior medical staff that people who have applied to a medical institution for help communicate most of the time. In the United States, nurses often perform administrative functions, being heads of departments in hospitals or being in the hospital administration. The demand for bachelor nurses is very high, but difficulties may arise in the way of young specialists, which are not difficult when starting work in a new place. However, I believe that this is an essential profession since, in many countries, nurses form the basis of healthcare. This is especially true for primary care, restorative treatment, rehabilitation, and integrated medical care. In other words, in those services from which the provision of the entire cycle of medical care begins and ends.
References
Hoying, J., Melnyk, B. M., Hutson, E., & Tan, A. (2020). Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, stress, healthy beliefs, and lifestyle behaviors in first‐year graduate health sciences students. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 17(1), 49-59.
Jyoti, J., Sharma, P., Kour, S., & Kour, H. (2020). The role of job involvement and career commitment between person–job fit and organizational commitment: a study of higher education sector.International Journal of Educational Management, 35(1), 109-130.
Partlak Günüşen, N., Üstün, B., Serçekuş, P., & Büyükkaya, D. B. (2019). Secondary traumatic stress experiences of nurses caring for cancer patients. International Journal of Nursing Practices, 25.