My Motivation
My lifelong career goal is to increase my knowledge, experience, and currency of clinical skills in order to become an effective and accountable nurse practitioner-primary health care (NP-PHC). I look forward to an expanded range of roles and duties in a nursing context. In my over two years of practice as a registered nurse, I have been able to grow and consolidate skills across different practice areas, for example, critical care, burn, and emergency, by providing care to diverse patient populations. Therefore, through my previous clinical experiences, I developed an interest in disease prevention, health promotion, patient education, and community healthcare.
With the delivery of comprehensive care to long-term patients as my main motivation, acquiring competencies in NP-PHC will be crucial to holistically managing chronic conditions for diverse patients of different ages, backgrounds, and needs. Therefore, rather than being restricted to geriatric or pediatric care, the NP-PHC program will expand my scope of practice to include care to clients from childhood through adulthood. I will be able to incorporate individual/community lifestyle factors, demographics, and needs into personalized diagnoses, long-term treatment plans, and counseling.
I consider having a good rapport with patients as critical in improving population health, and through the NP-PHC program, I will become proficient in community-focused care. It will lead to greater knowledge about individual health history, attributes, and capacity to manage chronic conditions. I find the NP-PHC role broader than that of an NP-adult or NP-pediatrics. I will be able to focus on diverse patient conditions and broader population segments (teenagers, adults, and children), which is consistent with my diverse clinical experiences working with clients of different ages.
Most patients I have cared for require health education and support. For example, those admitted to the Ross Tiley Burn Centre and Emergency Department, often need discharge teaching to improve their post-discharge outcomes. However, I have noticed that they struggle with care plans and their capacity to understand the disease process and diagnoses is limited. For this reason, I have often wondered if they can adhere to medical advice in community settings and adhere to their medication list. As an NP-PHC, I will walk with patients through their treatment plans and ensure access to resources and support.
Professional and Personal Attributes
I have worked fulltime in the nursing resource team in different units of Sunnybrook health sciences center, including, critical care, neurosurgery, cardiovascular, and medical/surgical intensive care, since 2016. I have clinical experience in full assessment and monitoring of diverse patient groups, for example, those with burns, intraventricular drains, and delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method, and therefore, I can assume a supervisory role in primary care settings.
I have worked with nurse aides, RNs, and physicians as a part of inter-professional teams in the ER department and provided discharge teaching to patients, for example, those recovering from burns and trauma. I am adaptive to healthcare technology, including the electronic medical record (EMR). I often help other RNs to troubleshoot issues with our documentation system.
My colleagues describe me as understanding, considerate, and perceptive. My patients always come first before everything else. I thrive under pressure and can work well with no supervision as well as in a team.
Specific Strategies
Effective time management will be crucial to meeting the 15 hours required in this course each week. One strategy I will use to achieve these time demands is changing how I spend my time. Through an assessment of the average number of hours I use in my daily activities, for example, in grooming, work, sleep, and socializing, I will be motivated to modify my behaviors and schedules. This approach will allow me to balance among studying, clinical work, and other tasks and meet the time commitment of the NP-PHC course.
Another strategy will involve setting academic goals and priorities. After doing so, I will inform my family, friends, and colleagues to make them aware of my time commitments and elicit their support. I will also delegate responsibilities and request for help with household chores and overtime. I will develop a weekly schedule to guide how I spend my time during the semester. Using an electronic calendar, I will assign academic, family, and work tasks to specific days and review them daily to ensure flexibility and adaptability to the time demands of the NP-PHC program.
Primary Health Care and the Role of the NP-PHC
Primary health care is the first point of contact of the healthcare system for patients. It encompasses a broad range of services that address factors that affect patient health. Therefore, it is primarily concerned with promoting healthier lifestyles, disease diagnosis and treatment, health education, and long-term treatment plans.
I understand the NP-PHC role to be critical to the delivery of holistic care to patients. NP-PHCs lead health promotion efforts through education to modify risky behaviors and provide self-management support. They exhibit flexibility to patient needs and can work both in acute care and community settings. Their broad knowledge base and understanding of pediatric, adolescent, and geriatric issues is critical to preventive care.