Evaluating Future Goals

After graduating and beginning my first ever professional career, I am finally sitting back and evaluating what my future goals would be. Having tutored and being teachers’ assistant for different groups of college students for more than three years, a career in teaching posted less of a challenge for me to overcome. Because most of my students were refugees and non-native English speakers, I did have to innovate daily on how to communicate and endow my knowledge to students. That being said, my past three months have been a wonderful, interactive and educational experience. I understand that my teaching is doing impacts on my student on a daily basis, however, I do not find teaching fulfilling enough to be my ultimate career. My past experiences of some medical emergencies have made me seek medical knowledge and for the ability to implement them. I wish to be able to provide medical assistance to both the old and the young across the lifespan. The moment of uncertainty when I was sitting by a person with a heart attack, and the feeling of helplessness when I saw my student bleeding on the ground have pushed me to seek to become a family nurse practitioner. In August, Margaret Long Wisdom High School had free vaccination event for staff members. After receiving my vaccination shot, I talked to the pediatric nurse practitioner who was working at the school clinic. We talked about the ups and downs of our careers, about stories like how Tuberculosis had previously broken out in this school, and later on his reasons to pursue nursing which at times did not seem very easy. His vivid description of how satisfying it was to see students smile and recover, and that at times his work had saved lives and contribute to the community, truly captivated me. I have shadowed pharmacist, dentists, and doctors in the past. However, to see what a family nurse practitioner can truly do to a community has amazed me. Not all public school was able to hire a doctor on campus during school days, but having a nurse, especially a nurse practitioner, is necessary and incredibly feasible. When the nurse aided my student who was bleeding on the ground, I observed his actions and manner. I could not express how much I appreciated his assistance. I believe if the student’s parents were there they would have felt the same. I originally wanted to seek a career in medical or scientific research. I enjoy using my critical thinking skills to solve the unknown. I excelled in Chemistry, but I chose to be a Biology major since it was so relevant to life. I loved teaching and did think I have a knack for chunking information down without losing its merit. However, I would like to take this ability of mine to a higher level. I want to use my analytical skills to assess, diagnose and of course, treat others. I want to guide my patients on a path to a healthy lifestyle and develop simple, personal plans to help families prevent diseases. I want to be able to take care of my mom. She is sixty-four years old; my dad has already passed away because of cancer. In a long time, I had not felt such a strong desire to become a nurse practitioner. Shadowing various health professions gave me broad perspectives on different types of responsibilities each healthcare provider has carried out. …show more content…
I love to interact with others and believe I have the ability to make a difference to my patients with appropriate medical training. In addition, just like how I would create lesson plans to prepare for different types of students based on their individual ability, I could help prepare “health” plans to ensure the well-being of others and even diagnose and treat diseases if the need arises. Being able to see the progress that my students or my patients make as time passes by was fulfilling both mentally and physically. One day, I would like to be able to diagnose and treat my parents, my students and everyone around me. I might sound quite naïve, but I am young and hopeful. And I do believe that I have the capability to succeed in Vanderbilt School of Nursing. I grew up in Vietnam, where the quality of healthcare does not reach the standard of the rest of the world. I traveled alone to the United