Reference no: EM133562075

Question: " Im Mike,I currently live on the northwest side of Chicago, i. I graduated from the ADN program in May of 2020. I worked my first year on an ICU stepdown unit at Resurrection Medical Center. At the end of 2021, I decided to venture into agency nursing and took a local contract on the neuro/stroke unit at Advocate, IL. After almost two years of extended at Lutheran, the hiring of new staff nurses increased, therefore decreasing the need for agency nurses. It was at this time that I decided to return to Resurrection Medical Center as an agency nurse and have been working on their neuro/stroke unit since May 2023.

I have decided to further my education and pursue my BSN because I am one day looking forward to applying to and working at more renown and established hospitals which require a BSN degree or higher just to even apply. I am also thinking one day pursuing my MSN with a possible goal of one day being a clinical instructor.

After reading Finkelman and learning more about the history of nursing, it was brought to my attention that nursing was not always the dignified and respected profession it is today. One fact that supports this concept is some of the first nursing jobs were reserved for poor women and prostitutes (Finkelman, 2019). Nurses today are so commonly known for their warm and compassionate care that seeing some of its early history and origins was very surprising and eye-opening.

Currently, I am inspired by the fact that the nursing profession has shown such growth and evolution through the years. There is a strong emphasis on evidence-based practice and this shows that there will be room for grown and improvement if the studies and statistics show a more positive outcome. This can positively affect patient care and outcomes by taking the most efficient practice and implementing it as protocols.

After reviewing the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey, a significant find that I noticed was the rapid decline in masters and PHD degrees. This can be a concern because there may also be a decline in the number of nursing jobs that require a higher level of nursing degree. These jobs can include nurse managers, clinical instructors and educators, as well as nursing professors. This decrease can negatively affect the quality of patient care because the needed positions may not be filled, or facilities might start lowering the education requirement for said positions, thus resulting and lower quality instruction provided to the students or staff involved. It can potentially be a trickle effect from top to bottom (The 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey, 2023)."