¶ … familiar with the role of advanced-practice nurses who diagnose and treat illnesses, provide health care and often prescribe medication. In addition to these responsibilities, I regard and value advanced-practice nursing as understanding a patient's needs and situations, seeing the person as a unique human being and treating the person with respect and dignity. I consider that the primary goal of advanced practice nursing as a field of professional endeavor is to help people attain, retain, and regain health.

I believe my current clients, older adults, are individual human beings who should have a right to help make their health choices. These individuals create unique challenges for care providers. Therefore, in addition to standard care, I would like to see a greater focus on self-management plans that take into account the patient's individual goals and preferences. I have found that this approach is more successful than plans that are not developed with the input of the patient and is more likely to have a better patient outcome. When older adults become frailer and elderly, advanced practices nurses must consider their quality of life and reassess their healthcare goals. Having familiarity and sensitivity with the needs of the elderly will better enhance my professional role in serving patients, the health of the patient, and the well being of their families and the community as a whole.

I have been a nurse for 26 years, with most of my time devoted to providing health care to the elderly. For the past 16 years, I have been the owner and administrator of three assisted living homes. Now, my goal is to become more involved in the direct care of the elderly as an advanced-nurse practitioner in the long-term care field. I believe that training as an advanced-practice nurse and my commitment to understanding the older adult's health care goals will help to properly develop realistic treatment plans for older adults.