Pediatric Nurse Practititioner it Comes

Pediatric Nurse Practititioner

It comes as no surprise that healthcare facilities across the country continue to look for experienced and high-quality nurses. Over the past decade, medical professionals have warned that with the changing demographics and increasing emphasis on health, the early 21st century would see a quickly growing requirement for nursing care. I have long been interested in the field of medicine, so am pleased that in the near future I will be able to play my part in meeting this need.

Even before I went to elementary school in Virginia, I used to go to work with my mother, a pheblotomist. I would watch her draw blood and ready it to go to the laboratory for testing. Whether due to this early experience with healthcare or because I already had an innate interest -- back to the nurture or nature question -- I took as many mathematics and science courses as I could during my junior- and senior-high school curriculum. These included gross anatomy and physiology and AP physics and calculus. My interest in the medical field was further encouraged by experiences with my pediatric dentist. I remember thinking that it was "cool" that a dentist could work only with children. He (she?) could focus on children's unique dental problems and spend time with each patient to explain what needed to be done in order to prevent more problems in the future or to eliminate the present issues. Children would feel less anxious about going to a dentist that catered directly to them, rather than to a regular adult dentist that could be intimidating.

Someone else may have been upset by being nicknamed "Effervescent Elfie," but I wasn't, because I knew from an early age that I enjoyed achieving high personal expectations (I believe that the term "overachiever" is negative). Actually, I was pleased that my involvement was being recognized. In high school, I was president for all four years of a class with approximately 400 students. I also played tennis and was on the varsity team, as well as being a cheerleader. For the last eight years, I have been playing the cello in addition to continuing my tennis playing on a regular basis.

I attended University of Maryland -- College Park, expecting that I would go to dental school when completing undergraduate school. Naturally, I took a heavy load of science courses, including biology, chemistry and organic chemistry and physics, for a joint degree in communication and dentistry. However, as graduation came closer, I realized that the cost of dental school would not be practical at that time. I decided to go into real estate to build up my money and thoroughly enjoyed my consulting, especially working closely with the homeowners and buyers and helping them with their personal real estate and financial questions and needs.

As I saw the real estate market falling, I decided to reassess my short- and long-term goals. The aim was to find a field in medicine where I could make a long-term impact and also be involved with children's medical needs. At this point, dental school was still not feasible, so I looked at my many other options in the ever-growing healthcare field.

The experiences that I had over the past few years helped me decide to become a pediatric nurse practitioner. Especially in the health field, there are many situations where people are suffering or chronically ill. Unfortunately, not all these persons can be helped. However, as medicine technology and research improves, more individuals' lives can be improved and lengthened. I was fortunate to volunteer my time at Ronald McDonald House, which provides housing for families when children are receiving local healthcare. I also volunteered for a day care center with two- and four-year-olds. Both of these experiences confirmed my desire to work with children, and also that I have a penchant for this patient age group. I have the patience level for and a "connection" with children.

Another difficult situation arose while I was in college that gave me further insights into my interests. My younger sister, 16-years-old, was living in Florida when I was studying in Baltimore. She became addicted to ecstasy and had to go into rehab. Rather than go back home when she left this care, everyone in the family thought it would be best if she was away for a while from this environment that caused the addiction in the first place. She came to live with me for three months while she worked on becoming stronger. Although she had a small relapse when returning home, she recovered and is doing much better today. This was a very close-to-home experience that showed me the value of healthcare intervention with individuals of all backgrounds and medical needs.

In making my future career choice, I have decided that I want to work in the field of nursing, in a hospital or medical center, and with children. There are reasons for each of these three factors. First, I want to become a nurse practitioner, because these individuals are the patients' first contact. They set the stage, so to speak, for the healthcare that the physicians, other healthcare providers and medical center as a whole will provide. Becoming ill, and especially having to go to the hospital, can be a very fearful time for children. In my role as nurse practitioner, I can help these young patients better adapt to their situation, be it through warmth and understanding of the younger ones or education and personal support of the older individuals. This is an additional role to my ongoing healthcare practices. There is nothing better than a kind and patient person when going through a very difficult experience.

With a Master's Degree as a Nurse Practitioner, I have the opportunity to make a major impact on the lives of many children and, as I learn and experience more, acquire greater responsibility in leadership roles. This is also a very stable career with a growing demand and many job openings. The nurse practitioner position will also allow me to work closely with the parents and the physician(s) in charge. In my communication classes, I have found the importance of having cross-functional teams that acquire input from a variety of different individuals in order to come up with the right end product or service.