3 days ago Lyndsey Roetker

RE: Discussion – Week 1

COLLAPSE

I have been a registered nurse for four years and a part of the critical care community, and have decided to advance my career in a way that is meaningful to me. I would also like to find a way to create change within my community at University of Colorado Hospital. My goal at the end of my master’s degree is to become an Acute Care Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner and I would like to continue it in the critical care setting. I started looking into universities and talked with other registered nurses and nurse practitioners on my floor and stumbled upon Walden University. I found that there were registered nurses on my floor in this particular program. They suggested it to me because it not only fits our vision and mission on our floor, but who we are as people.

Walden University sparked my interest due to their vision and mission for the university and its students. Walden University focuses a lot on positive social change, and I feel that this particular topic is becoming more a part of the medical world in recent years. As it is stated in the mission statement, “Walden University provides a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners so that they can affect positive social change.” (Walden 2011). I want to become a practitioner that ultimately promotes this and gives patient’s the care they deserve and the information that I am giving to them is factual. I want to be able to be knowledgeable about my field of practice and to always continue to grow and learn in that practice. Walden University also promotes integrity and quality as their values and both of these values are really important in the medical field (Walden, 2011). On our floor and in the medical field in general, we are held to a specific standard and have to provide quality care. These values are already instilled in me, but I also wanted a university that would continue to instill those values within me to carry them over into my advancing career.

I looked at Walden University’s vision and mission as a whole, but I also wanted to make sure that the College of Nursing followed my values as well. My hospital and hospitals in general around the country are big on evidence-based practice and making sure we are giving the patient’s the upmost care. I appreciated how in my specialization it stated in the college of nursing handbook, “Courses are rooted in evidence-based practice so that students can gain knowledge in providing quality, comprehensive, accessible, and cost-effective care” (Adult-Gerontology Nurse Specialization, 2012). So not only are these values instilled in the university but can be seen in each college. I felt that the college of nursing was going to advance me in my career in a positive way and allow me to continue my education with the values I already have and help them grow into a more professional way.

Lastly, I felt Walden University promotes connections and professional networking. We as registered nurses and medical professionals sometimes feel that this does not apply to us, but it couldn’t be more wrong. I have actually learned since working at the University of Colorado how important this is and how it can grow you as a professional. Walden University provides a connect page that states on the website, “Engage with our vibrant global community to build connections with those who share similar goals, find content relevant to your Walden journey, and share your Walden experiences and insights” (Connect to Walden, 2019). I feel not only connecting with people who have the same interests, but who have opposing views. I want to learn from people who have more knowledge then me and who can challenge me. Having this opportunity to connect with people will help with that and I was attracted to Walden with them offering just that

Walden University has the values, mission, and vision that I wanted in a University and as a growing professional. I hope and feel that Walden University is going to give me the opportunities that I want and need as I continue to grow in my career. There are not a lot of universities out there that are trying to promote positive social change, but Walden University is one of them that does promote these values. I am very fortunate for this opportunity here at Walden University. I am eager to see where these next two years take me and also the future.

Walden University (2011). Vision, Mission, and Goals. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=57&navoid=7946.

Walden University (2012). Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Specialization. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from https://catalog.waldenu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=65&poid=15175.

Walden University (2019). Connect to Walden. Retrieved July 8, 2019 from https://www.waldenu.edu/connect.