Example Of A Personal Statement Of Goal

My extensive background in psychology and my growing experience in nursing in concert with my passion for working with children, adolescents, and families have culminated in my pursuit of the Doctor of Nursing Practice. My experience in working in the mental health field spans the course of the past decade and includes research, assessment, intervention, and therapy. While my nursing experience has recently begun, I look forward to continuing my education and experience in caring for those with not only mental health issues, but physical issues that impact their mental health as well. As a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University’s Masters in Clinical Psychology program my goals included pursing my doctoral degree in health psychology with a focus on behavioral health in children and adolescents. With a professional degree in psychology, my goals included serving as a health psychologist. Upon completion of the graduate program at Eastern Kentucky I entered the workforce to gain more insight into the practice of behavioral health. During my time as a behavioral health specialist, I discovered the role of the psychiatric nurse. After researching the field of psychiatric nursing and seeking mentorship, I ultimately decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing with the ultimate goal of pursuing an advanced degree in psychiatric
nursing. As an aspiring leader in the field of psychiatric nursing, I hope to give evidenced based psychiatric mental health care to children, adolescents, and families. As a future leader, I would like to serve on an interdisciplinary team at a children's hospital as the mental health professional. Additionally, I would also like to add to evidence based practices (EBP) in psychiatric nursing through research in the areas of behavioral interventions for adolescents and psychotherapy for pediatric patients with terminal illnesses. It is my goal that my future research aims to address the goals of EBP which include promoting effective nursing practice, improving patient outcomes, and providing efficient care to those we serve (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh, & White, 2007b). As a future leader in the field of psychiatric and mental health nursing, it is also my goal to add to the knowledge base in regards to using the best possible measures when making decisions regarding clinical, administrative, and educational decision making as the afore mentioned areas are also a goal of EBP according to Newhouse et al. (2007b). I believe that the goals of EBP discussed above provides justification for the assumption that nursing is both a science and an applied profession.
Researching the most effective nursing practices and improving patient outcomes speaks to the science involved in nursing. For example, through the use of nursing science, I hope to find an effective way to provide mental health care for pediatric patients with terminal illnesses. Both terminal illness and mental health have a tremendous effect on the physiological and psychological health of patients. Research in both areas could address the scientific and applied nature of nursing
care. The use of EBP in the application of nursing care acknowledges the fact that not all research evidence will guide us in providing the best nursing care and improving patient outcomes. I believe that it is our duty as nurses to seek the best interventions when making decisions and implementing interventions that at times can have dire consequences for those we care for. Implementing interventions and methods of care that have shown to benefit patients the most with the least risk is important in nursing practice. This can be accomplished through the use of EBP. Such practices have shown through research that the methods have increased patient outcomes. The continued use of such practices can add to the knowledge base of improving patient outcomes as future research is performed and yearly statistics around a particular health issue diminish. In closing, aiming to broaden the use and research of EBP affirm the assumption that knowledge is important to the practice of nursing. While nurse researchers may not be able to identify the best practices for every condition, we can certainly aim to identify the best practices for the most common health issues faced by those we care for.