Unlike many first-time nursing students, my passion for healthcare and therefore nursing has already taken me through the process of obtaining a medical degree. Currently I hold a medical degree, having finished medical school in the Ukraine. This is a greater achievement than it appears on the surface, as I am the only one in my family who has a college degree. This is a great achievement, and I am proud of it. However, I realize there are other opportunities in the world, and I wish to carry my passion for and skills in healthcare beyond the boundaries of my native country. To that end, I am applying to the Combined BSN/MSN Program at Florida International University Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences. I believe I would greatly benefit from being part of this program, especially as I desire to pursue the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track, but there are also other reasons why I would like to be a part of the program.
The most obvious reason I would greatly benefit from this program is that it is geared towards individuals like me: foreign-educated physicians. I am exactly the type of individual the program clearly had in mind when it was created: “doctors from other countries, who are not practicing medicine in the U.S.” who wish to “reemerge in the healthcare industry – as nurses and nurse practitioners” (Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences [NWCNHS], 2011). I also have a fervent desire to return to the medical field, but my focus in healthcare has changed, which means my skill set needs to change. This program would benefit me by helping me learn those skills unique to nursing which I did not receive in medical school. Karen Brykczynski (2012) writes that being a nurse practitioner is more than learning and applying clinical guidelines and information; it also “involves developing a cluster of patterned and interrelated ways of being that depend upon socially embedded experiential knowledge” (p.555). I recognize that the world changes rapidly, and that “socially embedded experiential knowledge” can significantly vary from country to country. I see attending nursing school in the U.S. as a means of obtaining a greater social context for my skills than simply attending nursing school in the Ukraine. In other words, I would greatly benefit from the program because it provides what every potential nursing student needs, regardless of whether they are a FEP, but it also provides students who are FEPs like me with other needs they have as they transition from doctor to nurse practitioner.
My intended BSN/MSN track is family nurse practitioner (FNP). I have chosen this track because it closely relates to general practice medicine, and I would like to remain in that field. I also like the idea that many different practice settings would be open to me, from primary care office to emergency department in a hospital to long-term care facilities to occupational health settings (Keough et al., 2011). I am drawn more to primary care because I like the idea of the variety of people and health challenges I would encounter. I also like the idea of being able to build relationships with my patients over the long-term.
In addition to the FEP-focus of the program and its offering of a FNP track, there are other reasons I would like to be a part of the program. In addition to its FEP focus – which, clearly, is a big draw for me – the fact that it offers an accelerated curriculum is a significant factor in my desire to be a part of the program (NWCNHS, 2011). Its emphasis on addressing issues such nursing shortages and increasing diversity in healthcare also appeals to me (NWCNHS, 2011). There is also an increasing shortage of primary care physicians which nurse practitioners can help alleviate (Ryan & Ebbert, 2013); going through the program at FIU will help me help the healthcare field. I have a deep and genuine passion for healthcare, and I believe nursing is the best opportunity I have for utilizing that passion in the service of others.
- Brykczynski, K. (2012). Clarifying, affirming, and preserving the nurse in nurse practitioner
education and practice. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 24(9), 554-564 11p. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2012.00738.x - Keough, V. A., Stevenson, A., Martinovich, Z., Young, R., & Tanabe, P. (2011). Nurse
practitioner certification and practice settings: Implications for education and practice. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(2), 195-202 8p. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2011.01395.x - Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences. (2011). FEP to BSN/MSN.
Undergraduate Nursing, Florida International University. Retrieved from http://cnhs.fiu.edu/nursing/undergrad/bsn-programs/fep-to-bsn-msn/index.html - Ryan, M. E., & Ebbert, D. W. (2013). Nurse practitioner satisfaction: Identifying perceived
beliefs and barriers. Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 9(7), 428-434 7p. doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2013.05.014
