The Importance of Professional Goal Setting in Nursing

Working as a Nurse and Career Aspirations

Working as a nurse in one of the best hospitals in the city is one of the best achievement in my life while performing my duties, with the aim of assisting patients while sticking to the best medical practices and ethics.

Responsibilities:

• Recording medical data of patients
• Performing diagnostic tests
• Providing medical support to patients
• Collaborating with doctors in providing medical care to patients
• Monitoring patients' health signs towards recovery

The responsibilities given to me with regards to my profession when I joined the hospital immediately after graduation has elevated my knowledge in the medical field. Additionally, it has helped me grow a lot of experience while dealing with day to day activities in the therapeutic area with busy schedules each day. Basing on my professional goals, I want to be a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). According to Richard Hader, the responsibilities of the chief nursing officer are: representing nurses in board meetings; establish nursing structures; foster nursing staff development strategies, ensure quality in nursing work and build upon communication between patients and the medical personnel (Hader, 2011).

Future Professional Responsibility

According to my future professional responsibility, it will assist me to explore my future career plan towards achieving a more exceptional career opportunity for other job opportunities with an ever-increasing population. I line with my future career plans, developing a successful career plan, it will create an excellent platform for a better lifestyle and enabling a higher sustainable financial sustainability.

Potential Action Steps

To achieve my professional, I will apply SMART goals framework- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (Zahorsky, 2018). Using SMART criteria, it will help me in satisfying patient satisfaction to set past target goals for the next five years. Additionally, applying this criterion will help in keeping a clear up to date progress about targeting my future professional goal of becoming the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). The SMART framework will increase my professional experience by helping me identify my strengths and weaknesses. To acquire my set goals and measure, I will engage the patients, medical doctors, technical stuff and secondary stuff regarding their lines of duties and how they coordinate efficiently while ensuring the patients are treated with the aim of providing excellent health and quick recovery.

Many resources are available in the medical field which can help in exploiting the nature of my profession while dedicating my time and reflecting on the past experiences. This will, therefore, motivate me for the next 5 to 10 years. 5 to 10 years is enough time to gain the necessary experience in the nursing field and getting the essential qualifications towards becoming the nurse in charge in a medical institution. Additionally, the time frame is enough to build enough network with other professionals who have made a successful career in the field of nursing as well.

Based on the first step of the framework, the goal must be specific.

Therefore, the particular target, in this case, is to become the head nurse in a nursing institution. Professional success in the medical field is in line with ensuring quality inpatient care regarding the medical providers and one on one communication for diagnosis and symptoms control in and out of the hospital. To achieve a professional goal, a plan for increasing my education is essential to build my portfolio and seek promotion by the top management. In the next five years, plan to go back to class and get a master’s degree in nursing to increase my career objectivity.

Step two of the framework involves the goal is measurable.

In this case, it consists of measuring my performance with time to gauge my strengths and weaknesses. The goals must be measurable and motivational as well. Quantifiable goals include setting strict targets, in this case making sure that I get to class every day on time and doing the assignments using the best possible practice while applying my work experience.

Step three of the framework involves Attainability of the goals.

Through hard work and determination, the professional goals will be attainable (Esposito, 2015). Attainability of goals in the nursing profession consists in maintaining quality in the hospital inpatient care and sticking to strict medical care frameworks while addressing patients’ medical schedules prescribed by the doctor. To attain the goals, building the right skills and mindset will boost personality.

Step four involves the realistic nature of the professional goal plan.

The goal is attainable with the right strategy, career plan, academic qualifications and the right networks. The will to build and attain my professional goal is vital in allowing family and friends to give me the right motivation to achieve the goal.

Step five involves the timeliness of the professional goal plan to attain a more significant career objective.

5 to 10 years is enough to gain more academic qualifications for the career, creating enough network for the job. In this case, the right midst within the correct timeframe is vital for my future career plan.

Conclusion

According to Lee Grayson, long-term academic goals can guide in building a life in line with measuring progress and setting benchmarks for intervals of years. Additionally, for one to succeed, one has to plan and decide on what to focus on the most important goals. It is also vital to review goals to determine its viability and adding what was left with time (Grayson, n.d.).

References

Esposito, E. (2015, November 11). The Essential Guide to Writing S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Retrieved from www.smartsheet.com: https://www.smartsheet.com/blog/essential-guide-writing-smart-goals

Grayson, L. (n.d.). How to Identify Two of Your Long-Term Education or Career Goals. Retrieved from chron.com: http://work.chron.com/identify-two-longterm-education-career-goals-13420.html

Hader, R. (2011). The role of the corporate chief nursing officer. The journal of excellence in Nursing Leadership, 42(6), 45-47.

Zahorsky, D. (2018, January 8). 5 Elements of a SMART Business Goal. Retrieved from www.thebalance.com: https://www.thebalance.com/elements-of-a-smart-business-goal-2951530