ESSAY: Preparing a Strategic Career Plan

Graduation and certification are the beginning of your career as a Nurse Practitioner (NP). Whether you are looking for that dream job or you have decided to open your own practice as an independent NP, you need a plan to get there. Before the Web and social media, job hunting was relatively simple. Job hunters perused the classifieds, made cold calls, and many times just showed up with a resume in hand. There has been a dramatic change in the last decade in how people find and get jobs, and NPs are no exception. For those seeking employment now, there is a wealth of resources available from mega employment websites to specialty blogs.
Finding a job as an NP may not be a big challenge, but landing the position that you have passionately prepared for and pursued is going to take some work. A well-crafted cover letter and resume may be necessary items, but it may not be enough to get you exactly where you want to be. With so many opportunities and career trajectories available to NPs today, you need to focus and get serious about what you want to do and where you want to do it.
Directions:
In this Assignment, you will develop your own strategic career plan for starting your new career as an NP. There are many steps that need to be accomplished. Use the following guidelines to design your career plan. You do not need to include references. This is a plan that you may layout how you wish. Be creative, and really think about what you desire as a nurse practitioner. As everyone will have different goals, there are no right or wrong answers in this plan.
1. It is time to take inventory and ask yourself some questions.
• What is your career vision? Be specific and honest.
o Here are some tips to keep in mind:
 Project five to 10 years in the future.
 Dream big and focus on success.
 Use the present tense.
 Use clear, concise language.
 Infuse your vision statement with passion and emotion.
 Paint a graphic mental picture of the business you want.
 Have a plan to communicate your vision statement to your employees.
 Be prepared to commit time and resources to the vision you establish.
• Where do you want to work?
o I want to work as a Pain Manager NP in Miami, Florida.
• What are your short term (0-5 years) and long term (5-10 years) goals? (give timeline)
o Short term:
 Get board certified as an NP. I have planned to study for the exam for 3 to 4 months, take a review class (if it is possible), and then take the exam shortly afterward.
 Start a job search to find my first position as NP. Use social media to connect with association and career groups and participate in discussions for tips on my job search.
 Obtain a DNP degree.
 Become a lifelong learner.
o Long term:
 Strengthen my acquired knowledge and skills.
 Continuous searching for knowledge and new skills.
 Open my own practice as an independent NP if the State of Florida changes its Regulatory Practice Model for NPs from Supervisory practice to Independent practice.
• What are the most important things you are looking for?
 Get my NP certification.
 Find a fabulous job as a pain manager NP, full-time practice, all-inclusive benefits, and $50.00 as an initial hourly pay rate.
 Gain professional experience.
 Open my own practice as an independent NP.
• Discuss your desires for salary, vacation, sick leave, CME allowance, medical benefits, retirement, etc.
Nurse Practitioner Employment Benefits
 Paid vacation
 Professional liability insurance
 Health insurance
 Retirement planning
 Reimbursement/allowance for licensure/certification
 Continuing education reimbursement/allowance
 Professional leave to attend meetings or conferences
 Registration fees for professional meetings or conferences
Salary Requirements
 NPs will be paid an hourly rate
 The hourly pay rate for NPs in full-time practice will be initially $50.00
 NPs will receive an incentive or productivity bonus
2. Next, describe your ideal work situation.
• Is it a rural clinic or major trauma center?
o Urban private practice in Miami, Florida.
• Who is your target patient population?
o Adults.
• Do you have a passion for a particular population or specialty?
o Pain Management specialist.
• What schedule do you want?
o Weekdays only, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• What are the priorities in your career right now?
o Find an excellent job as NP and gain professional experience.
• Where do you see your career in five years?
3. How do you plan on researching opportunities? (whether looking for employment or independent practice site)
• List several methods such as job fairs, the Web, and medical employment agencies.
o Looking for employment.
4. Networking is essential for today’s healthcare provider. Discuss your networking ideas.
• What Internet resources might you use to network and connect with other healthcare providers?
5. How will you prepare for the interview?
• What specific steps will you take?
6. Imagine you are starting your own practice.
• What population will it serve?
o Adults.
• How will you market your practice?
• What personnel will you need to hire?
o Office staff, physicians, nurses.
• How will you obtain funding?
o Business loans
• Will you be open extended hours to meet the needs of working patients?
o If needed
• Will you be the sole provider, or will you hire other providers?
o Other providers

ANSWER

Strategic Career Plan 2018-2025

My career vision is to become a Pain Manager NP in Miami, Florida, with a major specialization in emergency care. Therefore, I will be offering a wide range of services to patients including chronic and acute pain problems. My focus is to offer treatment to all patients with an intention to address problems that lead to patient’s agony and incapacity to live. 

To be able to improve my professional skills and knowledge, I will join American Nurses Association (ANA) in order to harness my experience and to help interact with experienced Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioners. My professional short-term goals are to finish my undergraduate studies and to get a board certification as an NP. Within the next five years, I intend to further my education to obtain a DNP degree.

I know that this plan cannot be achieved overnight and thus I will have to build milestone resources and time in the pursuit of these goals. Therefore, my primary goal in the future is to get my NP certification, gain professional experience, secure a fabulous job as a full-time pain manager NP, and above all open my own practice as an independent NP.

In my employment as pain manager NP, I expect to receive employment benefits such as health insurance, retirement planning, professional liability insurance, paid vacation, allowance for licensure, reimbursement for continuing education, professional leave, and reimbursement on the registration fee for professional meetings. In addition, I look forward to receiving $50.00 as an initial hourly pay rate.

Ideal Work Situation

My ideal work situation is the urban private practice in Miami, Florida targeting the adult population. My passionate is to become a pain management specialist, and my preferred working schedule is weekdays from 9:00 Am to 5:00 Pm. Interestingly, my current career priority is to secure an excellent job as an NP that will help me gain top-notch professional experience.  In the next five years, I see my career grow by 10% because I will extend my services to diverse patients.

Researching Opportunities

While looking for employment, I will make use of various methods and tools including networks and friends, job search on the mega website, institution websites, and government advertisements. Moreover, I will pay special attention to job fairs training and expos among other medical employment agencies and workshops. In order to increase my network, I will use internet platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Market-based, Lunchmeat, Xing, Twitter, telegram among others.

Preparation for The Interview

In preparation for the interview, the most important thing is to understand the culture of the healthcare sector and the healthcare facility in particular. This will help me to analyze and present various methods that can be used to add value to the institution. Therefore, I will take important steps in familiarizing myself with the needs of the healthcare sector, and challenges. Secondly, I will research and analyze how these problems can be solved and turn them to value or opportunity.

Starting Own Practice

Adults are the preferred population to work with in my practice, therefore, I will endeavor to market myself through the quality of services I offer, word of mouth, and advertisements on social medias. To enhance interprofessional collaboration, I intend to hire other experienced providers such as office staffs, nurses, and physicians. I will secure funding for my private healthcare services from business ….