Category: Career Development

1. I think I need to be more personable with patients. I think right now I’m so concerned with making sure that I don’t miss anything with my assessment that I forget to talk to people and make a good first impression. I think as I begin to feel more comfortable and confident in my skills then I will be able to have a more open and welcoming personality. With confidence comes practice and I just need to keep working on myself and my confidence. 

I have not had the opportunity to care for individuals of Indian descent. Specifically, Indians who reside on reservations. As a white individual who grew up in a society where I am not judged by the color of my skin, providing care to these individuals requires trust, and the historical unjust that has been done to this group will not easily be forgotten. As a nurse, I can provide cultural humility by recognizing that trust is earned and not easily received. I can make an effort to learn how medicine is perceived and practiced by these individuals and trade knowledge. Anthropology has always been a fascinating field to study and I can take what I have learned from this subject and apply it to my nursing skills and reflect on what makes us human and focus on the human experience. 

2. I prepare for interviews by asking others what their perception of me is and what qualities I bring to the table that I could improve upon and what are my strengths. I will describe my strengths as things that I have learned from and things I have yet to experience. I have learned from my mistakes and I am eager to learn about things that I have yet to experience.  Being older, I like to think that I bring more maturity to the table, and working in a different aspect of the medical field has allowed me to have a well-rounded perspective of interprofessional collaboration and how important communication is. My biggest obstacle is forming relationships with others. I am known to be very independent, however, I am not afraid to ask for help. I think a drawback to being independent is that I ultimately suffer from feeling alone.