Irene Tajong

Frostburg State University

Statement of Professional Goals

Nursing is one of the only professions that can effect direct positive change into
the human life, the human spirit and the human soul. In nursing, patients allow us
(Nurses) to see them in their most vulnerable state, in their most helpless state.
We as nurses are privilege to be able to connect with every type of people in a
very personal way. We have the most valuable job in keeping the human body,
spirit and soul healthy and happy. Even physicians never get to be this valuable
to a patient. Because of this aspect of nursing, I think nurses need to be at the
forefront of healthcare, nurse need to be granted positions of leadership in
hospitals and in government agencies that govern healthcare. I have noted that in
most hospitals and healthcare government agencies, the highest and most
important position pf leadership is usually held by physicians, lawyers of those
with an MBA. In my view nurses are better equipped to advocate for patients and
the community.

After I am done with my Baccalaureate degree in Nursing, I would take a one

year break from school and enjoy life with my family. I would love to travel the
world with my husband. I want to go to Thailand next year, visit about four
different countries in Africa and overall stay home more with my kids.
In 2016 I want to go back to school after my one year break for a joint MSN/MBA
degree which is offered at the university of Maryland and other nursing schools
around the country, this is a dual degree program for those with nursing and or
management background, and because I have a degree in both nursing and
management this should not pose a problem. I am very interested in the
management part of nursing, I like looking at nursing not just as a profession
where we provide bedside and community health but as a profession that needs
qualified and knowledgeable managers to foster nursing, its principles, its
objectives and its overall indispensability to the medical and healthcare field. I
have often wondered why most hospital presidents and CEOs are either Medical
Doctors or MBA holders. I think that Nursing is the part of medicine that makes all
other parts click, we are at the forefront of patients illness management and the
community health. We do whatever is necessary to make our patients and
communities well, save and secure. We do the dirty and most important work
when it comes to patient care, we understand the patent and the community
better than anyone else. Therefore I feel that nurses should hold important
positions of leadership in the healthcare system especially in hospital settings.
This is one of the reasons why I want to embark on this journey of getting a
combined MSN/MBA degree, this way I will be better prepared to hold a position
of leadership in any healthcare setting. In addition to holding a position of

leadership I would like to be better prepared to mentor, counsel and teach those
nurses who are willing and able to embark in nursing leadership.
By 2018 I want to have finished with my schooling and secured a job as a nursing
administrator in a hospital or working with a government agency. I want to be
involved in changing and amending laws that govern and affect nurses. I want to
be involved in finding a decree or a law that improves the lives of nurses and how
nurses perform their daily work. I have seen and heard of horror stories about
bedside nurses and the stress that it can bring to a nurses life. In most hospitals
nurse are assigned five patients or more per shift, I think this practice is
dangerous for the patient and the nurses, also nurses are required to document
everything for fear of retribution. We are required to do a head to toe
assessment, a pain assessment every two to four hours, restraints assessment,
incontinences care and assessment, provide wound care and assesse the
wound, and so forth. We also have to attend, implement and evaluate every
physician orders, double check and triple check the pharmacist and the physician
orders for errors, attend to patients and family complaints, provide snacks and
refreshments to the patient and the family, resolve insurance issues, work with
social worker and home care for a smooth transition to home and on top of this
work a twelve hour shift. I have been and seen instances where a nurse has not
urinated for eight to ten hours because there is so much to do. Now I think this
brings lot of stress and is one of the main reasons why there is a nursing
shortage. Most new grads who come to the hospital today do not stay, they either
want to go back to school and get an advance degree or leave the bedside for
other forms of nursing due to the stress that the bedside nurse goes through. I
want to help put an end to this dangerous practice and help the make the bedside
nurses life a lot easier. I want to propose a law that will make it mandatory for a
hospital nurse NOT to be assigned more than four patients per shift. Nursing
homes will have not less than two RNs per floor and not more than eight patients
per nurses. Over documentation should be limited and more time spent at the
bedside providing safe and efficient care. With a joint MSN/MBA degree I would
like to hold a position of leadership where I can make important, positive and
lasting impact on nursing.
I will conclude by saying that because there are not a lot of nurses in position of
leadership (CEO, President, etc.) in hospitals and government agencies, the
plight of nurses, especially those at bedside is not heard, understood or cared for.
This is why the need for nurses in positions of leadership is a must to the growth
and success of nursing.