During the winter of 2008, my 48-year-old uncle passed due to a sudden heart attack in the middle of the night. I can still recall the early morning phone call, the silent drive to the hospital, and the anticipation of his children’s arrival at his bedside. After saying my final words to my uncle, I remember the silence of the waiting room as the doctor confirmed his passing. Looking back on this time, the impact of the nurse’s role in supporting my uncle's passing and my family's grieving triggered me towards wanting to provide holistic care to others. I began fulfilling this desire at West Chester University by obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, in addition to Nutrition & Dietetics. After completing my education, I sought opportunities allowing growth, development, and education within critical care nursing. However, throughout this time I continuously aspired to increase my autotomy as a healthcare provider and be a profound resource for my patients. By advancing my career to become an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, I believe that I will be able to fulfill these aspirations and continue to follow my passion for providing holistic patient care. Due to the scope of practice as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, I initiated a career path to gain proficient experience, education, and support as a Registered Nurse. By completing a Nurse Residency Program through Lehigh Valley Health Network, I was granted the opportunity to establish imperative critical thinking skills, evidence-based practice, and leadership opportunities to be successful as a graduate nurse within a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Within this unit, I was exposed to patients and caregivers with vastly changing physiological and psychological states, in addition to extensive supportive measures to maintain their life. Providing bedside care for these patients allowed me to play an active role in daily rounds, allowing me to present additional clinical changes to the care team, provide patient advocacy, suggest interventions towards patient management, and collaborate towards ways to facilitate desired outcomes. This setting incessantly validated my capability of working within critical care; however, to extend my experience, I transitioned to learn the surgical management of cardiac patients within the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Doylestown Health Network. At Doylestown Hospital, I have been able to learn and perform post-operative care of cardiothoracic patients, provide education toward recovery, and obtain resources needed when discharged home. Additionally, I have also participated in the establishment of new education and therapies for the critical care population at Doylestown Health Network. I am an active member of a quality improvement committee to enhance communication about medications. Within this committee, I am leading a patient-focused project educate patients on post-operative medications. Additionally, I have participated in a Task Force to assist in establishing Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy within Doylestown Health Network for critical-care patients experiencing acute renal impairment. Through this experience, I assisted in providing insights into implementing this therapy, documentation, patient management, and training. After obtaining my degree, my goal is to begin my practice in an acute care setting within a cardiology service. My long-term goal consists of obtaining my Doctorate of Nursing Practice, in tandem to become a professor within a nursing program. With the intent to gain the most from my education and professional experience as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, I plan to educate students toward their ambitions within nursing and enhance patient outcomes. Due to my passion for caring for others, initiative towards gaining optimal clinical experience, and desire to continuously learn, I am thankful for the opportunity to continue my education toward becoming a Nurse Practitioner.

​During the winter of 2008, my 48-year old uncle passed due to a sudden heart-attack in the middle of the night. I can still recall the early morning phone call, the silent drive to the hospital, and the anticipation of his children’s arrival to his bedside. After saying my final words to my uncle, I remember the silence of the waiting room as the doctor confirmed his passing. Looking back on this time, the impact of the nurse’s role in supporting my uncles passing and families grieving triggered me towards wanting to provide holistic care to others. I began fulfilling this desire at West Chester University by obtaining my Bachelors of Science in Nursing, in addition to Nutrition & Dietetics. After completing my education, I sought for opportunities allowing growth, development, and education within critical care nursing. However, throughout this time I continuously aspired to increase my autotomy as a healthcare provider and be a profound resource for my patients. By advancing my career towards becoming an Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, I believe that I will be able to fulfill these aspirations and continue to follow my passion of providing holistic patient care. Due to the scope of practice as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, I initiated a career path to gain proficient experience, education, and support as a Registered Nurse. By completing a Nurse Residency Program through Lehigh Valley Health Network, I was granted the opportunity to establish imperative critical thinking skills, evidence-based practice, and leadership opportunities to be successful as a graduate nurse within an Intensive Care Unit. After completion, I intentionally focused on the opportunity to uphold a position within the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit due to my passion towards this patient population. This opportunity allowed me to continuously utilize my established skill set and expose myself to the patients I strived to manage as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. Within this unit, I was exposed to patients and caregivers with vastly changing physiological and psychological states, in addition to extensive supportive measures to maintain their life. Providing bedside care for these patients allowed me to play an active role in daily rounds, allowing me to present additional clinical changes to the care team, provide patient advocacy, suggest interventions towards patient management, and collaborate towards ways to facilitate desired outcome. In order extend my experience and knowledge base, I transitioned to learn the surgical management of cardiac patients within the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Doylestown Health Network. Within this network, I have been able to learn the post-operative management of cardiothoracic patients through post-operative critical care, education towards recovery, and resources needed when discharged home. Working within this network, I have been able gain perspective on the role of a Nurse Practitioner, as well as mentorship. After obtaining my degree, my goal is to practice at an acute care setting within a cardiology service. My long-term goal consists of obtaining my Doctorate of Nursing Practice, in tandem to becoming a professor within a nursing program. With the intent to gain the most from my education and professional experience as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, I plan to educate students towards their ambitions within nursing and enhance patient outcomes. Thus far, I feel as though my career within nursing has continuously motivated and inspired me to challenge myself in order to better care for others. Due to my passion for caring for others, initiative towards gaining varied clinical experience, and desire to continuously learn, I have validated that advancing towards becoming an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner will allow my best personal attributions to continuously play forth.