Networking Opportunities
Student Name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Due Date
Networking Opportunities
Walden University and the College of Nursing aim at producing students that can fit into a diverse, multicultural society. The University’s mission, vision, goals, and social change initiatives align with my academic and professional goals of becoming an adult gerontology acute care nurse. Caring for older adults has always been the center of my goals. The goals aim to produce graduates who are agents of positive social change, care for communities and individuals around them, and are culturally sensitive to enhancing humanity and promoting social justice (Walden University, n.d.). As a future geriatric nurse, I am confident I will be well equipped to care for older patients with diverse needs from different cultural backgrounds. After the surge of the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, older individuals were greatly affected, which made me realize my critical role in promoting health and wellness and educating older persons to prevent illnesses.
Walden University’s MSN program outcomes are in line with my profession. At the end of the Walden MSN program, the students must be professionally competent, have good leadership acumen and communication qualities, apply the nursing process in caring for patients, and demonstrate cultural sensitivity in their interactions with patients (Walden University, n.d.). I want to broaden my knowledge in caring for geriatric patients and understanding their needs. I also need to gain professional competence in caring for this population, as outlined in the expected outcome of the Walden University MSN program.
Networking in nursing is an important activity for personal and professional development. Networking helps in sharing information, thus enhancing care integration in an interprofessional manner (Haruta & Tsugawa, 2021). Information-sharing helps increase professional competence, which translates to providing high-quality care, improving patient outcomes, and reducing hospital readmission rates (Frederick et al., 2018). Networking through social media, community development projects, internships, and workshops will be beneficial in enhancing my professional goals. It will help build my self-esteem and improve my communication and leadership skills when working with other healthcare professionals to provide interdisciplinary collaborative care in geriatric acute care settings.
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References
Fredericks, S., Duong, J.A., Lamaj, P. (2018). Using social media to network, converse, and build community within graduate nursing education. Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, 13(3/4). https://cjni.net/journal/?p=5864
Haruta, J., & Tsugawa, S. (2021). What types of networks do professionals build, and how are they affected by the results of network evaluation?. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 758809. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.758809
Walden University. (n.d.) College of Nursing. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/fieldexperience/son#s-lg-box-3837398