Reem Miller

Nursing is limitless, with no boundaries. I feel that the foundation of a nurse is having attributes that I possess such as compassion, empathy, good communication skills, being a critical thinker, as well as detailed oriented. I have a great amount of compassion and empathy for the sick and injured and I strive to make a difference in their lives. I demonstrate this with the End Stage Renal Disease patients at the clinic where I work, and have done so for the past twenty-three years. I advocate on the patients’ behalf by collaborating their care with other members of our multidisciplinary team. Having the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively is essential for better outcomes in nursing care. I have confidence in my knowledge and skills to provide the best care possible to my patients by utilizing my critical thinking skills to aid in decision-making. For example, I am acutely aware of a change in a patient’s clinical status during a dialysis treatment, and I am able to respond quickly and effectively to prevent complications. I am detail oriented, when keeping track of and recording minor changes in a patient’s health or behavior, because neglecting to notice something could result in serious consequences. When dealing with the health of another human being, there is little room for error. One of my greatest strengths is my ability to be a well-organized individual and I tend to prioritize my tasks from highest to lowest; I often utilize an Excel program to create and edit patient data, such as lab results to correlate and address all facets of the End Stage Renal Disease patient care. I would like to further improve these attributes and increase my knowledge by pursing an adult nurse practitioner degree.
Given the growing diversity in our culture today, it is important to be respectful and sensitive to another’s belief system. We must be able to interact positively with individuals from other cultures, religious affiliation, language, disabilities, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status. My definition of cultural competence is having the ability to understand, appreciate and interact positively with people who share a belief system unlike my own. Ethical sensitivity to me is understanding the belief and norms of people from other ethnicities and treating them fairly, equally and justly. Being able to demonstrate this understanding will alleviate anyone’s fear of bias or judgmental treatment. My belief in lifelong learning and my vast nursing experience have fostered my leadership abilities and enhanced my professional practice. With these qualities, I have total confidence in my judgment and nursing skills. To be successful as a nurse practitioner I need to be able to be a strong leader, knowledgeable and adaptive to the ever changing health care environment and needs of my clients. The amount of diverse clients in health care today is growing, especially with our aging population and the baby boomers. We are seeing more young adults with mental illnesses, and greater amount of clients with cultural differences and beliefs, necessitating a change in our care delivery.
My motivation for enrolling in the Family Nurse Practitioner program is to allow me to develop a greater rapport with my ESRD patients, provide them with more individualized medical attention, and teach them how to manage and incorporate their disease into their lifestyle. Armed with an advanced degree, I will be able to develop a more comprehensive plan of care for client with specific needs. I plan to broaden my scope of practice and comprehension as a registered nurse in order to play a greater role in determining and managing care for my patients. In order to exceed at my profession and passion, I need to do everything I can to advance my medical knowledge in order to better to help my patients. I would also like to better myself as a registered nurse and as a person by committing myself to my profession as much as I can. Nurse Practitioners are important in the delivery of health care as they provide a leading service in the promotion of health and wellness through health education. I feel that achieving this goal will assist me in providing the best outcomes for my patients. CKD is a growing public health problem worldwide. (Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in population-based studies: Systematic review, 2008). Patients with CKD are at risk of progression to ESRD, which is associated with considerable morbidity, mortality, diminished quality of life, and high health care costs (Am J Kidney Dis. 2012). It is suggested by the American Journal in Kidney Disease 2006, that the development of ESRD can be prevented or delayed by early detection and treatment of CKD,4 and a multifactorial approach including BP control, reduction of proteinuria, lipid-lowering therapy, smoking cessation, improved glycemic control, and weight reduction is advocated. CKD guidelines address these risk factors and treatment targets have been defined. Implementation of guidelines is rather difficult and it is well known that treatment goals are often not met (Ann Intern Med. 2006). Coaching by nurse practitioners may be beneficial. Intensified intervention aimed at multiple risk factors implemented by nurse practitioners improved coronary risk factors in patients with coronary artery disease and after myocardial infarction (Lancet, 2006). Article in PubMed, 2011 stated, “We recently showed that intensified support by nurse practitioners also improved risk factor levels in patients with CKD.”
To accomplish my mission of success in this program, I plan to decrease work hour. I’m fortunate enough to have a great family who will be assisting me with daily chores and responsibilities.