Main post
Post an explanation of your choice of a nursing specialty within the program. Describe any difficulties you had (or are having) in making your choice, and the factors that drove/are driving your decision. Identify at least one professional organization affiliated with your chosen specialty and provide details on becoming a member.
3 sources APA format
Respond to two peers and use two sources each
Peer 1
I had minimal difficulty making my choice about pursuing AGACNP. Emergency and critical care medicine have always fascinated me. I chose to get into emergency medicine to enhance my knowledge and skills to become an adequate provider. Working in the ICU at a Level II trauma center only increases my curiosity of wanting to learn more and strive to be a more vital provider. I enjoy being part of the interdisciplinary team collaborating ideas and theories on challenging cases. I am also attuned to my patients and their families to ensure their thoughts, feelings, and concerns are acknowledged. The difficulty I struggle with is not doing what I love sooner. In a way, it helps me strive for my current goals. The professional organization I am affiliated with is the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The organization provides up-to-date article journals and initial and ongoing certifications for various nursing levels. AACN also offers continuing education opportunities (AACN, n.d.). According to the AACN website, to become a member, you must be a registered nurse with an unencumbered license within the United States and willing to pay an annual fee (n.d.).
Peer 2
Choosing the next step for continuing my education was not a particularly hard decision. There is no doubt, continuing your education increases your knowledge and ability to care for patients, regardless of the role you choose, but choosing the role that is of interest to you is important. My particular interest is to continue to care for patients and to do so in an advanced practice setting. However, specifically related to providing care in a nurse practitioner role, I have multiple interest, primary and acute care. For now, the specific specialty that I have chosen is family nurse practitioner. Family nurse practitioners care for patients of all ages with acute and chronic illnesses, also including disease prevention, education, and community care (Population-Focused Competencies Task Force, 2013).
I did have a little difficulty making a choice for a particular MSN specialization since my interest are in both primary and acute care. I recently made the decision to focus on primary care for now and completing a post degree program in acute care following the completion of this program. My decision to focus on family practice for now was related to diverse environment and practice opportunities for family nurse practitioners, along with experience that may be obtained (Woroch & Bockwoldt, 2020). A professional association related to my specific specialty is the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Benefits for being a member of this association include access to continuing education, scholarships and grants, board certification discounts, and access to employment opportunities with networking (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, n.d.). In the near future, will explore different professional organizations to locate one with opportunities that best fit my needs.
