Are you ready to return to school?


Take this short quiz to help you in your decision-making process.


By Karen Schmidt, RN


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This short quiz will give you some areas to focus on and will assist you in making your decision. Each question requires a “yes” or “no” response. Please answer each one, and be sure to keep track of the number of times your response is “yes.”


DO YOU … 1


Appreciate the complexity of our current health- care system and know you must have more edu- cation and training to confidently and competently


meet the multiple needs of your patients? Advanced ed- ucation offers you the opportunity to gain more knowl- edge and more experience that translates to improved nursing care and improved patient outcomes.


2


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GH¿QH WKH GLUHFWLRQ RI \RXU DGYDQFHG HGXFDWLRQ DQG EH the foundation for the new knowledge and skills you will add to your repertoire.


3


Hope to gain a deeper understanding of the many factors that influence your patients’ health and well-being across the various inpatient and out-


patient settings? Because of the complexities of patient care, you realize that a better understanding of these factors will only improve the lives of those you serve.


4


Think you are ready to take on a role in which you can invest your skills and interests with greater autonomy? Undertaking an advanced practice


role requires that you accept responsibility for apply- ing and using your own nursing judgment and deci- sion-making.


5


Want to learn more about the place state-of-the-art technology has in patient care and advancing the pro- fession? Expanding your knowledge base in technol-


ogy so you can develop and use technological applications can directly impact your patients’ health and wellness.


6


See yourself focusing on patient- and family-cen- tered care while also wanting to expand your role in interprofessional collaboration? Gaining


competency in working collaboratively with a diversity of healthcare professionals is an essential skill in improv- ing patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.


7


Look forward to the opportunity of implementing evidence-based solutions that improve nursing care? Pursuing graduate education in nursing is


the portal to understanding and applying EBP and re- search in nursing and in your chosen specialty.


8


Envision yourself in a leadership role with an eye toward shaping healthcare policy at a variety of OHYHOV DQG LQ PXOWLSOH VHWWLQJV" <RXU RSWLRQV IRU


workplaces and roles are exponentially expanded as your educational level rises.


9


Visualize a place for yourself in the national movement toward healthcare reform as new models of care deliv- ery put nurses in the forefront? As the population ages


and presents more complex healthcare needs, nurses have a prime platform for contributing to changes and decisions for the nation’s future healthcare plan.


10


Recognize that higher education has become more ÀH[LEOH DQG UHVSRQVLYH WR QXUVHV¶ QHHGV UHODWHG to cost, family time and current work schedules?


Studying online and/or part-time make advanced practice degrees more accessible; grants and tuition reimburse- ment offerings increase options.


Karen Schmidt, RN, is a freelance writer.


SCORING: If you answer yes to many of these 10 questions, you probably are on the right track and should continue in your pursuit of advanced education. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Go for it!


12


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