Discussion: Mission, Vision, and Personal Goals

To prepare:

• Review the Walden and SON mission and vision statements, Walden’s goals and University Outcomes, and the MSN Program Learning Outcomes presented in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Reflect on your professional and academic goals as they relate to your program/specialization.
• Consider how the information in the documents, identified above, fit with your own goals and to your becoming a scholar-practitioner.
• Think about how you will incorporate your commitment to social change into your professional and academic goals, particularly as it relates to the area(s) of interest represented by your program/specialization.

BY DAY 3

Post a description of one or more significant ways in which Walden’s and the School of Nursing’s perspectives (i.e., vision, mission, social change message, and outcomes) relate to your professional and academic goals and to your becoming a scholar-practitioner. Include how you plan to incorporate social change into your professional and academic goals.

Support your Discussion assignment with specific resources used in its preparation using APA formatting. You are asked to provide a reference for all resources, including those in the Learning Resources for this course.

NURS 6001: Foundations of Graduate Study

Sample Postings

SAMPLE POST: Use this as a guide for writing and formatting posts

INITIAL POST

My Goals and Walden University Vision and Mission
As a nurse for over 10 years and with the advances in technology applied to the health care arena, I have become more interested in the role of a nurse within informatics. My professional goal is to work full-time in the area of nursing informatics. Unfortunately, I knew that obtain this position, I needed to advance my degree. I began looking into various colleges and universities that can provide me with the education needed to obtain an advanced degree with a focus in nursing informatics.
After several months of investigating, I located Walden University. At first, I was drawn to Walden because it offered the flexibility that I needed. However, as I investigated the university further, Walden’s mission and vision statement resonated with me. I knew I had made the right choice. The School of Nursing (SON) vision and mission statements described what I felt and thought yet could not put into words. According to the Walden University SON (2011a), their vision is for graduates to transform nursing to meet the needs of communities. Technology is transforming health care and the degree I will obtain at Walden will help me to assist my organization with this transformation.
Another reason I was drawn to Walden University was the high standards they have for all students. The SON stated in their mission that their program is “academically rigorous…contextually relevant…” (Walden University, 2011a, para. 4). This statement matches my academic goal. I am not looking for just a piece of paper at the end, I am looking to gain the necessary knowledge that I need to make an impact within my organization.
 Incorporation of Social Change
Walden University (2011b) defined positive social change as a “deliberate process of creating and applying ideas, strategies, and actions to promote the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, cultures, and societies” (para. 4). I have always had a feeling that I want my life to mean something and to have an effect on those around me whether it is directly or indirectly. As a nurse, the will to help others is a core foundation of why I got into nursing in the first place. I plan to incorporate social change with the knowledge gained at Walden University by “putting that knowledge into practice” (Walden University, 2010b, para. 3). I plan to contribute to my field when I graduate by helping lead my coworkers and my organization through the computerized changes and advancement of technology at work. While helping others, I will be part of the clinical informatics team as the team transitions the organization into new computerized programs.
References
Walden University. (2011a). About the school. Retrieved from

http://www.waldenu.edu/Colleges-and-Schools/College-of-Health-Sciences/15863.htm
Walden University. (2011b). Vision, mission, and goals. Retrieved from

http://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=21&navoid=2450