Professional development Discussion Paper
Professional development Discussion Paper
Stephen Covey is credited with promoting the imperative to begin with the end in mind. As you start your Master of Science in Nursing program, you are asked to consider how your program of study will help you to achieve your long-term goals.
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In this week of the Foundations of Graduate Study course, you reexamine the professional and academic goals you identified in Week 1. You then create a Professional Development Plan to guide your progress through the MSN program. Doing so not only allows you to articulate how you will stay current in the complex and rapidly evolving field of health care, it also provides an opportunity to apply the principles of scholarly writing introduced in previous weeks of this course.
Reference: Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people. New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster Inc.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Develop a Professional Development Plan
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Learning Resources
Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Access the Program of Study (POS) appropriate for your specialization within your “Online Application Page” on your Walden Homepage. You may also reach out to your Academic Advisor to obtrain a copy of your POS.
Casey, D., & Egan, D. (2010). The use of professional portfolios and profiles for career enhancement.British Journal of Community Nursing, 15(11), 547–552.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
Throughout your degree program you will build a professional portfolio. Review this article, and consider what sort of artifacts you would like to include in your portfolio.
Smith, L. S. (2011). Showcase your talents with a career portfolio. Nursing, 41(7), 54–56. doi:10.1097/01.NURSE.0000398641.62631.8e
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
This brief article provides suggestions for building and using a professional portfolio.
Thompson, T. (2011). Electronic portfolios for professional advancement. Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal For Advanced Nursing Practice, 25(4), 169–170.
Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.
An electronic portfolio can be easily kept up to date and may even be preferred by potential employers. As you read this article, consider the advantages of keeping an electronic portfolio.
This website presents strategies for developing a professional development plan.
Document: Professional Development Plan (PDP) (PDF)
Document: PDP Sample Paper (Word document)
Document: APA Basics Checklist: Citations, Reference List, and Style (PDF)
Optional Resources
Assignment: Application:
Professional Development Plan
The Program of Study (POS) for your specialization and the Professional Development Plan (PDP) help you to become familiar with the courses you will take, when they will be completed, and how the degree program fits into your overall academic and professional goals. For this Assignment, you write a Professional Development Plan to submit to the Week 5 Assignment submission link.
Throughout your degree program you will create a professional portfolio. In each course, one Assignment will be designated for inclusion in your portfolio. This portfolio provides a rich opportunity to evidence your growth as a scholar-practitioner. For this course, your PDP will serve as the artifact for your Portfolio.
Note: As you progress through the program, ensure that you save all of your portfolio assignments on your computer and to backup those files to a secure device such as a flash drive or external hard drive. You will have a variety of Instructors throughout your program, and it is your responsibility to save these assignments for your portfolio.
TIP: Create a new folder for each course on your computer’s hard drive using the course number and title. Within each course folder, create an additional folder and label it “Portfolio.” Then, save the Portfolio assignment with a clear title such as “Professional Development Plan.”
To prepare:
- Review the information on the Program of Study (POS) and Professional Development Plan (PDP) presented in this week’s Learning Resources.
- Review the Week 5 Assignment Rubric presented in this week’s Learning Resources.
- Develop your Professional Development Plan (PDP) following the example presented in the Learning Resources and the assignment grading rubric criteria. Ensure that all content required is included in paper.
Write:
- Utilizing Microsoft Word, begin by formatting the paper in correct APA (i.e. title page, double space, Times New Roman size 12 font, headers, page numbers, headings).
- To ensure that all content required is included in the paper, review Week 5 Professional Development Plan assignment rubric and the Professional Development Plan example.
- Write your PDP using scholarly writing, correct grammar, and proper APA citations. Review the APA Basics Checklist: Citations, Reference List, and Style to make sure that your citations are correct. This document should represent your best professional effort.