Month: February 2017

This blog has been neglected. It was created almost a year ago as part of an assignment for a course. The assignment was to create a teaching portfolio. I decided to create my own “blogfolio” that combined some permanent content – the portfolio, with updates that focused on my academic pursuits.

Well, fast forward a year. My resume has been updated and uploaded, but much of the  portfolio content does not apply to my current situation. I have transitioned from  academic nurse educator to clinical (hospital based) nurse educator. I have  moved back to the patient care setting, where I am the unit educator assigned to a surgical and an orthopedic unit.

I love being back in the hospital, I enjoy working with practicing nurses. I miss my students – although many former students are working as nurses at my facility, which is pretty great. I realized early on in this job that my talents and skills as an educator serve me in ways I took for granted in the academic setting. And in this new position, they are appreciated and supported.

I am still pursing my PhD although I have been thinking about options and other pathways that might serve me better (more in a future post, if I find time). I had a set back over the summer when I ruptured my achilles tendon and had surgery a month before I started my new position. I am back in classes- taking a class to explore my research method and a class on leadership (Organizational Foundation for Leading Change).

Which is what brings me back here today. To share something I am working on for my leadership class. My personal mission statement. While I have written nursing philosophies and a teaching philosophy, the personal mission statement was a bit of a new thing for me. I cheated a bit and used a website recommended by the instructors. It generated a series of statements which did not flow well or make sense to me. But they inspired me to put something together that did.

I now present to you my Personal Mission Statement:

My life’s journey is to learn and grow so that I can make the world a better place by using my talents as a natural teacher to share knowledge and inspire others. I thrive when I am working on something I am passionate about, and I want my life’s work to reflect my passions, while not letting myself get overwhelmed by my own personal goals and aspirations.  I strive to become a better listener who thinks about others first and facilitates growth and development in others. I want to learn to slow down, enjoy life and incorporate wisdom, charisma, a sense of the sacred and spiritual in to my purpose.