Healthcare and Nursing
After completing my science degree and graduating, I want to become a cardiac healthcare practitioner. As a cardiac healthcare practitioner, I will be involved in doing an in-depth cardiovascular assessment for patients. The role also involves assessing patients for chronic and acute illness and assisting them in managing the diseases by giving them proper treatment and monitoring results. The role also involves interpreting test data, radiology, lab work data and acting on the findings. The role involves dealing with patients’ populations that have congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, high cholesterol and congestive heart failure. The role will also involve working in different offices such as hospitals, cardiology offices, acute care clinics and family medicines. Moreover, I want to further my education and become a physician Associate (PA) in the field of cardiology. The role of a PA in cardiology is based on the concept of collaborative practice. The PA profession fits well in the recent team-oriented cardiology models. In Cardiological departments and practices, a PA helps patients to access improved care easily. There are also cost-effective resources for meeting patients’ medical needs.
The skills needed for identified careers
To become a Cardiac healthcare practitioner, I must first compliment my medical degree, followed by a two-year foundation program me. Moreover, I must have enough knowledge of cardiovascular systems and be able to do effective therapy. When applying for a role in the NHS or an organization that provides NHS services, I must be able to demonstrate how the NHS values apply in my everyday work. Moreover, a comprehensive master’s degree program offers PAs with broad medical exposure. The program may take approximately 27 months, and it offers an in the extensive curriculum used on various medical schools. The classroom phase offers basic education on medical sciences which include physical diagnosis, physiology, pharmacology, medical ethics and behavioural sciences. PA students take about 75 hours in pharmacology, 400 hours in basic sciences, 580 hrs. in clinical medicine and 175 hours in behavioural science. PAs are supposed to continue doing a clinical rotation on paediatrics, psychiatry, general surgery, family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine and gynaecology. As a PA, I must pass the national certifying exam to be given a state license. After graduating, PAs are supposed to do 100 hours of continuing medical education (CME) after two years and also pass a national recertification exam every 10 years. The role of a PA calls for lifelong learning, and one should always seek for additional training. Six post-graduate programs focus on cardiac care: three in cardiothoracic surgery, two in cardiology and one in cardiac critical care. Nationally it has been estimated that 2300 PAs graduate annually. PAs are important, especially in Private practice settings.
Identification of shorter-term goals to support you achieving your long-term goals (successful graduation)
As a student planning to pursue a career in cardiology, I must perform well in my degree course as a cardiac healthcare practitioner. I will do a lot of online research and studying to make sure that I get good grades in my science degree. I also understand that during my undergraduate study, it is important for me to have more experience to be considered better than others. I will work as a volunteer in research work, hospital and community service. I will also participate in a job shadowing program will give me a chance to work with prominent cardiologists and doctors. I believe this will make me more dedicated and help me to develop work ethics in the medical field. Also, during my second year in my undergraduate study, I sat for the medical college admission test (MCAT) that was administered by the Association of American medical colleges (AAMC). Through this standard exam, my skills and knowledge were well evaluated. I was one of those that achieved the highest possible ( MCAT ) score that set me apart from the rest. Moreover, before completing my undergraduate program, I must make use of practice tests, in-person tutoring, study materials, online materials and pretest to gain the necessary knowledge as a cardiac healthcare practitioner.
A personal skills assessment to determine your current skill set (consider which assessment tools you can use)
Through my graduate studies and as a cardiologist, I have been taught to mix both soft and hard skills. I possess good communication skills, and I am also good at teamwork. I am knowledgeable in cardiovascular systems. Being a cardiac healthcare practitioner requires me to possess excellent interpersonal skills, together with enough knowledge related to my area to be in a position to offer better services to patients. I am also a good decision-maker, and I appreciate criticism and feedbacks since they help me to improve services toward patients. Being able to make decisions and offering better services is important to everyone that works in a hospital setting because most patients who visit medical centres complaining of heart issues are usually emergency patients. This means that cardiologist must be able to make life and death decisions on emergencies. Previously I have been awarded the dean awards for my excellent performance in emergency units.
Identification of skills gap/s and therefore you are learning needs (what do you need to develop/learn)
Being a cardiac healthcare practitioner calls for someone to have enough knowledge of the anatomy of the heart. A cardiovascular system is a closed system involving blood and heart vessels. The heart transports blood via a closed system of blood vessels. Through the blood vessels, blood is pumped to other body parts. The heart also has Arteries, capillaries and veins and enough knowledge of how the blood is pumped to other parts of the body is required. I feel that I need to do more research about the anatomy of the heart; therefore, I will use online research and web liners to continue building on my knowledge.
As a cardiac healthcare practitioner or a PA, I must possess good communication skills not only in speaking reading and listening but also in writing. Writing is important for good clinical practice, given that poor documenting and prescribing can have negative impacts on patients. The ability to communicate effectively is also critical when communicating important clinical information and complex scientific concepts.
The internet is an important resource for students in higher education studies. Students could only access information through course materials, books and lectures. The Internet has made it possible for people to have easy access to information, and one can access more materials as compared to lecturer notes. I will make use of the internet to gain more knowledge on this field of science while also keeping my self-updated on new development in this field of science.
Prioritisation of your identified learning needs (those that will ensure successful graduation followed by those that will help you achieve your longer-term goals
Currently, I will put more efforts into my studies and attend all the classes according to the timetable. Classroom performance is mainly driven by the expectation of a faculty towards students. Student success is directly not affected by expectations, clarity and consistency but also the level. For me to succeed, I must meet high expectation levels. I must also meet all the conditions set by the faculty and communicated to students through grading metrics, syllabuses, assignments, conversations and management sites. I hope that I will quickly put up with everything expected of me in the classroom.
I will also take part in an effective class engagement with peers, staff and faculty members. Such engagement will help in building social affiliation together with emotional and social support. Classroom engagement is important because it helps in establishing a pattern of student behaviour that promotes the efforts of students leading to success in the classroom.
Sometimes trying to catch up with readings from previous weeks can be tedious. Thus I need to keep motivating yourself by first acknowledging the negative feelings, criticism and feedbacks and doing an assessment of myself.
I will also assess my knowledge and skills through various assessment techniques to trigger academic intervention. Classroom assessment such as ”muddiest point” and ”one-minute” paper will help to ensure that I am well equipped. This will make sure that I attain good grades in my undergraduate program, which will help to get to the next level in my career.
After finishing school, I want to work and gain more experience as a cardiac health practitioner. I will apply to work in various medical organizations. I will also enrol for masters to become a physician associate. Will also make use of the new technological gadget to always keep my self-updated with the new development in the field of science.
Smart Goals
Specific Goal
I want to gain knowledge and skills to become a cardiac health practitioner and more specifically, a physician associate to build my career.
Measurable
I want to ensure that in the next five years, I will have gained the relevant experience and gone through the necessary training courses to become a physician associate.
Achievable
I will be graduating very soon, and I have soon started working in a hospital to gain more experience. One year after graduating, I will enrol for a master’s program to become a physician associate.
Realistic
To become a physician associate, I will enrol for a masters program one year after graduating with a bachelor of science and getting the relevant experience.
Timebound
I will become a physician associate five years after graduating from University.
Development of a strategic plan
Strengths
I am currently working in a hospital to gain the needed experience and knowledge to work as a cardiologist
I was awarded for my good performance in the medical field
I have attended various seminars and taken assessment tests to assess my skills
I take criticism positively and accept any feedback
Weaknesses
However, I don’t have a great weakness that can prevent me from achieving my goals. I am becoming more organized in my personal life and career goals
I don’t have enough knowledge of the cardiovascular system.
I must possess good writing skills and organization to be able to keep proper records for patients.
Opportunities and threats
To achieve my career goals, I must first achieve 2.1 in my bachelor’s degree.
I will also use online resources to gain more information and attend my classes according to the timetable.
I am also planning to attend a training program to increase my skills and knowledge.
I must also have certification from Cardiac physiologists’ course.
MSc in Physician Associate studies can be termed as a vocational course. However, it offers you a range of speciality options after qualification. Deciding what study can be a difficult task for most applicants. Training to become a PA calls for a dedicated and extensive study. Applicants are, therefore supposed to understand the commitment and the effects of this career in healthcare.
When applying for an MSc in physician Associate applicants must have an upper second class degree or a lower second class degree having done further studies in health care science, biomedical science, anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, nursing, physiotherapy, audiology and pharmacy.
Also note that any healthcare career will require you to be good decision-maker, time manager and team working. Candidates need to be leading busy and full lives to achieve this kind of academic success.