My professional development plan:

1. Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1
Professional Development Plan: Maintaining Nursing Ability
Sheeja Cherian
American Sentinel University

2. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2
Professional Development Plan: Maintaining Nursing Ability
Three years from now, I plan on still working within the Parkland Health and Hospital
System of Dallas, Texas, but by 2015 I will likely be working in a newly constructed hospital for
Dallas County. Ultimately, I wish to remain a charge nurse at the hospital that I am currently
working in and have the same position within the newly constructed hospital. I also plan on
joining the Texas Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association in order to gain
access to updated nursing information and peer-reviewed articles. While I have no plans to
continue updating my certification within three years, I do plan on continuing to study nursing
developments and trends so I can keep my knowledge at a modern level. Not only would joining
nursing organizations help me gain more free information, but it would also provide me with
discounts for books and other sources of information. Over the course of these three years, I
would like to remain stable as a professional while updating my skills, so that I am capable of
being the best professional I can be.
During my professional life, I would like to be able to ensure that patients get the best
quality care possible, which would require a good amount of skill working with other
professionals and having updated knowledge of the profession. Spending the past two years
getting my BSN helped to satisfy this desire, as such an experience allowed me to gain more
knowledge of nursing strategies, better understand modern nursing practices, and gain
perspective on different nursing positions. However, in order to maintain an adequate level of
knowledge, it is necessary to continue studying the nursing profession to maintain competency.
That is why during these three years, if I wish to keep my nursing ability at its peak, I will have
to find the means to constantly study this new information. The best way to accomplish this

3. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 3
would be by joining nursing organizations, as this will give me the chance to access modern
nursing literature while also allowing for access to other benefits as well. Overall, the impact I
would like to have as a professional would be maintaining efficiency in the workplace, so that
patients of Parkland Hospital can receive the best possible care.
Although my career goal is to maintain my current position, this would still require a
constant investment of education. It is well-known that “all nurses have a professional
responsibility to keep their clinical knowledge up to date”, as the profession is constantly
changing (Effective Nurse Managers Ensure That Staff Have the Opportunity to Share Skills).
Joining both the Texas Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association should greatly
help with this responsibility, as both make a large amount of information available to members
while also offering other benefits. If I ever decide to change my career plans during these three
years, my membership with the American Nurses Association would help me with its career
center for finding new positions and ANCC certification discounts. Being a member of the
Texas Nurses Association would also give me a chance to affect the nursing profession for the
state that I live in, since the TNA has the power to advocate for legislative changes in favor of
nursing. Since “Professional associations can help [one to] learn subtle values and priorities not
easily communicated in the classroom”, it would also be a unique learning method for me to join
and interact with these organizations (Guerrieri, 2010). By joining the ANA and TNA, I can
ensure that I have all of the educational resources and opportunities available to maintain my
professional ability.
Within these upcoming three years, the only change I expect to happen during my
professional life is moving to a new hospital by 2015. Since it is necessary for nurses to

4. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 4
constantly maintain their skills, I will join the ANA and TNA to gain access to educational
resources while also making other opportunities available. These actions will allow me to
maintain my current position to my best ability and keep me informed of modern nursing trends
and practices. Additionally, they will make it easier for me to continue advancing my
certification and seek new positions, so it would be possible for me to set new goals after these
three years.

5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 5
References
(2009). Effective nurse managers ensure that staff have the opportunity to share skills. Nursing
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nursingtimes.net/effective-nurse-managers-ensure-
that-staff-have-the-opportunity-to-share-skills/1964802.article
Guerrieri, R. (2010). Learn, grow, and bloom by joining a professional association. Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins. Retrieved from
http://journals.lww.com/nursing/Fulltext/2010/05000/Learn,_grow,_and_bloom_by_joini
ng_a_professional.14.aspx