Christina Post

11/12/2015
NURS 258 Professional Development Plan Template & Guidelines
Purpose: The purpose of the PDP is to assist you in conceptualizing the development of your professional nursing career in a succinct and
organized manner.
Instructions: Complete each section of the PDP template. This is the first page of the portfolio. You may use bullets and phrases instead of full
sentences to focus on the main points. To help you get started, some examples are included in the template in blue font. The expectation is that this
plan will be approximately 2-3 pages in length, using an 11 point font.
Goal Statement: To develop skills, experience, and knowledge as an expert professional nurse in a variety of health care settings and specialties
that demonstrate increasingly complex and comprehensive care and with that being done, obtain a nursing position in my desired specialty.

Elements
Objective(s): Describe what
you want to accomplish in
your first two years in
practice.
Plans/Strategies: Describe
the actions that you will take
to achieve your objective.
Strengths: Describe the
strong points about yourself
that make you such a great
nurse.
Skills/competencies: Describe
the skills and competencies
you bring to the role.
Areas targeted for growth:
From your own self
assessment, describe what
areas in yourself that you
would like to strengthen.

Clinical Practice
Obtain employment as a
registered nurse as part of a
new graduate program in
medical/surgical nursing, or
any other field that I can gain
nursing experience. I hope to
eventually work with
underserved women and
children.

Leadership

Professional Development

Decide who I would like to

observe as a role model figure.
I would like to have mentor, or
someone that I look up to that
can guide me as my first few
years a nurse.

I would like to work with an

organization that would contribute
to my professional development
and offer tuition assistance, etc. I
would also like to look into
specialty courses that are offered,
or classes that I can take in
hospitals, etc., to obtain more
specific nursing knowledge. I need
to work right out of school so that I
can have money to continue my
education. I eventually plan to
enroll in an on-line RN-BSN
program, quite possibly the UHHilo BSN program.

Learn, in the beginning of my

employment, who the
influential nurses are that
display the nursing attributes
that I would like to
obtain/perfect. In doing this,
not only will I gain clinical
leadership knowledge, but also
other attributes that long-time
nurses possess.

Apply to different hospitals and

organizations throughout
Oahu. Attend job fairs and
submit resumes to companies
and agencies that are looking
to hire new graduate RNs.
Understanding that it may be
difficult at first, but with
determination, I will get my foot Strong points about myself that
in the door somewhere.
would help me in a leadership
role are that I am naturally a
I am reliable, dependable,
leader, I am always willing to
honest, organized, openlearn new things and I like to
minded, friendly, outgoing,
pass on newly acquired
compassionate, and
knowledge so that the whole
nonjudgmental. I take
team is on the same level. I

My first strategy would be to save

money while working and also look
into other grant and scholarship
opportunities. I plan to focus on
scholarships that are geared
toward helping native Hawaiian
students, or first generation college
students.
My strengths that will help me to
obtain the aforementioned goal is

constructive criticism well, and

enjoy learning new skills and
techniques. I am goal driven,
have a positive attitude, and I
get along with my peers.

work well in groups and

encourage participation. I am a
positive person, I am honest,
and I try to look at every
problem from different sides. I
get along well with everyone
that I meet. I am goal-driven
and like to see things through.

Clinical skills I possess are the

basic nursing skills including
assessments, providing
Skills that I would bring to a
interventions, evaluating care
and reflecting on my
leadership role is that I am a
performance. I am able to
good communicator. I strive to
perform most procedures
make sure that everyone in the
efficiently and successfully. I
team is on the same page
am BLS CPR and First Aid
regarding issues, etc. I
certified. I also worked at a
previously held a position of
homeless clinic, OB-GYN clinic
assistant supervisor for
and pediatric clinic. I have
scheduling at a home health
experience working with
agency, so I understand the
patients that are homeless,
role of a leader. I understand
use substances, and have
that there are different group
mental health issues.
dynamics that can alter the
work setting.
Areas that I would like to
Areas that I would like to
strengthen are the clinical
procedures including starting
strengthen regarding
IVs, straight/foley catheter
leadership would be to practice
insertion, and wound care. I
being an effective leader. I
also need to strengthen my
need to not be afraid or
time management techniques
nervous about being
and DAR documentation.
recognized as a leader. I need
Being able to decipher lab
to learn not to fear the
values and understanding
responsibility of being
more medications, their
accountable for the team. I
actions and side effects are
need to learn to be confident in
other things I can strengthen.
my skills.

that I am goal-oriented, so when I

see something that I want to
accomplish, as in obtaining a
bachelors degree, or some other
kind of specialty nurse training, I
research on it and find out the
steps I need to take to get started.
I am able to make a plan, develop
ways and means to proceed and
then execute my plan. This is
exactly what I did when I decided
that I wanted to get into the KCCNursing program.
My competencies toward obtaining
my goal is that I am already a
graduate of a nursing program and
work as a RN. A skill I have is that I
consider myself to be a life-long
student and want to be a positive
role-model to my children. I am
willing to ask questions, meet with
counselors and other faculty to
gain guidance and support and
also clarify questions I may have
about the different options I am
faced with.
Something that I would like to work
on would be to have short term
and long term goals that I am
continuously working towards.
When I think about my future, I
think it will be great, but I cannot
imagine what specifically I will be
doing. I know that 10-years from
now, I will still be a nurse, but what
kind of nurse will I be? What kind
of people will I be helping? Will I
be happy? I am a go with the flow
kind of person and jump at
opportunities when they arise,

although they might not

necessarily be what I would have
considered. If I have more
concrete goals set, I can take a
more systematic approach towards
them rather than just going with
the flow to get there.
(Example: Apply to UHM
baccalaureate of nursing program.)