Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions

Some of my personal questions and/or concerns that I have as I embark on this MSN journey are:

1. Will I be able to handle the class load assignments & obtain good grades?
2. Do I have enough nursing experience to embark on this journey?
3. Since I have never worked in a dedicated psych area, will this be a disadvantage to me?
4. I’m a bit terrified of the psych pharmacology class, is anyone else?
5. Will I do okay with a 100% online class format?

I certainly had a lot more questions than the five I listed before I started this program. I’m thankful for my advisor, Brad at Walden University, as he patiently answered lots of my questions. I was never made to feel that any of my questions were stupid or insignificant, so that made asking them much easier Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions.

For me personally, networking has always existed in my adult life. Whether it’s for our landscaping business, rental business, or my nursing career, it has existed. It’s been relatively easy for me to do, and I believe that’s in part because being a good communicator has always been my priority. That doesn’t mean I’ve always been a good communicator, but I continually work towards that as my priority in refining my skills in this area.

The professionals and academic names that I listed on my template have helps me tremendously before and after I’ve enrolled in the PMHNP program. I asked my professional people on my template a lot of questions before I enrolled, and also reached out to them to ask if I could job shadow them. I was allowed to do so, and that experience really helped shape my decision to go forth with this program. I did a lot of research and self examination before I reached out to both of them. I jotted down my questions, and took a notebook with me on the days that I was allowed to job shadow them. This helped me to articulate strong questions that I felt I needed to get answered, and who better to answer them than professionals who were actually in the business of mental health. I did send them both thank you cards for their time, and all of their assistance with answering my questions. I have been in contact with the PMHNP that I job shadowed several times since I spent the day with her, and she has been very encouraging Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions.

The original five “W’s” that we all learned in our younger years will always help in constructing good quality questions to ask (Lazareck, 2007). Keeping in mind the who, what, when, where, and why are great places to start if you feel stuck (Lazareck, 2007). Practically speaking, it could be used as in who would be someone good to network with, when would be a good time in my career to do so or when should I contact them, where should I look for someone to network with, and perhaps why would that person be a good connection. I feel that this breaks it down into bite size pieces and gives us a place to start if networking is a new concept.

Networking should always be about the business of building long-lasting relationships with the goal being that these relationships are mutually beneficial (Lazareck, 2007). I thought that was a key point to keep in mind! We need to pour into the networking, rather than just take the goodness away from it for our own good. As the author put it, “networking is more about mutually beneficial relationships – giving more to people than you expect to get back – as opposed to collecting business cards” (Lazareck, 2007, para 1). I feel that my questions I listed can be easily addressed by my identified academic people. Most of my questions I had prior to enrolling in the PMHNP program were addressed by my professional people that I listed.

For me personally, the networking relationships I have secured along the way in my nursing career have helped me to secure promotions, more responsibility, and have helped to grow me into the nurse I am today. The knowledge sharing piece of networking is probably my favorite part, and I see it as the biggest benefit. There’s nothing like learning from professionals who know more than you do about a particular subject, or vice versa Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions.

This article suggests five tips for successful networking including making an excellent impression, always following up, expand your learning regarding new cultures, make yourself more visible, and always have an action plan (Lazareck, 2007).

My academic networking involves a current student that is in the same tract as I am, a student that is farther along in the same program. I picked these people because I believe they will be valuable resources for me now and in the future, and I hope to be to them as well. I hope to have lasting relationships with them, and be able to collaborate for many years to come. It is my belief that since they are students, they can help answer questions along the way if I don’t understand an assignment, or need additional clarification. I know this approach helped me tremendously in nursing school, and I’m thankful that I’ve been able to retain those relationships. I enjoy being able to help people whenever I can, so I’m excited about future collaborations as a NP Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions.

Resource:

Lazareck, L. (2007). Gold – networking: The five questions. IEEE in Medicine and Biology Magazine, vol 26(3), 88-89. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1109/MEMB.2007.364940

Discussion: Strategies for Addressing Questions