Abstract Thinking

One of the requirements for admission into the externship was writing a single page abstract answering the following two questions:

1. What do you hope to bring to this experience?

2. What do you hope to take away from this experience?

I wrote mine dutifully, with much thought and planning. I was pretty proud of it, but it wasn't mentioned in my phone interview.

So I thought I'd post it here--at least get a blog post out of my hard work.

Bring, Give, & Take Away—Children’s Medical Center Summer Extern Program

I bring a thirst for knowledge and excellence—the desire to learn and to be better. I still have so much to learn, and I believe the best way to gain that knowledge will be to live it.

I bring a multi-disciplinary point of view that has always centered about pediatrics and holism. As an older student I bring life experience, world experience, parenting experience. I have seen things, done things, experienced things that help me to meet people where they are; to respect, if not understand different points of view. My previous clinical doctorate affords me the essential basic skills of assessment, diagnosis, and perhaps most importantly, critical thinking.

I hope to give my time. As a husband and parent of three children, my time is quite valuable to me. There are few things that I deem important enough to take time from my family. This is.

I hope to give love, warmth, and respect to those I encounter. I will bring compassion, integrity, and professionalism in the hope I can give a part of myself to the patients, families, and staff that I come in contact with throughout the program. As I look back through my life, the people that have affected me in the most positive ways have embodied each of those traits. I hope that I too can affect people in a positive way—to make a difference.

I hope to give patient care that actually contributes to each patient’s recovery. I am so ready to begin making an impact as a nurse. I can hardly bear the wait until graduation, licensure, and practice.

I hope to take away a sense of ownership in pediatric nursing. My wife is a pediatric ICU nurse with 8 years experience, and I’ve consistently and actively sought out new experiences during nursing school clinicals—I feel I’ve seen the true face of pediatric nursing, but I want to own it.

I hope to take away 10 weeks of all-important, real-world experience. My clinical experiences through nursing school have been fantastic—but they always leave me wanting more.

I hope to take away a sense of pride in a job well done; a sense of accomplishment from a program that selects so few from so many. Being selected for the extern program would be an honor and a privilege.

I hope to discover my new job home, to take away long term plans and a view of my future. I hope to become a part of a well respected organization, and by that association become better for my experience. I do not deny my desire to work for Children’s Medical Center after graduation.