Nursing Practitioner (NP) Preparing a Strategic Career Plan

Graduation and certification are the beginning of your career as an NP. Whether you are looking
for that dream job or you have decided to open your own practice as an independent NP, you need a plan to get there. Before the Web and social media, job hunting was relatively simple. Job
hunters perused the classifieds, made cold calls, and many times just showed up with a resume
in hand. There has been a dramatic change in the last decade in how people find and get jobs,
and NPs are no exception. For those seeking employment now, there is a wealth of resources
available from mega employment websites to specialty blogs. Finding a job as an NP may not be
a big challenge, but landing the position that you have passionately prepared for and pursued is
going to take some work. A well-crafted cover letter and resume may be necessary items, but it
may not be enough to get you exactly where you want to be. With so many opportunities and
career trajectories available to NPs today, you need to focus and get serious about what you
want to do and where you want to do it.
Directions
In this Assignment, you will develop your own strategic career plan for starting your new career
as an NP. There are many steps that need to be accomplished. Use the following guidelines to
design your career plan. You do not need to include references. This is a plan that you may
layout how you wish. Be creative, and really think about what you desire as a nurse practitioner.
As everyone will have different goals, there are no right or wrong answers in this plan.
It is time to take inventory and ask yourself some questions. What is your career vision? Be
specific and honest. Where do you want to work? What are your short term and long term goals
(give timeline). What are the most important things you are looking for? Discuss your desires for
salary, vacation, sick leave, CME allowance, medical benefits, retirement, etc. Perhaps you have
a niche such as managing chronic diseases in patients over 65 years old.
Next, describe your ideal work situation. Is it a rural clinic or major trauma center? Who is your target patient population? Do you have a passion for a particular population or specialty? What
schedule do you want? What are the priorities in your career right now? Where do you see your
career in five years?
How do you plan on researching opportunities (whether looking for employment or independent
practice site)? List several methods such as job fairs, the Web, and medical employment
agencies.
Networking is essential for today’s healthcare provider. Discuss your networking ideas. What
Internet resources might you use to network and connect with other healthcare providers?
How will you prepare for the interview? What specific steps will you take?
Imagine you are starting your own practice. What population will it serve? How will you market
your practice? What personnel will you need to hire? How will you obtain funding? Will you be
open extended hours to meet the needs of working patients? Will you be the sole provider, or will
you hire other providers?
To view the Grading Rubric for this Assignment, please visit the Grading Rubrics section under
Course Resources.
Assignment Requirements
Before finalizing your work, you should:
be sure to read the Assignment description carefully (as displayed above)
consult the Grading Rubric (under Course Resources) to make sure you have included
everything necessary
utilize spelling and grammar check to minimize errors
Your writing Assignment should:

follow the conventions of Standard English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.)
be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful
display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics
use APA 6th Edition format for organization, style, and crediting sources. Refer to the APA
Progression Ladder.
How to Submit
Submit your Assignment to the unit Dropbox before midnight on the last day of the unit.
When you are ready to submit your Assignment, click the Dropbox tab and select this unit’s
basket from the dropdown menu, then attach your file. Make sure to save a copy of your work
and be sure to confirm that your file uploaded correctly.