Assignment 1: Nurse Practitioner Professional Career Planner

As you approach the end of your Master of Science in Nursing program and prepare for a career as a nurse practitioner, you will want to create a cover letter, resume, and portfolio that best represent your knowledge, skills, and abilities as a professional in the field of nursing.

For this Assignment, you will create a Career Planner, which includes these elements, that you can use as you pursue your next professional role.

To Prepare

• Review the Career Planner Guide. This document contains the requirements for the Assignment as well as resources to consult.
• Seek out other resources on cover letters, resumes, and other professional resources, as needed. The Walden University Career Services site has information on many topics of relevance.  

The Assignment

Develop a cover letter, resume, philosophy statement, and other professional resources that meet the requirements outlined in the Career Planner

Career Planner Guide

Your Nurse Practitioner Professional Career Planner is due by Day 7 of Week 10. It is highly recommended that you begin planning and working on this Assignment as early in the quarter as is feasible for you. The following checklists outline all of the items you should include in your Career Planner. Additionally, the resources below have been provided to assist you in its development. 

Refer to the Walden University Career Center website for resources and information on how to create cover letters, resumes, and professional portfolios. You may also choose to make certain portions of your Career Planner accessible online to members of your professional network or potential employersthrough platforms such as LinkedIn. Sharing on social media is a useful way to network for many, but it is not a requirement for this assignment.

Checklist for Cover Letter 

Cover letters are typically tailored to individual jobs and companies. For this Assignment, you will select a job posting you would like to or could potentially apply for and create acover letter for it. Your cover letter should be: 

• Presented and formatted in professional business manner • Addressed properly • Clear and concise (no more than one page) and include: o Content introduction o Content body o Content conclusion • Written in a professional tone and include: o Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar o Clear and accurate sentence structure 

Checklist for Resume 

Your resume should be clear, concise, and well organized, and it should also include your: 

• Name, location (city/town and state), business phone number, and email address (centered at top of resume) • Objective: 2–3 sentences describing your goal/objective for employment• Certifications & licenses• Education • Professional experience • Honors/Awards (as applicable)

Checklist for Portfolio  

Your Portfolio should be clear, concise, and well organized, and it should also include your: 

• Personal philosophy statement (1-page)• Personal goals (short term and long term) • Self-assessment

The following items do not have to be submitted but should be available on request for employers:

• Achievements • Letters of recommendation (2)• References (list names, affiliation, and contact information) (3)• Certifications and licenses• Prior degrees• Transcripts (Note: An unofficial transcript will meet this requirement.)• Certificates of attendance for continuing education • Publications • Research• Oral presentations and/or poster presentations 

Learning Resources 

Resume and Cover Letter Resources: 

Canva. (n.d.). https://www.canva.com/

Canva has many resume templates and formats that may inspire your creativity. (Using Canva is optional.)

Cover Letter Advice (n.d.). Nurse practitioner cover letter sample 1. http://www.coverletter.us/nurse-practitioner-cover-letter/ 

DeCapua, M. (2019). A nurse practitioner’s guide to the perfect cover letter. Health eCareers.https://www.healthecareers.com/article/healthcare-news/np-cover-letter 

Hicks, R. W., & Roberts, M. E. E. (2016). Curriculum vitae: An important tool for the nurse practitioner. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 28(7), 347–352.

Gibson, A. (n.d.). Nurse.org career guide series: Ultimate guide to nursing resumes. Nurse.org. https://nurse.org/resources/nursing-resume/ 

Walden University Career Services. (n.d.). Resumes & more.https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/careerservicescenter/resumesandmore

Portfolio Resources: 

Chamblee, T. B., Dale, J. C., Drews, B., Spahis, J., & Hardin, T. (2015). Implementation of a professional portfolio: A tool to demonstrate professional development for advanced practice. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 29(1), 113–117.

Clarke, M. (2019). The importance of a professional nursing portfolio. HealthLeaders. https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/importance-professional-nursing-portfolio

Nurse Practitioner Business Owner. (n.d.). This is why you want to create your professional portfolio today! https://npbusiness.org/professional-portfolio/

Portfolium. (n.d.). https://portfolium.com/

Portfolium is one example of portfolio software that you could use to create a portfolio. You may choose your own tool, and it may be online (Google Sites, Portfolium) or offline (Word, pdf), as long as you can easily submit the portfolio files or link to your Instructor.

1. Discuss a formal role where a nurse is in a position of leadership. Outline the essential responsibilities of that role and the educational preparation required. Explain what leadership traits, styles, or qualities are required to be successful in this role and why.

2. The influence of leadership can be far-reaching in practice and improving patient outcomes even when not in a formal role. Describe advocacy strategies that you can use as a leader to create positive change in your current workplace. In response to peers, describe a time when you provided leadership and the outcome. Was there anything that you would do differently?