Memorandum:

Date: 10/24/14
To: Mrs. Kinley
From: Paola Barajas
Subject: Progress Report


Below, I discuss the status of my progress with my inquiry into disciplinarily project.

Introduction
The purpose of this project is to answer my doubts and questions that still remain unknown to me
about my major choice, which is Nursing. By researching and collecting data from people who
have gone through or are going through the process of becoming a nurse, I will decide and answer
my questions on whether I really want to become a nurse and what type of nurse I want to be.
Here are my primary and secondary questions. I changed my primary question in the process of
writing my secondary questions because I realized that the real question I wanted to answer at the
end of this was the following:

Did I make the right decision in choosing nursing as my major?

Secondary questions:
-What type of nurse do I want to become?
-What will be expected from me in nursing school?
-What is the best way to find a job as a nurse after I graduate?
-How will I manage my own emotions so they wont interfere with my job?



Research Methods
My research methods include interviewing, surveying, site observation, and document
analyses.

Interview(s)
For my interview I decided I wanted to interview a Nurse practitioner since it is the type
of nurse I eventually want to become if I decide nursing is the right path for me. I
struggled somewhat to find an available Nurse practitioner. Just when I thought I had
found my interviewee she turned out to be a physicians assistant. I was about to change
the person to interview and just interview a regular nurse but then I found a nurse
practitioner student! And now that I think about it is even better to interview her instead
of a nurse practitioner because she is about to finish and about to get a job so it is fresh in
her mind everything she had to do and go through to get to where she is. This will give
me a better idea of what it is really like to become a nurse practitioner in my time. I was
able to reach her just this Monday so I am still in the process of interviewing her. She
told me she preferred to do this through email and will answer my interview questions
this Thursday. Right on time to turn in my progress report final draft with all my
information in it. For now I can just say that the process of this interview is looking good
and I am very enthusiastic about the outcome here is the permission form I received from
her just today Wednesday October 22:


For my interview I made sure to tie my interview questions to my secondary questions in
order to get a better result for the questions I am trying to find answers to myself. Here is
how I tied them together :

Secondary questions:
-what type of nurse do I want to become?
-what will be expected from me in nursing school?
-what is the best way to find a job as a nurse after I graduate?
-how will I manage my own emotions so they wont interfere with my job?

What type of nurse do I want to become?
-what made you want to become a nurse?
-why did you chose to become a nurse practitioner?
-what does your job consist of?
-what is the difference between an RN and a nurse practitioner?

What will be expected from me in nursing school?
-how would you describe how your life was as a nursing student?
-how did you manage your time between school and your personal life?
-what do clinicals consist of and what is expected from you in the hospital
atmosphere during clinical?
-what advice if any, would you give any incoming students to nursing school?

What is the best way to find a job as a nurse after I graduate?
-how did you first find a job as a nurse after you graduated?
-did you start working as an RN while you continued to study to become a nurse
practitioner?
-If yes, would you recommend doing this?
-why or why not?
-I am aware that this career is a very competitive one, how did you distinguish
yourself to get this job from all the other nursing graduates applying for this job?

How will I manage my own emotions so they wont interfere with my job?
-how often do you confront situations where your own emotions are disturbed due
to patient situations?
-does this affect your personal life?
-if yes, what do you do to overcome these issues?
-have you ever been permanently affected by a situation you were in while on the
job?



Survey(s)
I will be conducting my survey through survey monkey online. I will be handing out the
link to my survey on strips of paper to nursing students passing by in the nursing building
at UTEP. The survey consists of 10 questions regarding nursing school and personal
opinions on it from the students. I think I picked my questions very accurately to help me
answer my own questions, which are the primary and secondary questions, listed above. I
will be handing these out Wednesday October 22, 2014 at 2:00 pm and I am confident I
will get enough responses to the survey to help me with my paper. Here is the link to my
survey:
-https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WYJ776R and the questions are included below.

1. Have you thought at any point throughout the program of changing
your major?
Yes, no
2. How would you rate your experience from nursing school?
Poor, alright, good, great
3. On a scale from 1-10 rate how hard the nursing program is from
your perspective.
4. How much time do you spend studying before an exam?
I dont study, 2-3 hours, 4 hours or more, I pull an all nighter
Has this worked for you?
Yes no
5. Are you currently working?
Yes no
6. What has your experience been like in clinicals?

7. How hard was it for you to get into the program?
Easy, hard, really hard
8. Do you have enough time for yourself and family now that you are
in the program?
Yes, no
As you can see I made sure my interview questions also had a relation to my secondary
questions but this time looking at it only from the perspective of a nursing student not a
Nurse quite yet. This will help answer the secondary question what will be expected
from me in nursing school.


Site Observation(s)
Today, to do the survey and observation both at the same time since they will be in the
same building. I will be sitting in the lobby in the nursing building observing students
behavior. I will observe expressions, trends, and the way they carry themselves and stress
levels by appearance. I will also pay attention to any comments amongst themselves and
try to catch as many good observations as possible. Then I will convert all my
information to conclusions that can as well help me with my research paper. I will be
using the heuristic you provided for us because I find it to be very organized and well
structured.

Document Analyses
Document analysis is also a very important research method that will contribute to my
research paper. I have analyzed one document online called Strategies for Nursing
Students to Balance School, Career and Family NurseTogether, which will also be
included as a resource in my research paper.



Conclusion
I am confident that I will succeed in my goal with this research paper, which is once
again to answer my doubts and questions about the major I have chosen and most
importantly help me decide on whether I chose the right major or not. I am very excited
for the final result of all this work and research. I look forward to bringing all this
information I have and am gathering to make an excellent project and have a clear and
more broad understanding of the Nursing career path. I am confident in myself that I will
get all my work done on time and avoid any delays on my final product.