This is my journey as a nursing student at Mount Mercy. I will reflect on the experiences I have had at Mount Mercy and how my personal and professional life has been impacted by returning to school for my Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. I am the hero of this story. I will discuss how each nursing course has helped me transform and the projects I felt had the most impact. My journey to return to nursing school began in August 2014 when my nurse manager Carmen (she is my herald in this adventure, encouraging me and believing in my abilities) encouraged me to attend a nurse leadership class; it was at this class that I received the call to adventure when learned of the tuition reimbursement that UIHC was offering to return to school to obtain your bachelor’s degree. I had long planned to obtain my bachelors however life got in the way—divorce and raising two boys, there was never time or money to attend classes; I now had no excuses, the boys are grown, UIHC was offering considerable help with tuition and my father had recently passed away leaving an inheritance-what better way to spend this unforeseen money? I reviewed a couple of programs determining that I would prefer in person classes in order to network with peers. I contacted Mount Mercy, arranged for my transcripts to be sent for review and to meet with my advisor Candace. My mother and lifetime mentor has always encouraged education, it was not a matter of if my sisters and I would go to college but
Soon after, I received my licensure and began working at The Queen's Medical Center as a Registered Nurse (RN) in early part of 1994. Since becoming a RN, I have provided care to a great deal of patients and reassured countless numbers of family members. As a RN, I've also become the coordinator of care, patient advocate, and teacher to the patients I cared for while serving as the eyes and the ears of the physicians. As with any human, I enjoyed sharing the laughter with my patient and cringed at site of their pain and despair. For these reasons, I believe that being a RN is a great career choice for me. However, for these same reasons, I still feel that I am not a complete nurse; hence I've decided to go back to school and try to earn my Bachelor in Science Degree in Nursing
Before this program I was working as a nurse in a surgical care unit and I did not fully understand why I did the things that I did or even why I became a nurse. This program changed my practice, for example, in the first class of the program, Transition to Professional Nursing I had to think for the first time in my personal philosophy of nursing and I discovered that to me, “nursing is a sacred work dedicated to the service of others, and requires a nurse’s deliberated commitment to inner spiritual growth to achieve
My initial interest in nursing began from my experience with my grandmother. It was in the fall of 2007 when my grandmother was sent to the hospital due to hypernatremia. My dad would pick me up every afternoon from school to visit my grandmother. I was given the responsibility to look after my grandma for nearly two weeks that includes in feeding her, assisting her, and other light duties. What fascinate me during my visits in the hospital were the nurses who assisted and took care of my grandma. They treated my grandma with dignity, kindness, compassion, courtesy, respect, understanding, and love. Their commitment, professionalism, dedication, determination and skills inspired me to pursue a career in the medical field. From that point, I realized that nursing is a field that enables people impact other people’s lives and make a difference. At 9 years old, being a nurse was a childhood dream and now I am at the point of turning my dream into reality. I want to study and pursue my dream registered nursing at Ryerson University that offers a nursing degree program that focuses on developing student’s critical thinking skills, ability to analyze reflectively and apply theory through community health focused practice making Ryerson one of the best nursing schools in Canada.
It is unconceivable the very few people (out of the countless people on this earth) I have met through my journey of becoming a nurse; I’ve been fortunate enough to have crossed paths with a handful of individuals who have advanced my personal growth (till this day none know how they assisted in this process). A unique individual Ms. Grant removed the shades from my eyes. She gave me the power to believe in me, she provided me with tools necessary to meet my true self. With her instruction I emerged into the woman I am today. A brilliant Professor who let me in on a little secret: the impossible is possible. A fascinating Co-worker who showed me how not to take no for an answer. He taught me the meaning of when one door closes one must gain access to a window. An incredible boss, Mrs. Logan she encouraged me to see beyond the horizon. It was this spectacular person who showed me how not to get distracted by the
Completing my bachelor’s degree in Nursing has been a personal goal of mine since I graduated with my associate’s degree in nursing. Having my BSN degree is essential for my career and personal development. Initially after graduating with my ASN, I enrolled in a BSN program and started my first class, when life happened. I was a single mother raising my 5 year old daughter, working the night shifts at Miami Children’s Hospital. I was dating my now husband and became pregnant with my second child. I ended up having to quit my job as a pediatric nurse which was my goal, to be a pediatric nurse, get my BSN and climb the ladder there. After the birth of my daughter my personal goals changed, and my academic and career goals were put on hold.
My experiences have provided me with the ability to devote myself to the wellbeing of others and being able to adapt to many situations. In addition to these experiences, I am very dedicated to my goals and I know that becoming a nurse requires much commitment. A career in nursing will be more than a career for me - it will be a lifestyle and it is who I am. It means assisting my community, having a new perspective on life and a profession that will make an impact. Becoming a nurse is a conscious choice that has been cultivated from my personal desires and experience. This will allow me to do what I love anywhere I go. For these reasons, the Eileen Doran Esler Changing Lives Scholarship will help me achieve my education and goal of becoming a nurse. Certainly, a career nursing will be challenging, but with clear set goals in mind, I know that I can achieve great things with great
Since I was in the 10th grade, I knew I wanted to pursue my education at Mount Vernon Nazarene University for nursing. Furthermore, my first college visit on MVNYOU day confirmed my decision. I greatly treasure the close knit community and the Christian based morals. To get a head start on my journey, my sophomore year I applied and was accepted into the Career and Technology Education Center of Licking County for Clinical Care (C-TEC), a nursing based program. In the duration of my last two years of high school, instead of simply graduating with my diploma, I graduated with my STNA, CET, CPT, CPCT, and my CPhT. I have gained a knowledge of the basic fundamentals of nursing. I am an active member of many different clubs and organizations supporting
What has surprised you? I think the most surprising thing about my nursing school journey has been how much I have grown and changed as a person in the past two years. I have become a much more assertive and direct person. I have a greater appreciation for the monotonous moments in my life and have learned how to not over think things and just to appreciate every moment and day for itself. Part of this group come about from clinical and part of it developed through my work experience as a nurse tech in the Emergency Department at Seattle Children’s Hospital. I personally have grown and learned a lot from the kids that I have worked with and its taught me the importance of slowing down and living in the moment. It’s also taught me that happiness is something that only you can determine. I feel that throughout all my clincials I have learned important life lessons from the people from every age and stage of life. All of these lessons have helped to shape me into a more compassionate, understanding, and better therapeutic communicator with my patients and have shaped my personal nursing practice.
Graduating from Duke University has been my dream for as long as I can remember. The mission of Duke’s school of nursing corresponds with my goal to improve the quality of life for people in my community; a poor, rural area. Always fascinated by anatomy and physiology, in high school I first took a health occupations class. I was immediately captivated with taking this knowledge that came so easily to me, and using it to help others improve their health and well-being.
I have many reasons to return to school for bachelors’ program. One of the reasons I returned to school is to advance my career beyond being staff nurse. After I graduated from a two-year community college as an RN, I realized that I have a potential to advance my career from staff nurse to nurse practitioner. When I was in nursing school, I thought I never back to school because nurse school was so stressful. Nursery school was the hardest thing I ever did, I remembered those days.
I am a spouse of an ARMY active duty soldier who has three beautiful kids. I have a passion for nursing and cannot wait to finish my degree in this field. I have been a certified nursing assistant for the last ten years while raising my family and moving around the U.S. with my husband due to him being in the military. As a CNA, my love for nursing and taking care of people grew to a passion. I knew this was my calling. Due to moving a lot these last few years and having to go through multiple deployments with my spouse it has become challenging to finish my degree, but has not stopped me. Just set me back some. I really want to show my kids that it is possible to accomplish your dreams despite what life throws at you. However, with the economy downfall and the rise of cost for living it is becoming a struggle financially to pay for college. It is a consent battle whether to pay for things your family needs or to pay for another set of classes to take. I have recently been accepted into the CTC Nursing program. This means I am only two years from graduating with my degree in nursing. I am undeniable motivated to finish what I started not only for my family, but to prove to myself that anything is possible.
The assignment will allow me to reflect on my own experiences in my new role as a mentor and will follow the journey of a student nurse and her
Because of my experience with my family, and the kindness that I was given in my darkest moments, this has helped me make the decisions to pursue the Associates Nursing program at Ohio University Chillicothe. Through all the ambiguity in my life, I’ve learned
I am 38 years old and I have decided to return to college after being out of school for twenty years. I have two amazing children, Sydni , 11- years- old and Logan, 9- years- old. My husband Steven and I have been happily married for 17 years. I am currently employed at a family practice doctor’s office in Opelousas, LA., for which I have been working for the past 13 years. My job entitles that I do mostly nursing duties such as taking vital signs, minor procedures, telephone triages, and general patient care, and has inspired me to become a Registered Nurse. I am a little apprehensive about my decision and starting school again because it’s a new change, but I know this is what I want to do. I went to LSUE after graduating high school in
I once heard someone say, “Find something you love to do and you’ll always be successful.” If you want to be in a field where you are continually learning, nursing would be the top pick. This paper will reflect the journey I have taken from Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with the incorporation of my learning objectives from my clinical course.