My Life As A Registered Nurse

Working with the nurse who cared for my ailing grand-aunt, was a life changing experience. I would assist with bathing, grooming and toileting as well as reading to my aunt a couple of her favorite mystery novels. Evening though my grand-aunt 's condition was irreversible, I felt at peace because her nurse made sure she was comfortable and her needs were met. The compassion, empathy, work ethics and support the nurse provided for my family and grand-aunt during this difficult time resonated with me, the nurse inspired me in so many ways and even encouraged me to pursue a profession in nursing.

First of all, I recognized that I was dealing with humans, and not just dealing with a disease process and application of the nursing process in the aspect of restoring patient health. I was dealing with emotions, and families, and cultural beliefs that influenced individual’s aspects of care. I started to see that health did not just incorporate healing the disease, but also recognized the importance of making sure patient’s felt that their

When I first began my college career in 2011, I was a first generation college student. I entered into college with only a vague goal of becoming a Physician’s Assistant. The most common question I was asked was why? Why a Physicians Assistant? And I my answer was always the simple standard answer of: “I want to help people”. I, undeniably, still want to help others but it was not until the Christmas of my sophomore year, that I truly understood what it meant and took to be a successful Physician’s Assistant. A few days after Christmas my mother was hospitalized for two and a half weeks with a continuous blood clot in her leg and a small blood clot in her lungs. She spent the first 3 days in ICU, required multiple blood and iron transfusions, and eventually surgery. For me, the worst part of the entire experience was being awakened in the middle of the night by nothing more than the faint whisper of my name. Till this day, I don’t know how I heard it. My mom had collapsed on the stairs in excruciating pain. She was extremely weak and unable to move. I thought I was watching my mother die, and the immediate fear and panic that I felt, still haunts me sometimes. I didn’t know what to do or what was

I was very popular in high school, because I was very nice and sociable and involved in lots of activates we had. I did not bully kids because I knew how it made me feel when I was younger. I joined a group called S.A.D.D and that stood for students against destructive discussions. We reached out to kids who felt alone and students who lacked the self-confidence. After I graduated my goal was to attend a community college not too far and not too close. So I chose Kirkwood. I wanted/ want to be a registered nurse. I was very determined in high school, I made sure I was on honor roll every semester! I did not have a social network because I saw all the drama it cause in school.

Mary’s, the hospital I volunteered at my freshman year of high school. One of the nurses in the emergency room taught the course, and I begged her for weeks to let me attend. She eventually said yes. In the weeks leading up to the class, I spent hours studying. I listened to videos on my computer while I did my chores and wrote pages upon pages of detailed notes. I heard a knock on my door at five in the morning on the day of the class. My friend’s mom often gave me a ride, she worked in sterile processing at St. Mary’s. When she opened the door she handed me a pair of her scrubs and said “Well, what are you waiting for, go put them on!” It was the best day in the world; I felt just like a real doctor! I sat in the passenger seat of the car with my scrubs and a cup of coffee in my hand, watching the sun rise over the horizon, gently illuminating the

I decided to major in Nursing because I knew I always wanted a career in the health field, but I do not want to go to medical school. At least right now I do not want to, but that may change in the future. Nursing interests me because I would have options about what kind of nurse I want to be, who I want to work with and the setting I would like to work in. There are a lot of topics that interest me as a nursing major. I’m mostly interested in the hands on experience and actually doing the clinical trials. I’m interested in that because I know once I start that I’ll be one step closer to my degree and that means one step closer to being a Registered Nurse. The areas that I think I will have some difficulties in are the science classes unfortunately. Science has never been my best subject, but I know I’ll have to put more of an effort when it comes to those classes.

Working in the medical field has always been one of my top long term goals. As a child, I started volunteering at different nursing homes passing out ice and eventually when I graduated from high school I was able to become a worker at one of the nursing homes I volunteered at. Last February , I was in and out of the hospital taking care of my aunt , who passed away with cancer. I would take notes for my aunt if she wasn't alert to hear the nurses or doctors comments. When my aunt was alert I would read the comments to her & she would breakdown the information so that I could have a better understanding. My aunt had her masters in nursing, which means she was a well educated women and knew most of the information the nurses and doctors would

I knew Nursing is not for everyone. Even if you are academically at the top of your class, you have to have the communication skills-- and vice versa, you need to know the right information to properly take care of your patient. Being able to efficiently explain the processes needed to the patient, their families, as well as other Nurses is a necessity in nursing, and the patient tend depend it. It is not an easy task, with many lives in your hands.

To utilize my skills safety and in a manner that will provide compassion and security to patients and their family members. To increase my knowledge and experience from my role as a registered nurse and to understand the intricacies of working as a team member within a hospital setting which will allow me to flourish in a personal and professional

I have 20+ years of proven experience effectively and efficiently managing both patients and staff. I am an extremely organized, calm, and patient professional with excellent healthcare delivery skills. I have a passion for providing quality care to patients, and the necessary leadership skills to inspire other staff members to strive to provide above standard levels of service.

As early as childhood, I have been surrounded by wonderful role models that have influenced my talent of taking care of people. Though my grandmother, aunt, and sister are all nurses and have been role models through this journey, I know that my greatest inspiration to choose a profession of healing was my grandfather. Memories of my greatest companion flood my mind. Old age came with very few repercussions for him, as my grandfather was a strong man. His longevity surprised many in the healthcare field as he lived to ninety-nine on Cheetos, salt, and lack of anything green. I believe his long life was attributed to his daily exercise and loving wife. My grandfather was nearly indestructible, which is why the decline in his health took everyone by surprise. It all started with a case of pneumonia discovered by me at the young age of twelve. I saw my grandfather’s face turn blue and helplessly I screamed for my mother in confusion and fear. For the following months, I assisted my grandmother and mother in taking care of all my grandfather's need. I would watch as he would take medication upon medication and question why his health was still declining. My faith assisted me in the acceptance of my grandfather’s death and taught me that one cannot save every patient. Sometimes the best thing, and the only thing, you can do is give love, comfort, and a hand to hold. While that lesson

St. Joseph 's Nursing Center was my first experience in a medical setting. It was through interacting with the nurses and observing their ability to care for patients as well as my own experience of talking to and helping patients with activities such as eating, transport and games that I developed an interest in the field of medicine. The nursing center made me realize that medical care is not only about instant cures or treatments to ailments, but also about caring for patients with prolonged illnesses.

I identified what I needed to learn by engaging myself in the activities going on in the pharmacy. I moved closer to the member of the staff and ask questions about their day to day activities.

Reflecting on the ways of knowing brings back an event that happened years ago when I was a novice student nurse. My first experience with knowing:

My chest hurts. I can barely walk as I stumble my way down to the nurse’s clinic. I realize I shouldn’t have left class alone. But it is only the first day of a new semester, so I barely know my teacher or classmates. I feel like I have been walking for hours. I finally reach my school’s office. I attempt to make my way through the main office to the clinic. But as I open to door to the main office the secretary looks at me. She is in the middle of a phone call. But suddenly the phone drops out of her hand, falling to the ground. She jumps to her feet, as her normally cheery and warm face, turns pale and terrified. I begin to wonder; do I really look that bad?