Personal Narrative: A Career As A Nurse

Technology has revolutionized society, including the practice of nursing. Today, nursing implements technology into their practice requiring both nurse practitioners and IT technicians. From desktop computers to portable laptops, smartphones, and tablets, this advancement allows nurses to work out of the office and on-the-go. This includes improving access to quality health care, an objective of the Healthy People 2020. (The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2015) This objective involves many health communication and health IT that can create a positive impact on health and health care team, including the option for nurses to provide and help patients virtually with telehealth. It’s called telenursing.

As a Nurse Educator, one of my duties is to take students to Truman for clinical experiences. During assessments and problem solving, I noticed most of the senior students couldn’t critical think or problem solve. Research was completed on best practices for problem solving in nursing. As an instructor I begin to utilize the Problem-Based Learning Method in regards to enhancing and improving critical thinking and problem solving skills. Evidence shows that more students suffer with clinical decision making due to lack of critical thinking and problem-solving (Hamdan, Li Kwan, Khan, Ghafar, & Sihes, 2014). The process was first experimented on my own group of nursing students during our clinical days. The steps involved consist of the follow:

head had crowned and the doctor looked down at me and asked me a shocking question. “Kodi,

Mental health nurses provide care and support to people with emotional and mental disorders. These nurses must be very skilled communicators, especially when speaking and listening to patients. Mental health nurses organize treatment and therapy for their patients. This job of mental health nurses involves providing care to patients, a four year college or university, & the ability to be patient and compassionate towards patients.

Nursing is a profession that requires intellectual, emotional and physical strength. Nurses are revered for their compassion and grace during difficult situations that involve life and death. An attribute I bring to the nursing profession beyond my academic abilities is eagerness. I am eager to learn, eager to adapt, eager to grow, and eager to serve. I welcome and embrace challenge and change as both are occurrences in the healthcare field.

The nurse gestured for me to come closer. I took a few steps forward and she leaned towards me and whispered, “Try holding her hand. You’ll help her feel more at ease.” I was a little hesitant but I did as I was told and took the patient’s hand. I felt her hand mold into a strong grip around mine without hesitation. While the patient’s grip never lessened on my hand, sometimes it would clench up for a moment before slowly relaxing again. The rest of the staff was busy following the surgeon’s directions, moving quickly around the room. I felt uncomfortable being the only one standing still, doing nothing. So I glanced at the patient. She was breathing hard with her eyes closed, her hand still securely around mine. My hand was starting to hurt, so I tried to ease it out of her grip. But as the patient winced in pain, she grabbed my hand even more strongly.

My current role in nursing includes caring for long term vented patients, for chronically critically ill or post-ICU patients. Currently, I work as an ICU RN at Select Specialty Hospital in collaboration with other team members, which includes respiratory therapists, certified nursing assistants, Nurse Practioners, and physicians. At select we ensure the highest level of care for this patient population. Specific responsibilities of my daily nursing care include, but are not limited to; patient admissions, discharges, and transfers from telemetry to our ICU unit, reviewing and carrying out physician orders, maintaining and titrating critical medications, and overall maintaining hemodynamic stability.

This project was very fun for me. I learned many new things from each of the different developmental stages. My group had a fun time filming about the preschoolers and we all had a few funny moments while filming. This project also made me branch out to fellow students I wouldn’t normally interact with and the time we spent together was priceless, during this time some good friendships were made. This project benefitted me not just as student or a nurse but as a person. This project made me come out of my comfort zone and brainstorm with people who might not have liked the ideas I was coming up with. As a student being able to come up with new ways to educate people will help me in my nursing career. We did face quite a few challenges in making this video. At first we did not have very good conducive schedules and it seemed like all four of

Through my engaged activities, I am able to exemplify my abilities to extensively care for other’s health and well-being. In fact, I enjoy being able to improve hospital visit experiences through my responsibilities, leadership, compassion, and optimism. One memorable experience I gained was when I was requested to accompany an anxious senior patient while the nurse prepared her discharge paperwork. As I was listening to her upset rants, I gained an understanding of her personal situation and empathized with her miserable hospital experience. Her story also compelled me to strive to create bigger differences to patient lives as a physician. A career as a physician fits my own characteristics and capacity to be patient, kind, and compassionate

My passion for medicine is matched only by my love for people, so my decision to specialize in medicine and one day become a Nurse Practitioner comes from the heart. Nursing is just one of the numerous ways that the duty of giving back can be fulfilled. Every community, rather large or small, has people that can be reached with the love that nursing provides.

As I was watching one of the nurses as she was saying, “I’m going go between your bums; just letting you know,” as she sanitized a half-naked man who was suffering from pancreatitis, I only had one thought: I want to get out of here.

When I started my nursing career, my experience with the older nurses was not pleasant. For that reason, I wanted to leave the profession because of the way I was treated. They were mean, not helpful, unapproachable and had unpleasant attitudes. I was afraid to approach any because of the reaction expected. My past experience as a young nurse has motivated me to pursue a career in Nursing Education because I want to make a difference. As an Educator, I want to be approachable, supportive, and knowledgeable to the nurses I mentor. After completing of my degree, my goal is to transition to a Leadership role at my place of employment where I can utilize my skills as an Nurse Educator to the Care Managers.

The road to becoming a nurse is a constant struggle. Go ahead and laugh, I’m laughing at myself for that ridiculously unnecessary statement. However, it makes sense for me because this was a struggle that I was rather oblivious to as a high school senior when I grasped God’s hand and said “Okay God, I follow where you lead.” If nothing else, thanks to that, I know even in the darkest of moments that I am right where I am supposed to be. This is where God wants me and this is where I’ll stay. However, this doesn’t mean that I’m immune to discouragement or doubt. Going to interview these nurses was one of the most affirming and encouraging experiences I’ve had since coming to school. When I told Nurse Peters that I wanted to be a nurse even more

When I think about why I want to become a nurse numerous life events come to mind. The beginning of my passion for helping others started when my paternal grandfather, who lived with us for as long as I can remember, fell ill. He was losing his life to lung cancer that eventually metastasized to brain cancer. I remember countless days of helping my grandfather whether it was getting dressed, cooking his meals, reminding him of his medications, or helping him ambulate. When he passed away I knew that I wanted to continue my passion for helping people. I put my dreams aside for a few years to travel. In 2013 I had my son via emergency cesarean. After four days and three nights in the hospital I became very interested in all things “medical.” I loved all of the nurses and doctors who

When I was 8 years old, my mother was rushed to the emergency room because she was having difficulty breathing. I was terrified when she didn’t come home that night. The last time I was at a hospital, my grandfather died and I thought she was going to die too. When I visited her the next day, I never wanted to leave her side. I felt helpless as I watched the nurses care for her because I couldn’t do anything to make her better. But I also felt so thankful. The nurses not only cared for my mom in her most vulnerable state, but they also cared for me and my family. They were so helpful, informative, and incredibly kind to us. I remember clearly that this was the moment I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to do and be exactly what those nurses