Personal Narrative: A Career As A Traveling Nurse

Nursing is a specialized discourse community that shares a common public goal, uses specialized vocabulary and has a level of expertise because of the many years of education required. Nursing can be a member of many different discourse

In today’s fast paced work environments, people who live in the United States are too busy to take the time to travel, unlike Japan where Company’s send families on vacations with all expenses paid. Many people get too caught up in work and their everyday life, while some simply cannot financially afford it, or jobs give very minimum days to take time off. A philosopher by the name of Saint Augustine once said “The world is a book and those who do not travel only see one page” On the other hand, there are many visions of different places I would like to travel too, but even myself will get caught up in work or find it rather difficult to get time off. In addition, that is why I want to join traveling with work and become a traveling nurse.

A discourse community is defined as a group of individuals who share a common purpose and use different forms of communication to pursue these goals (John Swales). In order for a discourse community to be considered as such it must have certain characteristics including communication, goals, lexis, etc. A community that I have been analyzing is the nursing career field. To analyze this community I interviewed a nurse named Deborah Henderson and some may recognize her as an academic advisor for the college of education and health professions and I was able to obtain an example of a literature this discourse reads. Using research that I have conducted and using the characteristics of a discourse community we can determine if nursing can be considered as a discourse community.

With my BSN from Catholic University, I was hired at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where I began my career, developing the utmost passion for being a pediatric nurse, caring for the pediatric patient population in a hospital setting. I found myself drawn to the family-centered care with evidence-based practice as a foundation for the type of nurse I would become. Empathizing with families and what they are going through in an emergency department, while trying to provide the best, most innovative care for their children, became my priority. I began to desire more, wanting to see more of the country and continue to practice as a nurse in the Pediatric Emergency Department. I decided to become a traveling nurse, packed my bags and experiences and took the initiative to see and do what I could on my own.

Since I was a young child, I have wanted to pursue nursing as a career. Nursing is a blend of abstract and concrete thinking, giving the ability to assist individuals sick or well, in activities to health or recovery, from birth to death. Many factors came into consideration for choosing nursing as a career. However, a few main factors included the ability to help others, the ability to travel as a career and nursing runs in the family. The ability to help others is something that I am passionate about. When I have been in hospital myself, the care and support I was given by the nurses was excellent, and I would endeavour future patients to receive the same or better treatment and nurturing care that I received. Knowing that Australia is a leading quality healthcare provider, but I am keen to

Children have always been an interest of mine.  I grew up as any girl had, always had my dolly dragging behind me.  As I have gotten older my interests with children have not lessened.  I would like to eventually become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner.  With this in mind, I like to talk about my future profession with someone that can give me their honest opinion.  The person that I have always turned to is my aunt, Nikki Sickmann.

I have always had compassion for others and have wanted to help when I can. When my mother and other family members have been in the hospital I have seen first hand the impact that a nurse can have on a patient’s day. This inspires me to pursue a career where I have the opportunity to have an impact on someone’s life daily. I plan to go to UNL for my undergraduate studies and then continue on at UNMC for my degree in nursing. This spring I am planning on getting my CNA and start building my job experience in this field. Ultimately, I would like to continue my education to become a Physician’s Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner. My travels around the U.S., Mexico, and Europe have created a desire to continue traveling and to experience different cultures, specifically to study abroad and further my education in Spanish. In the future, after I become a nurse, I have thought about going over sees to third-world counties, such as Africa, to help them get proper medical

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

Whether through formal preparation, such as your BSN or MSN degrees, or through your professional duties like continuing education requirements, our nursing career is an ongoing cycle of learning that is a part of the day-to-day profession. As the number one most trusted profession, it is our duty to continue to progress with the direction healthcare is advancing. I believe the responsibility of the nurse is going to grow in healthcare. While there are topics that I concur with, there are also points in this chapter that I see in an opposing view.

The other day was one of my busiest days on the unit. The day started off looking that all of the other days. I received my patients, looked them up and began to plan the day with my mentor. We went to each room and handed out the group schedules and saw who was up and ready for an assessment and vitals. None of our patients were up yet, so we decided to go back to nurse’s station while letting them get a little more sleep. After sitting there for a bit, one of our patients sisters, who happens to also work on the unit, came up to us to express some concerns. The sister went on to say how she does not believe that her brother is ready for discharge and that she is concerned that he hasn't made enough progress here to be leaving. We told her

As a member of the Texas D.O. pre-med organization at UT I was able to shadow a Dr. Georgeanne Freeman, DO, owner of the Downtown Doctors clinic. In the exam room I could immediately tell that Dr. Freeman had a close relationship with her patients. The first few minutes were spent talking about the patient's life, family, or hobbies. Easing medicine into the conversation made the patients feel more comfortable with the visit. This was the first time I witnessed the compassionate physician-patient relationship that I’ve envisioned myself sharing with my patients. What motivates me to become a D.O., is that the whole-person approach to medicine advocates D.O.’s to have interpersonal relationship with patients, which I witnessed with Dr. Freeman.

“Call a Rapid Response now and get the doctor on the phone,” my nurse preceptor orders frantically while holding pressure on the patient’s surgical site. The terror I encountered during my first month as a new nurse was one experience I will never forget. I realized quickly there is an immense difference between clinical days in nursing school with a hovering instructor versus the reality of working as a nurse. After my first week, I felt eager to come to an end with my career in nursing.

When I was young, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I loved animals and thought it would be

Since high school, nursing has increasing grown as the career I feel destined for. Science has always been my favorite subject, and I know my family often gets annoyed with my constant explanations of body functions and diseases. After shadowing a charge nurse in the Emergency Room and riding around with a paramedic, my passion for nursing has elevated. I’ve grown to love the intensity of the medical world and the nobility that comes with saving a life. While I want to go into nursing school with an open mind, my heart seems to lean towards Emergency areas or traumas, and geriatrics. I enjoy the fast pace environment of the ER and not knowing what my day entails. I see myself as a potential travel nurse, examining ailing people of third world

Here are a few things to know about me, I am the youngest out of my sisters. Both of my sisters didn't have the opportunity to go to college, getting accepted into a college I’ll be able to share this new chapter in my life with them.I’m a pretty shy person and I’m always quite in the class.I always try my very best to get good grades in all of my classes to make my parents proud.