Personal Narrative: My Previous Shift Nurse

Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, once said, “I attribute my success to this:—I never gave or took an excuse.” That is an outlook on life I try to live up to. I have had a few set backs in my college career to keep me from achieving my goal of becoming a Registered Nurse. I could have easily given up on my dream but I took those hardships and turned them into fuel to keep going. My father suffered a massive heart attack and went into cardiac arrest when I first started college. It completely flipped by life upside down. I spent weeks at a time in the hospital with him. Seeing him go in and out the hospital for years reaffirmed my need to become a nurse and help others like how those nurses took care of my father. Once I

Today I shadowed a registered nurse. I saw a variety of appointments. The first pt was in for a well child check up. The nurse recorded her vital signs and asked several safety concern questions about her lifestyle and home life. The pt also received a portion of the HPV vaccine. The HPV vaccine can cause fainting spells or an allergic reaction, so the pt had to wait 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine for observance purposes(S). Between each pt, the rooms were cleaned and a new sheet of paper was stretched out over the bed(IC). The next pt was a 6-week-old baby who had been hospitalized for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV(D) is a common and very contagious virus that affects the respiratory tract. RSV in babies can lead to serious problems like breathing rapidly and cause the lips and fingernails to become cyanotic(MT1). The last pt has a history of repeated ear infections. The doctor suggested a

I stare fascinated as the doctor deftly slices through the patient’s flesh. Hands operate swiftly on the supine body; not a trace of doubt could be found in the movements.

Have you ever had a moment in life that validated the direction in which you felt compelled to follow? A moment which never escapes your mind because it represents one of the purest, symbolic instances you have experienced? Or a moment as simple as being handed a book to encourage you to further your dream? A time to inspire you to succeed in becoming something even more significant than you already are? Or had a moment offering you the opportunity to enhance your knowledge, and thrust yourself into the world you so deeply want to be a part of? I was handed the Merck Manual along with a kind gesture and warm-hearted encouragement which aided in igniting a fire, reaffirming what I felt I was meant to do; it was a defining moment in my life.

This quote reminds me of my experience as a CNA with a hospice patient who always argued with staff and was loud enough to elicit complaints from the other patients. Although she was not physically aggressive, she would use foul language and would sometimes spit at staff. As her caregivers, we did not share all of our experiences with her daughter, a day shift nurse at the same workplace. She was the sweetest and most dedicated nurse I have known. During shift change in the morning, her daughter would talk to us to see how her mother did that night and would apologize for her mother’s behavior and thank us for our help. This went on for a few months and one night the patient used the call light so many times. My co-worker even counted; the

An interaction that deepened my interest in Nursing would have to be when I interned with Dr. Morin, an Orthopedic Surgeon. I was granted this opportunity by the Southwest Virginia Governor's School, as their students have to complete an internship. I chose to do mine in the operating room, because I was fascinated with all that went on inside the operating room.

Initially I was very apprehensive in sharing the truth behind what ultimately made me decide to return to school to become a nurse. This would entail reliving both joyful and painful memories of my life which I believe to have mapped out the path that I was meant to follow. I was a young, stay at home mom for many years. being the full time primary care giver to my three children was the most rewarding experience of my life. reflecting back I have found remarkable similarities in the traits and skills of mothers and nurses. many of these characteristics are utilized by nurses with each and every patient they encounter . These include but are not limited to compassion , empathy, prioritization, dedication, understanding nonverbal communication.

When every girl in your family becomes a nurse, choosing a career can be quite pressuring, especially when you can never imagine yourself becoming a nurse. Nurses remind me of blood, and I am definitely not the type of person to be working with blood. Therefore, I am not very interested in becoming a nurse. Nurses are here to aid people when they are sick. There are tons of different types of nurses. Two specific ones are RN and BSN. A RN is a registered nurse while a BSN is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Although both jobs will take part in treating a patient, the BSN will have a leader role while the RN helps.

It was very challenging to do much of anything because my body was so weak from the hit and from being on medication. I was not put on a catheter, so anytime I needed to use the restroom I had to wait for a nurse to come to my room and put a bedpan under me. It was a very uncomfortable situation because I don’t even change or use the restroom in front of my dog and now these people, who are complete strangers, are watching me while I use the restroom. My last day at the hospital was very hard. I had to go to physical therapy, where I had to hop up several steps only using my left leg and railing to help me. It may not seem like it was hard but when your body is so weak it is. When the nurses brought in the crutches for me to use I was so weak

Throughout my time as a registered nurse I have experienced many obstacles and heavy workloads.

I have a 10+ years of extensive work experience as a registered nurse in a cardiac unit. During that time, I developed the skills to deliver impeccable health care and service towards patients. I have been trained in monitoring patients, updating information on vital signs and documents of effectively monitor their health. While working at Loyola Hospital as charge nurse, staff nurse, and preceptor nurse, I was tasked with assessing the condition of patients. I firmly believe that I will bring the energy, positive attitude, and dedication necessary to thrive in your hospital’s environment. As a recent graduate from Kaplan University for RN-BSN program, it has provided me a stronger knowledge base, and leadership skills. I believe that I can

Recently, I spent a day at a birthing facility as part of my nursing program. After arriving in the morning, I went to the report room where the charge nurse greeted me. I noticed her role was to give the assignments for the day and to oversee the nursing staff. The night and day time nurses were in the room exchanging information prior to shift change. After report, we gathered in the nursery room where I was paired with a registered nurse (RN). There were a couple of RN’s who were staying in the nursery and the others left to see their patients. Because the RN I was with had a patient in active labor, we quickly headed to her room.

The nurse took it out of his arm slowly, a grimace on the serious and sleep deprived mask she wore while working. She pulled at it for what seemed to be a comically impossible time span. It was as if there was no end to it, like she was performing some kind of grotesque magic trick—he half expected the fluttering of doves and polite applause to accompany the big finish. It was wet and limp when it came out, like a long strand of blue spaghetti. Before it was gone he had imagined that he might miss it, like you sometimes do with a wart or a recently shaven beard, but that was not the case. It seems it just wasn’t possible for him to get sentimental about something like a PICC line, even though it had been a part of his body for nearly a month

It was a little scary how fast you adjusted to Ben being in the infirmary full time, and how comfortable you were there. You had come to find the usual bustle of the nurses and patients didn’t really bother you anymore. It was almost like adjusting to a new home, where each creak in the floorboards underfoot feels wrong and foreign, but after a few weeks you don’t even notice it anymore. Even Madam Kalonia began to warm up to you, and it sure was nice to see her harsh frown lines become soft.

My Mother is a nurse. I was raised by a nurse. My Mother graduated nursing in the 1940’s. After High School, she attended nursing school for 2 or 3 years. She had class in the morning and worked at the hospital in the evenings and often overnight. Nuns ran her school, as well as her life. She talked about the uniforms, the work, and the dormitory rules. She graduated a straight A student and worked for a few years until she met my Dad. She got married, quit working and raised 5 children. The “nurse” never left my mom. We were up at the crack of dawn, clean fed and sent outside for “fresh air”, meanwhile inside, all beds were aired, made and systematically stripped and washed. Somebody’s bed sheets were on the clothesline, smelling