Who Is Angelina Jones-Huggins? I Am One Of Six Children

At 17 years old, I had the grueling task of deciding how I wanted to spend 40 plus years of my life. I always aspired to land a career in the medical field, so I majored in biology like most pre-med hopefuls, but during my junior year, I no longer desired to become a physician. The medical field was calling out to me, but the specialty of focus was incorrect. After graduation, I went back to the basics and put my nursing assistant certification to use.

Planning my career and setting up goals beyond being a bedside nurse was not an easy step. It was finalized/ concreted by the influence and support of friends and my family

It is incredibly satisfying for me to work with others to effect positive change in the community. Some of the strengths I believe I can offer is my joy of working with a team, honesty and integrity, compassion and friendly personality, desire for excellence, flexibility, organizational skills and delight in serving my community while providing excellence customer service to my patients. My clinical experiences and time at Northwest have helped me to become even more convinced that nursing is my passion and is the profession that I want to devote my time and energy to.

I have worked in every area of the hospital and nursing homes in my nineteen years of clinical practice as a nurse. I have excelled and enjoyed the care that I have provided over the years. I have been a charge nurse wherever I have worked and enjoyed brainstorming and critically thinking through what needed to be done for a patient when they were not doing well. I have prevented many code blues and have been a preceptor to many excellent nurses.

The first half of this clinical placement, I was on a palliative ward. While others might find it difficult caring for patients at the end stage of life or in great deal of pain, I find that it gives me a great deal of satisfaction that I was able to provide care for these client in my own unexperienced way of palliative care. Being a patient myself of a very serious illness in the past, the goal of a palliative care team which is to provide quality of life during these difficult stages of the client, hits close to my heart. I might consider working in the palliative care unit in the future.

To start, I first gained interest and exposure in the field of health care early in my academic life while attending Clara Barton High School of the Health Professions. During that time I participated in the Nursing Assistant Certification Program, where I had the opportunity to train at Kings County Hospital Center in various departments and the center for nursing and rehabilitation. Throughout the

Caring for patients at the end of life is a challenging task that requires not only the consideration of the patient as a whole but also an understanding of the family, social, legal, economic, and institutional circumstances that surround patient care.

My career commitment as a nurse has grown tremendously over the past three years; through my daily experiences as a Medical Assistant. I have devoted my time as a full time student and employee of the health care profession. Both of these occupations have helped shape me into the person I want to be for as long as time allows. Daily I witness these community role models that posses abilities such as problem solving skills, promotion and protection of an individual’s advocacy all tied in with compassion to meet the health care needs of an individual.

Nursing can be a demanding career, but the benefits far much outweigh the challenges. Most importantly, it’s the rewards it offers by allowing an opportunity to make a difference in another person’s life through the provision of care when they need it. Just as Patricia Benner theorized in her book “Novice to Expert,” nursing encompasses both educational knowledge and extensive clinical experience acquired throughout one’s career. This far, I continue to acquire knowledge and clinical knowhow which will promote proper and efficient care to patients. Since I began practicing one year ago in a long-term healthcare facility, I have interacted with patients, families, physicians and other members of the healthcare team to coordinate patient’s care which has enabled me to gain confidence in myself. While I cannot deny that it was difficult to transition from a student to a licensed nurse, I learnt to overcome these challenges and focus on my strengths. Practicing as an LPN has provided a platform to learn and gain experience even though the duties and responsibilities are limited by the scope of practice.

was key in helping patients. From their, I started doing research in nursing and saw how

Briefly describe the patient and his/her situation, diagnosis and prognosis, brief history of the disease, and how/why the patient entered palliative-focused care.

As experienced nurse, I have learned how to effectively time manage, prioritize patient care and work independently, as

As I walked into that small and musty room, in a dimly lit corner of an office building, I did not expect much. I was very reluctant to accept my first job as a 16-year-old in medical records at a multi-physician practice in my small hometown. Why couldn’t I have been hired at the restaurant down the street where all of my friends worked? As I began this all but glorious job scanning paperwork, filing patient records, and obtaining multiple paper cuts along the way, it turned into something very unexpected. I ended up loving the atmosphere of working in a medical practice, and I knew the medical field was something I wanted to explore further.

My encounter with nurses and certified nursing assistance at a long-term care facility was one that I learned a lot from. The experience and training were great. I got to be in a setting of well-trained healthcare workers, all trying to help the sick or be there for those who couldn’t help themselves, in a sense. At this particular facility, the staff was discerning

Another new skill learnt was documenting. I did know the background of it but never before had done. The health aide taught me how to record vitals in