Editors Note: This nursing student story essay was selected from BrainTrack's Nursing Schools Scholarship for fall 2009. At the time of submittal this entrant was studying for an Associates in Nursing at Medical Careers Institute in Richmond, Virginia.
Wishes Had Known |
Program Likes/Dislikes |
Choosing Nursing
What do you wish you had known about selecting and entering your nursing school that would be helpful to others going into nursing?
In selecting a nursing school, I choose a school that would help me get my license the fastest. In doing so, I selected a private school. In choosing a private, instead of public, school, I am incurring much higher tuition. This makes paying for nursing school more difficult. I wish that I had known before making my selection just how much more I will end up paying for my nursing program, as a result of not choosing a public school with a longer program. This information will be so helpful to others who are considering where to go to school.
In the long run, it doesn’t matter much where you go to school. What matters most is that you are well equipped to provide the best patient care. However, it does matter to most of us how much we will end of paying. I reconcile this with choosing to believe that my nursing career will prove itself to be priceless.
What have you enjoyed most and least during your nursing degree program so far?
Nursing is by no means an easy profession to jump into. My background was administration and marketing. But what I have learned is that if your passion is greater than your fears, intimidation has to exit the premises of your mind. We tend to fear the unknown, but when you know that you are on the path that is right for you, you are able to walk past your fears. I have so much enjoyed confirming through my studies thus far that this is what I want to dedicate my life to.
For some, switching careers path is not something that they would do unless they had little choice in the matter. For me, switching career paths is no longer just an option. It’s bigger than that! It’s a certainty. It’s connected to my greater purpose in life and one thing I know about purpose is that sooner or later, if you seek it, you will find it. Once you find it, nothing else will do. Fulfillment in the truest form can only come through seeking, finding and living out your purpose. What a joy it has been to confirm mine!
What I have enjoyed least is the realization that I could have done this YEARS ago and that I am starting later than most in the nursing field. I now have to redeem the years.
What led you to choose nursing as a career path?
I believe that nursing, for me, is more of a “calling” — a part of my purpose, as opposed to just a stable occupation to pursue. There is a burning in my soul that has been drawing me to this path of healthcare. It started the very first time that I traveled to Uganda, East Africa as a missionary. Seeing so many people in need, who did not have basic healthcare cut through me like a chain saw. I wished that I have the knowledge, understanding and skills to assist them in some way medically.
While the stability of the nursing profession is comforting, it is my compassion that will help to set me apart as a nurse. Skills and knowledge by themselves will not make me an exceptional registered nurse, although they may make me a competent one. It will be caring for patients enough to try to look through their eyes into their situation, and not viewing any tasks as being “beneath” me. Whether it’s educating a patient on healthcare precautions or removing impactions from his or her rear, it will be empathy, understanding, patience, and integrity that will make me not only a good registered nurse, but an excellent registered nurse.
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