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 Degree in Nursing at Tri-County Technical School in Pendleton, South Carolina.
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?
I think the most important thing to remember when selecting a nursing program is that regardless of where you end up, whether it’s the top in the state or just a tech school, in the end all students meet the same goal. It is what you do with your nursing career that makes a difference in someone’s life. Going to the hardest and most expensive school doesn’t make you a better nurse.
The most helpful piece of advice I can give is to get all your prereq’s out of the way before being accepted into a program. When you can take only the nursing classes, it makes it so much easier. You can focus only on the nursing things and stress is greatly reduced.
What have you enjoyed most and least during your nursing degree program so far?
I have absolutely enjoyed my nursing instructors and learning from their experiences. I find that I learn the most when I have real life experiences to relate things to. I love that even in school, in clinicals, that I am already making a difference in people’s lives.
The thing I dislike the most is the amount of time I have to spend away from my six year old daughter. I am a single mom and have to get a babysitter at least 2 nights a week to watch her, and spend all my other time studying. I don’t think she has quite grasped the idea that I am in school to help us, and to help sick people, but I know in the long run, it will all pay off.
What led you to choose nursing as a career path?
Initially, my parents wanted me to become a nurse and I refused. After both my parents lost their jobs to overseas trade, I decided that I should explore my options in the medical field. My first day on the job as a CNA in a post cardiac unit, a patient became suddenly critically ill, while the family was in the room. I watched as a mass of nurse, doctors and others came together as a team and saved this man’s life. I decided to start a nursing program. I started an LPN program, and the first semester into it, decided this was my calling, and I’ve never looked back. I am now doing an LPN to RN program and will immediately begin working on my BSN upon completion of my ADN.
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