Nursing is one of the most trusted professions in the United States and around the world. Watching the documentary Nurses: If Florence Could See Us Now reassured me why I want to become a nurse. I know that being a nurse will be hard and will have its ups and down but it will all be worth it. Just knowing that you have the opportunity to help every patient you come in contact with will be what drives me every day. To have the opportunity to help individuals at their lowest point, if they were just in a motor vehicle accident or educating them on their new medication is why I want to be a nurse. Many people question why I want to specialize in emergency pediatrics, because I could see children die or not wake up but that is not how I see it. The documentary explained it perfectly explaining that nurses may see death and want to forget about those patients, but those patients make you better nurses. We can learn from each individual patient to help future patients.
I unfortunately did not have the same preceptorship experience that my fellow classmates had due to COVID. I had to jump through many hoops and I did my preceptorship online and in person simulations and persevered for my 135 hours. Completing these hours in many different ways has been one of the hardest challenges that I have faced at UNE. I had to miss out of most of my Christmas break to do simulations. I had the great opportunity to volunteer at the student health center as well to fill more of those required hours. I persevered through all those hours and keep my mind focused to have a better future.
I plan to have an appointment with career services at UNE to organize my skills and achievements on a resume. I have had multiple job experiences related to children which is a priority for wanting to specialize in emergency pediatrics. I personally believe that the University of New England had prepared us with many skills such as extracurricular activities, teamwork and communication, through all of our different classes. We have participated in many group projects that taught us teamwork and communication working with classmates. I have also participated in club softball at UNE that has taught me teamwork and time management to balance both school and obligations to the team.
Hanna, I think being able to articulate how you made the best of your preceptorship experiences to meet course outcomes will demonstrate your flexibility, resilience, and maturity.