A Career As A Nursing Student

I cannot help feeling that I did not choose nursing, it chose me. In high school, I had no clue what I wanted to study in college, but that all changed after my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. One day, she needed me to drive her to two back-to-back medical appointments. I dropped my mom off at the front of the small hospital and parked the car. The nurse navigator sent her assistant down to the lobby to escort me up to her office. She was a very young woman in pink scrubs and blonde hair, tied back. She asked me “Are you Laura? Your mom is upstairs with the nurse. They sent me down to bring you up.” During our walk, she asked me about my plans for college and what I wanted to do. She was a recent BSN graduate and I asked her about nursing

[(In high school, I was a good student despite having to struggle with a learning disability, ADHD. Now in college I have adapted to overcome the obstacles of having ADHD and learned to thrive.) or (Although I was a good student in high school, I am now a passionate student.)] I currently have a cumulative 4.0 GPA and over 210 hours of clinical experience at Ruby Memorial Hospital. My passion for nursing and perseverance to be the best nurse I can possibly be has been the key to my success. I remember the first nursing test I ever took in my Health Assessment class and I received a “C”. I told myself that I would not make a pattern of this and I had set a goal of getting an A in the class. I not only received an “A” in that class but I also earned an “A” on the cumulative final exam. At that point, I felt that I would never be satisfied until I achieve a 100% on every

This environment has allowed me to push myself and apply critical thinking while caring for my patients.) According to West Virginia’s Health and Human Resource, West Virginia has the highest prevalence in the nation of overall cardiovascular diseases (14.0%), hypertension (42.7%), overweight or obese adults (71.1%), and adult reporting fair or poor health (25.9%) (West Virginia’s Health and Human Resource). In addition to these staggering health problems, they also reported that diabetes among adults (14.5%) and COPD (10.6%) had the second highest prevalence in the nation (West Virginia’s Health and Human Resource) (** unsure if needed). I have also had the unique opportunity as a nursing student to develop special bonds with my patients. Nursing students must develop rapport with their patients more rapidly than clinical assistance or RNs because they will only care for that patient one time. I believe this unique situation has made me a better communicator and advocate for my patients. I have been on many different floors including an Orthopedic unit, Neurology unit, Obstetrics unit, and two different Medical-Surgical units, one being an ICU Step-Down unit. I have enjoyed my time on all of these floors and have learned so much. However, my best experience has been on the Medical-Surgical