Personal Narrative: The Making Of A Nurse

The Making of a Nurse

There are many people who do not know of the impacts nurses have on patients, as they care for their patients physically, emotionally, and spiritually. At times, nurses can be taken for granted by a number of different people. It is usually when people are at their most vulnerable do they see the significant roles nurses play. Nurses can truly bring joy and hope in patients in the worst of times, as there may not always be treatment readily available. As explained by Shalof (2007), “[…] while there may be times when [nurses] may decide to withdraw treatment, [nurses] never withdraw care” nurses never give up on their patients, which is an enlightening notion for me (p. 122). Thus, one could conclude that nurses are extraordinary

Not all people can become adequate nurses as it takes a special kind of person to embrace the struggles and hardships of nursing. Compared to other health professionals, nurses spend the most time caring for patients intimately. This type of investment is daunting and can take a toll on nurses. Therefore, many nurses are dropping out of the profession due to burnout and compassion fatigue, which is evidence of the harsh and demanding workload that is required for nursing. As a student nurse, these types of instances are preparing me for the intense environment that I will have to grow accustomed to if I want to succeed. I know now that I must appreciate and respect the roles nurses play in patient’s daily lives. I am aware that I will have to be emotionally and physically strong to grow as a nurse. I know that I will just have to work much harder to learn from others mistakes as well as my own. I can only imagine the reasoning behind these types of situations as I question things such as: how can burnout rates decrease, what does the future of nursing look like, and when will nursing burnout rates improve? Moreover, I think more research can be done on the media portrayal of nursing as well as the differences found between public’s perception of nursing and the reality. From there, connections on the type of people enrolling to nursing schools and dropout rates can be