Reflective Essay: A Career As A Nursing Assistant

I have always been told that I care so much about other people, more than myself at times, that I worry about others and sometimes I can be too nice. To some people these traits can be negative; to me I look at these attributes as positives in my life. I have been a nursing assistant for 12 years in almost every clinical setting in the hospital, but primarily in the mental health setting. I truly believe that my traits of caring too much, being compassionate and worrying (or advocating) about my patients is why I have thrived and actually been extremely happy in the clinical setting. There were days, especially in mental health, when all a patient needed was someone to care about them and to be a little nice to them. Someone to see them for more than whatever their diagnosis was. My patients were never just a “diagnosis”. They were all individual human beings. I have always had a kind and compassionate approach with every patient I have ever taken care of while still maintaining my professional role as a certified nursing assistant. My commitment to nursing goes above and

She was a wonderful nurse. I will never forget the time I had to go sit with a mental health patient in the emergency department, this patient was loud, confused and intrusive so we were stuck kind of in the back as to not disturb other patients in the ED. Thankfully, Debbie was working that day and never forgot I was sitting there on a one to one observation, she would come to check on me and made sure I was okay and the patient was okay. If I did need a minute to step away Debbie was the one that stayed with the patient, she didn’t find a tech or hesitate to sit with a patient; that was who she was, she was an amazing and kind person. I would be truly honored to receive a scholarship in Debbie Spencer’s memory and I would pay it back with kindness and compassion to every patient I encounter during my life as a