Free Journey to Become a Registered Nurse Essay Sample
I am the kind of person who believes in setting practical goals in life. I have had to make short term and long term goals from days I was really young. I had been taught by my mentors to walk through life with goals in mind, be it personal or professional goals. My mentors all agreed on one thing; you would rather take a lot of time making plans and goals than make important life’s decisions blindly. Importantly, one must consider their skills, the challenges one may have to face and how to make good time management to achieve them. At some point, I had to make choices in the kind of career path I was going to take. I assessed so many options that were available for me. One thing was clear in my mind; I wanted to work with people. This has always been my goal since my childhood, and as such, I had to choose a career in line with this. Then one day I had it! Nursing! This is the only career I realized would open up all doors for me that so many other careers would close. It was in nursing that I would grow and develop who I was and see dreams come true.
Nursing as a profession is dynamic. It is the kind of profession that gives one chance to advance in career from the experience one gains while working to the available chances of training. My personality from my early years was fitting for this career and I, therefore, looked forward to being the best in the field. I have always been compassionate and able to control my emotions. I can work well under the supervision and communicate as required. By taking nursing as a career, I would be able to help the community as I always wanted to. It would open up chances to utilize my gifts in life and at the same time earn a living. I, therefore, decided to get formal education in nursing. I was a bit strained in terms of finances. I wanted to enroll for a degree program so much but I did not have the finances then. My attempts to enroll for a scholarship program were not successful. I, therefore, opted for training as a licensed practical nurse which would take a period of one year in a community college. My ambition in nursing was great. This countered all the challenges faced in the enrollment program. I was able to impress the people running the program of enrolling students such that I went home very sure that I was already a part of the school. Training brought in its own challenges. We had long study hours for a period of six months. After this, the practical course that would take another six months came. The practice time was a bit hard but, in the end, I managed very good grades. I later got a license from the National Council Licensure Examination and started working almost immediately. The recruitment for the job was never easy. The tests were enormous and tough and it took a period of one whole week. There were these days when I wished for the processes to be made quicker but I had to be patient. Then one day doors opened and they confirmed that I had been recruited. The salary was a bit low but I was determined to keep on despite this.
My job involved giving basic care for the ailed people as directed by my physician and registered nurses. I had to check people’s weight, their temperature and blood pressure. I also had to give injections, dress patients wounds and assist the patients to get comfort while in hospital. I would also take in samples for laboratory testing and give an account on how much the patients were taking in terms of food and fluids. Other procedures included helping to deliver infants, teaching patients on how they can attain good health, and collecting information to prepare records for insurance and other policies. Per week, I would have to work for over forty hours, sometimes even going beyond that depending on the amount of tasks assigned per session. There were various hazards involved. For one, I was exposed to harsh chemicals, radiations and contagious diseases. Other times, I would get injuries as I moved the patients from one location to another. There are days when I would retire to my house so stressed up because of the amount of work that I had to complete per day. The patients would sometimes be hard to administer due to their different personalities.
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Having worked as a licensed practical nurse, I realized that there were places I was limited to go. For one, I could not perform several duties in the workplace as much as I wanted to help. There were also several situations I found my self in, and I doubted my ability to perform certain duties yet I was ready to help in that same area. Jobs were opening up yet I was not eligible due to the lack of training in the same. There were certain days when a patient’s life was at stake. At this point, I would perform certain duties but not fully administer to them due to the lack of training. I, therefore, started researching on the best universities available to give me the best training and as such become a registered nurse. I still wanted to do a part time job to fund my education. I was, therefore, looking for the kind of college that had a flexible program for me. I was exited when I found one near my home area. I would learn the whole day and that left a few hours for me to continue working in the evening. Luckily enough, my bosses understood. They actually encouraged me to pursue this, terming it as a good move both for me and the organization.
Here I am. It is indeed a challenge for me. At first, I did not know how I would manage my family, work and school. Initially, there were days when I would go to class so tired but after several weeks, I am now able to give up several things so that I can concentrate on my career fully. There are several options that are available to me as a trainee in registered nurse. I can, for example, specialize in labor and delivery. This means that I can care for the expectant mothers in the pre and post natal times. I have realized that the challenge would be a situation where deaths from either the mother or the child would occur during delivery. The other area of specialization would be that of becoming a trauma nurse. This involves being able to deal with situations of emergencies occurring to people in a short period of time. One must be able to make quick decisions when things happen without anyone’s expectations. Precision is very important in t his field. The last area of specialization is that of being a forensic nurse. Nurses in this area are expected to work with the group of people who are caught breaking the law yet have injuries and ailments that must be addressed. This will call for the nurse to get the accurate evidence and take the people into rehabilitation program. Working with criminals is a challenge. There should be enough preparation before one gets into this field.
My training is stretched over a period of four years. After much consideration, I have decided to specialize in trauma nursing. Looking at the experience I have as a licensed practical nurse and the kind of interest I had developed as I saw the people got over their trauma is indeed a healthy ground for me. It had triggered me to want to get more training in this area. My only challenges are among other things, the interest in those other fields of training, but I will do anything I possibly could, to get all the information to equip me in all areas. Another challenge is the situation whereby I have gone back to school after a long time off studies. Well, this to me is a social problem especially emanating from my friends. To me, learning is a multifaceted concept and the company of colleagues is a healthy recipe to my education. There is the challenge of fitting right in their company and this is indeed a great challenge for me. All the same, I will have to handle that myself.
Going back to school and the failure to meet family duties and obligations is quite a humiliating affair. Striking a balance between these two things is apparently becoming a challenge. My family needs me and my studies too. I need to be effective and deliver on either side. Thus, I am faced with some heavy responsibility and I need to create study time after I have checked on my family. Being a licensed practical nurse enables one to get into the field quickly but a registered nurse is at an advantage all the more. Therefore, I must pay the price for it especially at this time when I have to balance between school, work and my family.