From Number Crunching to Nursing

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in the course
401: Career Pathway Assessment in the School of Nursing
Old Dominion University

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

Fall, 2012

From Number Crunching to Nursing
Introduction
As a child, I had often thought about what it would be like to be a nurse. However, life led me down a different path as I obtained my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A) in Accounting from Appalachian State University in 1996. After years of struggling to find contentment with my career path, I finally settled into a career as a real estate broker. In this position, I found I really had a passion for helping people. While the real estate market was slowly turning into a desolate wasteland, my desire for becoming a nurse was starting to rekindle. In the meantime, I had become pregnant. Going into the hospital for my fourth standard induction, I felt scared as any mother would but confident in how things would go. After all, it wasn’t my first go around. When the induction started at midnight, I anticipated getting a good night’s rest and then welcoming my new bundle of joy in the am. However, just one hour later, I was rushed in for an emergency c-section. The next morning, holding my beautiful son, the physician made this statement “If it wasn’t for your nurse going above and beyond what she needed to do with her watching the monitors for 10 minutes longer than our protocol, we would not be having a good morning.” My nurse saved my son’s life, and in turn saved mine. Because I wanted to have that same impact on someone else, when my son was three months old, I began my journey into nursing school.
Back to School
Returning to school with four children, the youngest being an infant, a household to maintain, and still working was not the easiest thing I’ve done. It was definitely a struggle to get back into the mindset of being a student. My family was very supportive and became my cheerleaders. There was a small amount of culture shock in trying to retrain my brain from a business – black and white mindset to various shades of gray critical thinking. The thought of returning to school as an adult student was intimidating, but the challenge was refreshing. I began the Associate’s Degree in Nursing program after completing Anatomy and Physiology. My first year of nursing school at Wytheville Community College included studies in Geriatrics, Psychology and Maternity nursing. I knew from the beginning that Gerontology Nursing was not for me. Clinical experiences only proved me correct. I enjoyed working with the elderly, but I needed a little more excitement in my day and became too emotionally attached to my patients. My clinical partner and I were assigned a patient to follow and care for during our eight week endeavor. Our patient had a diagnosis of stage four lung cancer with metastasis to the bone, brain and liver. As I watched her deteriorate each week, I started to begin each clinical morning nauseated with fear she wouldn’t be there that day. She made it through my clinical time and three weeks later she passed away. Psychiatric nursing proved to be a difficult challenge as well. I was intimidated by psychiatric patients. Luckily for me, I could sign up for a weekend clinical and get my time in over two short weekends. I walked in knowing I didn’t care for psych nursing and walked out feeling the very same way. Beginning the maternity rotation brought the anticipation of me finding my niche in the nursing field. What I found out was maternity nursing was not my forte. Bringing new life into the world is a beautiful thing, but one bad delivery was one too many for me. I applied for a summer internship with Mountain State Health Alliance between my first and second year of nursing school. I was granted two rotations; one in critical care and one in the emergency department. This internship was a great learning experience and helped me find my niche. My critical care rotation offered a window into total patient care where I could analyze my patient’s lab values, h&p, progress notes and put the puzzle together to really advocate for my patient. I was intrigued by the acuity of illnesses and bedside procedures performed in the unit. The emergency department brought a different excitement and a new passion. I really enjoyed my fast-paced, high adrenaline days spend in the e.d. Each new day brought the anticipation of seeing new emergencies, or preparing patients for flights to bigger facilities. My summer set my education path so that I could be prepared to enter school for Nursing Anesthesia or Emergency Practitioner. My second year of nursing school proved just as difficult as the first. I was offered a full-time intern position in the critical care unit for the remainder of my schooling. My school schedule was class on Monday and Wednesday with Med-Surg clinicals on Tuesday. I worked in the CCU Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. My clinical experience in medical surgical nursing seemed a little mundane after working in critical care and the emergency department. However my previous experience helped me to feel more confident in my position as a nurse. The nerves eased facilitating a more open environment for learning and putting the nursing process into action with patients. My full-time intern position was a fundamental stepping stone for me. I learned how hard it was to change our circadian rhythm and how unnatural it was to sleep during the day. Night shift offered me a chance to study charts, patients and pathophysiology of diseases. The nurses were very gracious and eager to pull me into rooms and show me significant findings that might give me a clue that my patient’s condition was starting to decline. Upon graduation from WCC and passing my NCLEX, I began my full-time RN position in the CCU and am now cross trained in the ED and fill in there when needed. I am very passionate about providing the best possible care to my patients. I still get attached to my patients but I feel that makes me more compassionate and in tune to what is going on with my patients. I feel very blessed with my work family. My day at work entails taking care of no more than three critical patients. Because I’m new, my team leader really tries to vary my experiences so I can see and be exposed to something new every day. The senior nurses have all taken me under their wings and really want me to succeed. Every day provides a new learning experience. It is evident in the CCU, to have patients pass away. My hardest lost was a 55 year old male who coded four times on my day of care before the family decided to change his care to comfort measures. The majority of deaths I had witnessed in my work as an intern and a nurse were older patients with loved ones gathered around talking about how rich their life had been. This was a man whose first grandchild was only three months old. I spent about an hour in the bathroom trying to get myself together after he passed. My team rallied behind me to take care of my other patients and supported me emotionally, mentally and physically. After having a summer off from school, it has been hard to start back with the Bachelors of Science in Nursing program at ODU. Our hospital has been understaffed and I’ve been working five to six days a week, leaving me unsatisfied with the time I have to devote to the program. I am excited to learn more about Nursing theory and become better at delegation. Originally, I thought Anesthesia would be my end result of my nursing education. Recently though, I have started looking more into becoming a Nurse Practitioner concentrating in Emergency Medicine. I think I would love the adrenaline of emergency medicine would suit me well. Before this happens, I have plans to follow a nurse practitioner in the e.d. to see how their day flows. I also want to speak with several e.d. directors about their policies on hiring practitioners in their departments. Several nurse practitioner programs are appealing. I have a friend at work that is doing an online program, I want to see how he does with that and may look into that program. My other future goals include obtaining my CEN and CCRN. I keep study note cards with me for each exam and try to take a few moments each day to study at least one or two cards. To facilitate a better understanding of emergency medicine, I am also looking at a Paramedic bridge program. Compassion and detailed care are some of my strengths. I make it a point to let my patients know I care and I am there for them regardless of their illness. I take care of everything from GI bleeds to overdoses to myocardial infarctions and strokes. The socioeconomic status of my patient population varies greatly, but I treat them all the same. My weaknesses include becoming too attached to patients and families. My manager told me if this remained my major weakness, it only proved me to be a good nurse. I don’t know how to approach this or if there is anything to I can do to change this. I feel it is my nature and makes me who I am. My personal goal as a nurse is to always have a positive impact on my patient and their family. If I can leave work each day with the thought that I actually did everything in my power to help someone, that will be a positive day.