I have been a part of the health care team for years. I became a CNA for four years, and a licensed nurse for five years now. Nursing, to me, means it is a hands-on profession that cares and advocates for the patients or residents holistically, promotes and maintains health, educates the community, and helps deliver a newborn child and stays with a patient until its last breath. Nursing is a beautiful job that touches the lives of patients and families. I chose this career because it is my passion to take care of the people in my community. I lived with my grandfather, who had deteriorating health for a few years. He was admitted to the hospital and long term care afterward. During those times, I saw how the nurses and CNAs took excellent care of my dear grandfather at the bedside. During those times, I told myself that I want to be like those health care workers who were very compassionate and helpful in the healing process of my dear grandfather. When my grandfather got discharged, I told myself that I would go back to school and pay back the kindness they showered on my family member. I immediately attended a CNA class and got my certificate right after, and as promised to myself, I went to apply at a long term care facility to serve the older people. Being a CNA was very rewarding; I made my patients smile after giving them their care each day. While working as a CNA, I realized that I wanted to do more for my patients. So, I registered for an LPN class as a stepping stone to becoming a nurse. With dedication, I became a licensed nurse and began working as a nurse immediately.
Becoming a licensed nurse is the most beautiful achievement I have done so far in my life. Being a licensed nurse, I can do more with the patients, such as giving them their ordered medications, helping the RNs, and the CNAs. I have the best of both worlds. Owing to the skills I have gained working as a CNA and LPN, I realized that I am now competent enough to step up and become the registered nurse that I have always aimed to be. Right now, I am working on that dream to become a reality. To be an excellent nurse, a nurse must possess these characteristics: resilience, exceptional critical thinking skills, and compassion. From my experience, a nursing career is stressful. In my workplace and at school, I have been giving the patients’ ordered medications, addressing the patients’ needs, talking to family members addressing their concerns, talking to doctors and other health care team members to update the patients’ statuses. Despite nursing being stressful, I love it because I am there for the patients. They need my help in their recovery, and I can cope when I do something, such as alleviating their pain, putting a smile on their faces and making them feel better until they are ready to go home. So, a great nurse must possess a characteristic of being resilient. Another essential aspect a nurse must have is being self-directed. A nurse must use its critical thinking skills at all times may it be in collaboration with other healthcare team members or when working alone. It is important to have critical thinking skills to be able to recognize changes in patients’ statuses. Nurses can save lives by addressing the problems right away. Having excellent critical thinking skills, a nurse can identify errors that could save the lives of the patients. Lastly, a great nurse must also possess a remarkable characteristic of being compassionate. Compassion is when a nurse is there to give support at the bedside, listening to their concerns and delivering high quality of care that the patients need in their recovery. Showing compassion to patients makes the patients feel better, comfortable, feel secure, and ease their pain while their loved ones are not there with them. They count on the nurses for their recovery.
Though these characteristics are essential to have, a nurse must also possess some attributes of being a great nurse in the field. For one, an aspirant should have excellent communication skills. Nurses must have excellent communication skills because each time they have to teach many patients about education. Also, nurses communicate with other healthcare teams to plan for patients’ care, and talk with families about their concerns and so much more. So, it is crucial to possess excellent communication skills. Another attribute that a great nurse should have is to maintain a quick response attitude. In nursing, each day is different; a day can be mellow and can be hectic too. It can be short-staffing, or there is a low census situation; however, a nurse should be ready to respond when there is an unforeseeable event or emergencies that can happen at any time. So, a great nurse is always prepared to react quickly and remain calm under pressure. Lastly, a nurse must have the desire to learn and grow. Nursing is evolving, and lifelong learning is essential. To be a great nurse, he or she needs to keep up with new health information at all times, which improves patient care, and keeping up to date with the latest data makes a nurse proactive and knowledgeable. Nursing may not be easy for most people, but possessing these attributes can lead a nurse to greatness and stand out from the others.
Coming back to school to become a registered nurse is a brilliant opportunity for me to further my education as a licensed nurse. The two semesters of nursing school have taught me to be more confident by improving my weakest strengths to prepare me for more significant responsibilities. I have learned about patient education, assessing patients, delegating, prioritizing, and honing my critical thinking skills. Attending the two semesters in the ADN program has improved me as a nurse and a student.
From these experiences, I can say that it is not easy to become a registered nurse because it takes dedication, perseverance, and patience. A nursing degree cannot be purchased anywhere at any time. So, aspiring students must work hard, put effort, shed sweat and blood to get the coveted RN license. By putting heart into it, it is going to be worthwhile in the end. For aspiring people who want to join the medical team as nurses, I want to say that nursing is a great profession.
