What does nursing mean to me? Well, nursing is known for being of a science field. Nursing is solely, in my definition, helping others. I believe this is the main objective. But, in my own thinking, nursing is much more than helping others. It is a profession, not just a job. It is a field one works in with the thought that if they were to wake up tomorrow and not be paid any more for their services, this person would still go to work happy to still being able to do what they love to do and that is being in the nursing profession. Nursing includes treating and being a voice for the ill when it comes to health and illness.
Nursing is the foundation of helping others, but being a nurse steps it a little further out. To be a nurse, you are putting your needs of others before yourself. This includes early days and late nights to care for the ill. Being a nurse includes being teachers to ensure that patients fully understand their health. A nurse is there to oversee that the patient’s reaches their optimum healthy level. Nurse are there to teach patients ways of improving their health. Example of ways nurses may help patients is teaching them how to eat properly, how to exercise, showing proper ways of cleaning their wounds if they have any, etc. There is the other aspect of being a nurse that includes being a supporter or cheerleader. To be a supporter, a nurse must be there to lend an ear and listen to the patient and their needs. To be a cheerleader, a nurse is rooting them on to the victory of getting better. Nurse must follow standards that are set forth overall to govern how the nurse are to behave and care for patients as with any profession. Nurse must be current on their nursing profession, and I believe that continuing education is important to include in one’s career to ensure that they are doing their job effectively. Being a nurse includes having empathy, compassion, showing acts of kindness, being confident, and holding integrity. Being a nurse is being that hero for the ill and unhealthy all around the world.
There are several interesting roles that appeal to me in nursing, but I have a strong interest for mental health. My goals is to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Mental health, in my definition, is of dealing with the mind and emotional well-being. I believe mental illness can be defined as a person that is mentally impaired, which in turns effects their feelings, moods, and thoughts. Most mentally ill people, in my opinion, are labeled “crazy” as define by others. Mentally ill people are much more than their illness, they are human beings that may need a little more support than others. I am interested in this field because I believe that the mentally ill do not get have their own voice, they are just written off. I want to be that voice for the mental ill. I want to be there to explain to mental ill patients’ families what their loved ones going to do, but further, help the patient and their family cope through the illness process.
My decision to become a nurse has been solely on my prior education and work experience. I currently hold a college degree in psychology. I have recently worked as a Behavioral Health Worker for over two years before coming to nursing school. At my recent job, I was able to work in detox and help counsel those people through their drug addictions to further find treatment options. I also was reliable for taking blood pressure and passing out medications issued to me from my supervisor to be given to clients. There was the acute treatment unit or ATU that housed folks with mental health issues. I also worked on this unit helping from time to time, which soon I fell in love with it. I was not able to work full time on this unit because therapists were required to work on ATU to diagnosis and counsel clients since it was in their scope of practice. On ATU, I was only able to talk to clients. I was able to hear their stories as well as take home any lessons that I learned from them. I was able to help them with personal care, which included helping them do their laundry, providing hygiene products, etc. There were psychiatric nurses whom I watched and was intrigued by what they did. I was able to see how the nurses made assessments, passed out medications, set treatment plans, provided personal care, etc. The nurses were also there to provide moral support and help the clients and their families/friends cope with their mental illness. Provided my prior education and work experience, I was influenced to wanting to become a mental health nurse.
Soon, my impact with the profession of nursing will be one of a kind. I believe that the prior psychology education and prior work experience in the behavioral health field will be the stepping platforms to making my impact in nursing. I will bring what I learned from my prior knowledge into nursing, specifically mental nursing, to help the good of the patient. I will be able to bring in the personal qualities and characteristics I hold, which are being passion, empathic, kind, having determination, and a willingness to help others to just make that impact in nursing. I want to not only help in the shortage gap in nursing, but be the voice for mentally ill, and I plan to do just that.
