Nursing has been something I have wanted to do since a very young age. I remember going to the hospitals and seeing all the equipment and people and ever since then I have wanted to know what those people do and how all those machines work.
I chose to do practical nursing because I want a building block before I start my RN training. For me, getting out in the field working for a bit versus doing 4 years of school at one time seemed more appealing. I think that after I work for a few years I will feel more confident and ready to become and RN and take on that role and extra education.
I didn’t know exactly what being a practical nurse meant. I thought that RNs did all the nursing care and that LPNs were more of care aids, but the field of nursing has changed so much over the past few years. Nursing is a one on one patient care job and I am so excited to get out in the field and start touching people lives. Nurses are there for their patients through it all and I can already tell that this is going to be a very rewarding career.
I chose to come to Stenberg because I could tell that they really cared about your education. The advisors were really nice and helpful and my teachers are great. I like how I could start as soon as possible and didn’t have to be put on a waiting list. We have already gone out on one practicum/clinical and being out doing hands-on training was awesome. I think that practicum is when you can tell if you have made the right career choice, and even though it was our first practicum doing very basic stuff, I can tell I made the right choice.
It takes a special kind of person to be a nurse and being on practicum really teaches you that. You have to love what you do and I love hands on learning and jobs that are unpredictable. Everyday as a nurse your day will be different from the last. On practicum it really made you think and be on top game because at any moment something big could have happened.
I am excited to be in semester two now as we get to learn more about medications and injections. Semester one was hard, but we made it through and now we get to expand our knowledge. I am scared for this semester because it is going to be very hard and time consuming, but I now know that if you want something bad enough you can get it. I am learning so much at Stenberg and my teachers are so passionate about nursing it really inspires me to well in school and makes me proud to be a student nurse. I am excited to learn and grow as a student and hopefully soon we will see the light at the end of the tunnel!
