Finding Their Way
2002 RN graduates share their
hopes, fears during
first year of nursing
By Michelle Paolucci and Beth Ulrich, Ed.D., RN, CHE
Becky watched
as her daughter, Roma, lay lifeless and quiet, amid the
bells and whistles
of the neonatal intensive care unit. She noticed the
sunlight on her daughter's face as the doctors prepared to
give up and turn off the machines.
In that moment, looking at
her fragile daughter, she felt inspired to fulfill a
lifelong dream to become a nurse. She hoped that Roma knew
she loved her and she thought about the other babies in the
unit without their parents with them. "Did they know that
somebody loved them? I am going to be a nurse and care for
special baby triplets like my precious angel, Roma, and her
two brothers," she thought.
The doctors proceeded to
turn off the monitors and ventilator. They prepared to
extubate Roma. Then, "the sweetest sound I will never
forget, Roma's hoarse tiny cry, and her tiny hand reaches
for her Mommy."
Roma is now 4 years old and
Becky is a nursing graduate, class of 2002.
Not all nurses come to the
profession by an event as life-altering as Becky's. Every
nurse has a story of how they found their calling.
Earlier this year,
NurseWeek set out to talk to the newest nurses in
America, to find out what brought them to nursing and follow
their experiences in the course of their first year. Their
stories are sometimes typical, sometimes extraordinary and
sometimes somewhere in between.
Richard, a new graduate from
rural Illinois, said he decided to go into nursing after
working as a CNA during his freshman year of college. "I saw
how nurses worked hands-on with patients and how nurses were
really the ones who delivered patient care. As a new
graduate entering the nursing profession, my biggest concern
when choosing a place of employment was where was I going to
get the most experience while making the most money," he
said.
The new graduates
NurseWeek talked to had many concerns, including salary
and experience, but many also said they decided on nursing
because of the lifestyle. A surprising number of graduates
seemed to join nursing after trying several other career
options.
"I [had] wanted to be a
doctor, but I realized that if I did, I wouldn't really get
to know my patients, nor would I really be able to have a
family … with nursing you don't have to [choose between
career and family]. Plus the opportunities in nursing are
endless," said Lisa, a new graduate from Washington.
For the most part, we found
students who were in love with nursing and everything that
was to come-or everything they imagined it would be.
"I didn't think to go to
nursing school right out of high school. I tried a few
majors and suddenly, after some time, nursing just naturally
appeared in my mind," said Jung, a nursing graduate from
California. "Seeing my mom have some great nurses in her
life really caught my eye and that was just the beginning."
"The nursing profession is
such a fantastic field for all to enter because it gives a
person such gratitude and love for human beings. I know that
I am just starting out, but I do feel very fortunate to have
found a great career that I am very proud of."
More and more people are
coming to nursing later in life, after raising a family, a
career in the military or private business-or even after
having triplets. We spoke with scores of people who are
turning to nursing to fulfill childhood dreams or to lead
what they consider to be more meaningful lives.
Take Theresa, a 39-year-old
mother of two daughters and a waitress for 20 years in
Washington, a single mom for the last five of those years.
"When I graduate, I will be
the first person in my family to get a degree," she said.
Theresa also told us that she loved being a waitress, loved
the people and the family that comes from working in the
restaurant business.
"I chose nursing because it
might possibly give me all the things that make me happy. If
I have to work, I want to work in an environment I love.
Nursing gives me the contact with people that serves the
needs of my soul," she said.
Theresa plans on working in
emergency medicine or acute care. "I like the fast pace of
the ED. I feel I will excel there because I am organized and
I like the teamwork," she said.
All of the graduates we
corresponded with have busy schedules, but none more than
Becky, the mother of triplets graduating with an ADN from a
community college in Ohio. Becky told NurseWeek that
it was the nurses who cared for her daughter who inspired
her to become a nurse.
"I want to touch a person's
life; whether it be family or patient, I want them to know
that I truly care for them and all their needs while under
my care, emotional and physical. To me, that is what nursing
is about," she said.
Only about 5 percent of
nurses are male and even fewer of the men who become nurses
choose nursing as their first profession. Of the male
nursing students we talked to, often-mentioned was the
inspiration of a wife or mother who had been a nurse.
Richard, self-described as
"a 21-year-old male in my final semester of nursing school
... from a small town of a population of about 350," grew up
on a farm "but quickly decided manual labor was not my ideal
profession."
Richard, graduating with an
ADN from a community college in rural Illinois, plans to
work in a surgical intensive care unit or emergency room at
a trauma level 1 unit. He also says he owes his career in
nursing to the nurses in his life.
"I also grew up in a family
of nurses. My mother has been a nurse for over 30 years and
I also have two aunts who are nurses. I always joke with
them that I never had a chance. It was decided that I was
going to be a nurse before I was even born," he said.
Mark, a Texas man, married
with three children, was devastated when the heating and air
conditioning company he worked for was sold three years ago.
"My wife [a nurse] suggested I go back to school and get
into the medical field," he said.
He said he enjoyed helping
his wife learn new procedures and research care plans while
she was in nursing school. He also said he was inspired to
be a nurse by watching his wife help people at some of the
most difficult times in their lives. "The first time she had
a patient die and had to help the family in their
understanding was very hard on her and I was glad I was
there to help her and see the difference [nurses] make to
families," he said.
There is no more special
bond than that between a father and a daughter. As a retired
senior noncommissioned officer with the Air Force, attending
nursing school with his 21-year-old daughter would
undoubtedly forge a bond in a way he never thought he would.
He shared the same classroom with his daughter, as well as
notes and even study tips.
"Our study habits are quite
a bit different," he said.
Peter and his daughter
graduated May 11 with their ASN degrees from a college in
Colorado. "My wife pinned me and my daughter's grandmother
pinned my daughter. It was awesome," he said.
"I am scared to death," said
Lisa, a recent BSN graduate from a small college in
Washington state, when asked what her thoughts were as she
neared graduation. "By the end of the year, you think you
learned nothing, know nothing, and you want to be the best
nurse you can be, but you do not feel up to the task! It's
scary to think we will be on our own," she said. Lisa
entered nursing school right after graduation. She plans to
work in labor and delivery.
"I am ending three years of
school that have been hard, but I have been with the same
women friends and it is a safe place," said one of the
nontraditional students we talked to.
Another traditional student,
Katie, graduating with a BSN from a California university,
said, "I am very scared, but also excited. I am scared
because there is still so much I don't know and that I have
never experienced."
Katie said she is excited at
the opportunity to put to use what she has learned over the
last four years and looks forward to making a difference in
someone's life working in critical care. She is "the oldest
of five kids," which she says is the reason nursing is a
good fit for her. "Responsibility is in my blood," she said.
Sentiments expressing fear
and excitement about what would be in store for nursing's
2002 graduates was a common thread among the students.
Even our most mature
graduate, Jean, a grandmother at a California university who
received a BSN at 60 years young, remarked, "There is fear
in my heart about the responsibility of nursing. It's like
being birthed again. The cord will be cut and I will have to
continue learning on my own," she said.
Jean plans on working in
public health. "I'm filled with excitement at finally
obtaining a goal from young adulthood," she said.
"It has only been recently
that I have truly come to realize the amount of
responsibility that is going to come with my new job. I'll
be the first to admit that I truly have a lot yet to learn,
but I feel that I have been well-prepared," said Richard, a
traditional graduate from Illinois.
Contact Michelle
Paolucci at michellep@nurseweek.com.
Orinal source at
http://www.nurseweek.com/news/features/02-07/graduates.asp
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