Growing up I knew I always wanted to do something in health care. I had two family members who were always in and out of the hospital battling with cancer and other health issues. Seeing how much nurses and other health care professionals help my family members really opened up my eyes. In sixth grade, I had to get surgery on my eye and I became extremely interested in anesthesia. From sixth grade to my sophomore year of high school that’s all I could talk about and all I wanted to do. Throughout my whole life, I was an athlete, I played volleyball, softball, and for many years of my life I was an equestrian. In high school, my volleyball team went to states three years in a row. Finally in my last year, we won. That whole season took a lot of determination and hard work. Playing these team sports has helped me develop communication skills, leadership skills, and how important teamwork is. I was raised with the mindset you don’t know what other people go through at home, and to be nice to everyone. Though I am a very patient person, I think that I would not like med surg at all. My junior year of high school, I got the opportunity to shadow a nurse anesthetist at Maine Med Portland. That sparked my interest in nursing, and continued my interest in anesthesia. I started to look into nursing even more, and found out about how versatile it is. Later, in my senior year we had to do a senior internship. Due to the rules changing at Maine Med, I wasn’t able to get back into the OR. So I decided to intern in a couple different units. With becoming a CRNA as my end goal, I started off in the ICU. I was able to spend a day in the Neuro ICU, and in theCardiac ICU. I found both of these units extremely interesting and I felt as if I could fit in there very well. Another day, I spent with a sort of float nurse, or a 900 nurse as they call them at Maine Med. I went all over the hospital, spending some time in PEDS, the ED, Med Surg, and the outpatient surgery floor. Though I like things fast paced, I don’t think I belong in the ED. One of the nursing professions I want to go into is anesthesia. My ten year plan as a nurse is to get my CCRN and get into CRNA school. Though I couldn’t find a chapter on nurse anesthetists, I know that you have to work in a critical care setting for a couple years before you can even take your CCRN. In Opportunities to care: The pfizer guide to careers in nursing I found the chapter on ICU nursing. Reading this chapter has helped me figure out that this is what I want to do, and I have the skills to do it. Currently because I haven’t started clinicals yet, I don’t have the ability to intubate or do any of the fun stuff, but I do have other important aspects. I am able to talk and communicate extremely effectively with family members, I am a very fast thinker, and I am just as fast on my feet. I am also able to work with a team extremely well. I also do extremely well in fast paced, high pressure environments. I also want to care for the sickest of the sick patients, because that’s who ultimately helped my grandmother towards the end and who made the biggest impact on me. Another unit I could see myself working in is a pediatric or any oncology unit. I had a friend when I was younger suffer from cancer, and then this spring it came back. She was in and out of the oncology unit for a couple weeks, and she finally had surgery and the cancer was gone again. This summer when I saw her, she talked about the nurses and how they ultimately saved her. Everyday they would go out of their way to make her day just a little easier, and find ways to brighten up her day even if it was just for a couple minutes. Those nurses had the biggest impact on my friend. In Opportunities to care: The pfizer guide to careers in nursing, the oncology chapter often brings up the word empathy. I believe that I am a highly empathetic person and I can easily connect with people. My friends often come to me for emotional support, and I enjoy being that person in their life. Overall, I want to be the person to be the positive difference in someone’s life, no matter who it is.
