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Hello! My name is Reyna and I am a current high school student. I'm conducting an interview with any professional in the nursing field for a Foundations in Health Science Class project about careers! I have created a total of 13 questions. Comment on this post, answering all 13 questions to be apart of my assignment.
1.What profession did you choose?
Why?
2.How many years of college did you
need to go through?
3.What jobs did you work before you
landed your present professional
job?
4.How can I decide if I should earn a
Ph.D. in this field?
5.Were you in a college program?
6.Did you have to pivot and go back to
school at a later date?
7. Did you shadow another
professional in the field?
8. Did you join any school clubs
related to your current profession?
9. Was there a particular subject you
struggled with during your school
years?
10. What skill sets did you learn or
gain while pursuing your career?
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1 answer
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Raquel’s Answer
1. I chose nursing because I wanted to be hands on helping people through their illnesses.
2. I did a total of five years of college. I have a bachelor's in nursing. But you can get an associate's in nursing at a junior college/trade school and still become an RN.
3. I've worked three nursing jobs, one at a hospital and two in home health. Before that I worked at a newspaper as a staff writer, Macy's, and the Boys and Girls Club.
4. You can get either a master's or doctorate in nursing. With a master's you can be a nurse practitioner and work as a provider for patients in a variety of settings. You can also be a nurse practitioner with a doctorate, but the PhD is frequently used when people want to get into research or academics.
5. Yes, I did undergraduate prerequisites and then attended a nursing school that was a subset of the university I was at.
6. I was in school continuously while doing my prerequisite courses. I took one semester off between finishing those classes and starting nursing school.
7. I didn't shadow any nurses prior to nursing school, but I have several family members who are nurses and I had several discussions with them about the field before I started on the nursing path.
8. My nursing school had a student nurse association, I was a member my entire time in the nursing program and was also on the board. We did fun activities to bring students together, community service events, and fundraising. I also planned and ran the new student orientation. I was a part of a different, non-nursing club my entire time at university that volunteered doing crafts and games with kids in the hospital or at a half-way foster home.
9. The subject I have always struggled with the most is math. I can do it well and have been very successful in my math classes, but it takes a lot more work, time, and energy than the other classes I have taken.
10. One of the most important skills I gained while a student that is very pertinent to being a nurse is good communication. Nurses are often an in between point for patients and physicians, it is important to be able to communicate well with all members of the healthcare team. It is also very important to be able to actively listen to patients and make them feel heard. Nurses are there at some of the worst times in peoples lives, being a good communicator can make it so much better.
11. I decided before I started nursing school that I wanted to go to medical school. But I decided to go through with nursing school and then go to med school. And I'm very glad that I did. I have learned so much and have had such good experiences both in school and working as a nurse. I think it will make me a more rounded physician and bring a different perspective to the field. But this was a decision I had made before I even started, so nothing has happened to make me quit the profession, it was just always my plan to move on.
12. I can't really give specifics on this but my best memories are from working with the same patient for over a year. I got to know them really well and build a great relationship with both the patient and the family. I got to watch them grow and learn and enjoy life. It was fantastic and such a fun experience. My worst experience involved having to make the decision to send a patient to the ICU, it felt like I was giving them a death sentence, even though I knew it was where they needed to be.
13. One of the greatest things about nursing is the variety and flexibility in what you can do. You can start in a hospital and if you get super burnt out after a couple of years you can go work in a school, hospice, home health, infusion centers, the list goes on. And you can switch between areas of a hospital too, if you get tired of working in the ER you can go work in pets. It really allows a lot of opportunities to fit whatever your current needs are. And you get to help people and build relationships every day. The worst part would be getting taken advantage of by hospitals. There are lots of issues with safe staffing and actually providing good working environments for hospital nurses, which increases burn out.
I hope this helps! If you need any other info, just comment and I'll tell you what I can. Best of luck!
2. I did a total of five years of college. I have a bachelor's in nursing. But you can get an associate's in nursing at a junior college/trade school and still become an RN.
3. I've worked three nursing jobs, one at a hospital and two in home health. Before that I worked at a newspaper as a staff writer, Macy's, and the Boys and Girls Club.
4. You can get either a master's or doctorate in nursing. With a master's you can be a nurse practitioner and work as a provider for patients in a variety of settings. You can also be a nurse practitioner with a doctorate, but the PhD is frequently used when people want to get into research or academics.
5. Yes, I did undergraduate prerequisites and then attended a nursing school that was a subset of the university I was at.
6. I was in school continuously while doing my prerequisite courses. I took one semester off between finishing those classes and starting nursing school.
7. I didn't shadow any nurses prior to nursing school, but I have several family members who are nurses and I had several discussions with them about the field before I started on the nursing path.
8. My nursing school had a student nurse association, I was a member my entire time in the nursing program and was also on the board. We did fun activities to bring students together, community service events, and fundraising. I also planned and ran the new student orientation. I was a part of a different, non-nursing club my entire time at university that volunteered doing crafts and games with kids in the hospital or at a half-way foster home.
9. The subject I have always struggled with the most is math. I can do it well and have been very successful in my math classes, but it takes a lot more work, time, and energy than the other classes I have taken.
10. One of the most important skills I gained while a student that is very pertinent to being a nurse is good communication. Nurses are often an in between point for patients and physicians, it is important to be able to communicate well with all members of the healthcare team. It is also very important to be able to actively listen to patients and make them feel heard. Nurses are there at some of the worst times in peoples lives, being a good communicator can make it so much better.
11. I decided before I started nursing school that I wanted to go to medical school. But I decided to go through with nursing school and then go to med school. And I'm very glad that I did. I have learned so much and have had such good experiences both in school and working as a nurse. I think it will make me a more rounded physician and bring a different perspective to the field. But this was a decision I had made before I even started, so nothing has happened to make me quit the profession, it was just always my plan to move on.
12. I can't really give specifics on this but my best memories are from working with the same patient for over a year. I got to know them really well and build a great relationship with both the patient and the family. I got to watch them grow and learn and enjoy life. It was fantastic and such a fun experience. My worst experience involved having to make the decision to send a patient to the ICU, it felt like I was giving them a death sentence, even though I knew it was where they needed to be.
13. One of the greatest things about nursing is the variety and flexibility in what you can do. You can start in a hospital and if you get super burnt out after a couple of years you can go work in a school, hospice, home health, infusion centers, the list goes on. And you can switch between areas of a hospital too, if you get tired of working in the ER you can go work in pets. It really allows a lot of opportunities to fit whatever your current needs are. And you get to help people and build relationships every day. The worst part would be getting taken advantage of by hospitals. There are lots of issues with safe staffing and actually providing good working environments for hospital nurses, which increases burn out.
I hope this helps! If you need any other info, just comment and I'll tell you what I can. Best of luck!
Thank you so much!!
Reyna