Reflection
The following section is a reflection on my nursing journey so far and where it is going to go from here.
In this time of transition from working as an RPN to returning to the role of a nursing student only this time as an RN nursing student. It has been a long journey at that. I was denied entrance into Trent’s Nursing program before finally being accepted in 2024.
My journey started in 2018 when I graduated from high school and started my post-secondary journey in the Honour’s Science program at Trent after being denied entrance into nursing. I had my heart set on nursing but was told by my guidance counselor in high school that I was not smart enough for it and that I should go into business school, so my hopes were not high. However, nursing had my heart, and I was determined more than ever to reach my goal. After my second year of university, I decided to apply to Fleming College to see about getting into the RPN program there after being turned down by Trent again. In 2020 when I heard I got into Fleming and I was over the moon it was a month later that the world shut down for God knew how long. COVID-19 was spreading, and I didn’t know how it was going to affect my education and the steps I needed to climb to reach my goal. Even in the thick of COVID, I pushed through nursing school online and then transferred into a hybrid form. It was a challenge but in July of 2022 I finished up my consolidation and in October 2022 I took my registration exam and became a full-fledged RPN.
That same year I got my job at Ross Memorial Hospital working in the Float pool. I worked there for almost 2 years in December of this year and applied after my first year to Trent again. However, In February of this year, I found out I was accepted into the Trent Compressed Nursing Program. I was finally about to start the program of my dreams. This past September I started Trent’s program, and it has been an adjustment from being out of school for a couple of years to coming back as a full-time student. Growing up as an accident-prone child spending lots of time in the ER and my significant family history of heart conditions and my father and grandfather spent lots of time there as well. I have always felt a drawn to nursing and healthcare, so adapting to the demands has been easy, but balancing life has been a challenge. Balancing the demands of school, work, my social life, and my dedication to my church and the many roles I play there has been challenging. But I am nothing but dedicated to them all, “this balance involves maintaining a healthy relationship between work-life and lifestyle and paying equal attention to physical, mental, and emotional well-being in both personal and professional contexts” (Rony et al, 2023) To help with this balance I took a step back from my work and dropped down to a casual position to prioritize my mental well-being and school and not over exert myself. This balance should be a priority for a lot of nurses especially new grads, because that is the time when we overwork ourselves, I have been there. New grad nurses are at higher risk of burning out so finding that balance, especially as a new grad I know will be important once again.
After now having some experience working as a nurse, I can confidently say I am still working on this balance and the balancing of caring for myself so I can best care for my patients. As I progress as a nursing student again, I know my perspective is going to change and continue to grow with me through school and this next chapter in my career. As I prepare for my first clinical placement in this coming winter semester I am mentally preparing myself to enter back into the role of a nursing student in the clinical setting but I am also excited for more learning opportunities to advance my current knowledge.