Artefacts

I was fortunate to have been accepted into the lab of Dr. Edmond Chan as part of my 4th year undergraduate thesis. We were investigating the mitochondrial fusion protein OPA1 and how it plays a role in the metabolism of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. We wanted to know if it could be removed in these cells – that are otherwise resistant to other chemotherapeutic drugs – and we could artificially induce apoptosis. I learned so much throughout my studies. I also learned much about myself. This endeavour showed me how passionate I am about health and disease, and how therapeutics play a key role. I loved the research, but I wanted something more, I wanted to be interacting with patients themselves and play an active role, a key moment driving me towards seeking out nursing school. I hope to use this foundational knowledge of research I learned in my future nursing career.

Through my experience as a tree-planter I participated in many first-aid evacuation situations from remote locations in BC and AB. My supervisor suggested I take the occupational first-aid course level 3 (OFA3) to become the crew and camp primary first-aid attendant. This course involved patient packaging, assessment of vital signs, transport decision, emergent medical and trauma identification and response, and pre-hospital documentation. This course is very applicable to pre-hospital care of workers in remote regions. I loved the course and learned so much. The position also allowed me to lead emergency response situations of trauma such as having an ATV flipped over or evacuation of a person in anaphylactic shock needing helicopter evacuation to the hospital. This training and these events ignited a passion in me. I knew immediately I wanted to work in remote locations in Canada, doing emergency evacuations and pre-hospital care as a nurse. This helped me understand my passion for working on the air ambulance and deepen my knowledge of patient evacuation and pre-hospital care.

As soon as I understood my passion for working on the air-ambulance I knew I needed to get a head start. The more I understood about helicopters, the better. I decided to pursue a commercial helicopter pilot’s licence to understand the machinery and flight mechanisms involved with flying. I gained some amazing experience and understanding of flight dynamics. I hope to apply this knowledge to patient comfort during transport. My next step is to take Ornge’s aeromedical course, to understand the specifics of patient care in the air. This experience illustrates my dedication to continual learning, something I am excited to continue to do as a future nurse! I hope to bring this into my knowledge as a future self-regulating nurse.

In the past year, I gained some working experience in the pre-hospital setting on an ambulance. My job was to transport patients either from a hospital setting to long-term-care facility, to the home, or from the home or long-term-care to the hospital. Through this experience I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the emergency response through the completion of my Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) certificate, pictured above. This increase in knowledge and awareness for the pre-hospital environment allowed me to understand the circumstances patients face in their homes, and some of the unique challenges that are experienced by patients who do not have a reliable mode of transportation to their care appointments. I also began to understand hospital dynamics much more, interacting with nurses responsible for patient care in the hospital. I fell in love with this nurse-patient relationship and the presence nurses hold in the hospital. I knew this was a workforce in which I wanted to take part, strengthening my decision to pursue nursing. I also was able to participate in a patient transfer from the air ambulance from QC. This experience solidified my desire to participate in both the pre-hospital environment in the flight aspect, and within the hospital environment in the critical care or emergent care sector.

Throughout years 2-4 of my undergraduate degree, I worked to be able to cover my living expenses. My job was a residence don, my biography (posted above) stayed on my door to inform students I was a resource should they need it. This job involved a lot of administrative tasks and community-building tasks, but it was built upon an overnight, on-call schedule where dons had to respond to code of conduct violations, violence and harassment within residence and medical crises. My experience here also involved being a team-lead, where I maintained the schedule for the dons and provided support to dons where they needed it. This was my first experience handling crisis and emergency situations. I knew that, no matter how overwhelmed I was, I felt unmistakably rewarded after having providing someone with the support they needed in a time of crisis. This experience led me to the medical field in general – which I later on used to apply to my desire to pursue nursing, where nurses respond to critical situations and find solutions on the fly. The overnight shifts allowed me to get used to the inevitable night shifts in nursing, where there may not be as many resources around to support your decision-making, which I understand can happen in nursing situations as well.

Being engaged in the community has become extremely important to me, especially as someone whose family needed to access these community resources to survive as a young person. I have focused my volunteering at the Newmarket Food Pantry and the Peterborough Humane Society. My experience at the Food Pantry demonstrated to me the magnitude of food insecurity in Canada and allowed me to engage in hands-on work attempting to provide support and resources. I met some wonderful volunteers and clients through the service and heard many family stories. The photo I have included is of a ‘volunteer angel’ pin that was gifted to me by my colleagues at the Food Pantry after I left to attend nursing school. My volunteer work at the humane society is new to me, but I have been involved in greeting patrons, helping with cleaning and walking dogs. This experience has shown me how important it is to do things in life that make you happy (like getting a pet!) and how it can be therapeutic. In nursing, I feel it is important to be an active member of the community, as such, it is important to engage in activities that support the community, both in and outside the hospital setting. These experiences have allowed me to appreciate a broad range of stories and experiences, which I hope to include in my future self-regulating practice as a nurse.