Artifacts
In this chapter I will discuss artifacts that I have chosen that relate to my future career as a nurse. They all have influenced my decisions to pursue a future career in health care.
Artifact #1
My first artifact was my specialist high skills major (SHSM) stamp on my diploma. In this program I got to go on field trips and learn about different healthcare professionals, participating in a variety of wellness activities. In this program I also received training in a variety of certifications for free, such as workplace medical corp. First Aid with CPR C + AED, W.H.M.I.S., workplace violence and harassment procedures training and worker health & safety awareness in 4 steps. This was a great opportunity because I was able to learn a lot of useful information that is needed for going into a career in the medical field.
Artifact #2
The second artifact I have chosen is my CPR certificate. This certificate shows a skill that I have gained through taking the CPR course. I was quite confident going into this course because I had to take CPR to be a part of the specialist high skills major (SHSM) program at school. This course went more in depth than the courses I took through school. Most importantly, I learned about who to prioritize in the event of an emergency, which can be a critical skill in a healthcare setting. As a nursing student and a future nurse I will be faced with difficult decisions like who to provide care to first; these challenges are supported by the CPR courses that I took. The training of getting my CPR has strengthened my confidence in how to deal with an emergency if one were to occur.
Artifact #3
The third artifact that I have chosen was my N95 Mask-Fit Testing card. This is a key step that all nurses and nursing students have to go through. Having my N95 mask fit card is essential in protecting myself and others in clinical practice, to stop airborne diseases from harming myself and others around me. This artifact is relevant to my future nursing career, because all nurses have to have a mask fit for an N95 and that is exciting because it represents the process of me becoming a nurse.
Artifact #4
The fourth artifact I have chosen was a nursing award and scholarship I was given by Jean Aitcheson, who received the Order of Canada for the work she has done in nursing. This was an extremely special moment for me because she talked about the importance of needing more nurses in health care and the difference we will make in the lives of the people we care for. I got to speak with her about why I chose nursing as my future career and about the career in nursing just in general. This award was also special to me because the staff of my high school voted me as deserving for this award. During the time leading up to graduation I had teachers coming up to me asking about my future plans after high school and why I wanted to become a nurse. Now I know the reason they were all so interested was because of the awards that I was given.
Artifact #5
The fifth artifact is from when I was a teaching assistant in a grade 2 class for my cooperative education class (Co-op). I hope to be a pediatric nurse so this was a perfect placement for me. I have chosen this as another one of my artifacts because I feel that it represents my leadership skills. My leadership role in the class has taught me many lessons about being a role model for others. I learned a lot from my role in this class that I will take with me into the nursing career. My placement in this class gave me the opportunity to get to know every child individually, just like how I will with patients. I will use these skills as a nurse to support myself, staff and patients in the workplace.