Reflection
To some nursing is a calling from the start – however my first calling was people and connection. I feel that nursing answers that call and am grateful for the path that lead me here. My first career goal was to be a teacher or principal – truly I think this had to do with only seeing the inside of schools when it came to organizations. Outside of school, I didn’t consider the opportunities that could exist to be a part of an organization and to connect with people. In high school I developed a love of both science and, simultaneously while doing homework, and watching the hit TV show Gray’s Anatomy. Through these years I aspired to be a rural family physician. Being able to combine my love of science with a passion for helping and connecting with a passion for creative problem-solving. By the end of high school, I had earned a cross country and track and field scholarship to the University of Nevada, Reno. There, I studied Community Health Sciences with a minor in Addiction Treatment Services. I fast-tracked my undergrad, by taking summer school courses (unknowingly preparing me for a compressed nursing program) too be able to finish my degree in 3 years, using the 5 years of NCAA scholarship to be able to complete a 2 year masters degree. In 2021, I graduated from Nevada with my Masters of Public Health.
Upon graduation, I struggled to find my place in the public health workforce and was trying and applying year after year for admission to medical school. After a few years working seasonal roles and working in the non-profit sector, I knew I needed to shift gears. As I reflect on those years – I regret not starting the process towards nursing sooner. As I wrote this I began to tally in my head the thousands of dollars spent on applications and MCAT prep. It was nearly one year ago that I began to seriously consider nursing and searching for nursing programs that I could commute to. I recalled all the times I had been searching for public health jobs and saw RN job opportunities listed. I compared living expenses, tuition costs, and job opportunities with the prospect of continuing to apply for medicine. This would mean waiting for and indefinite amount of years and application cycles to pay exorbitantly high tuition costs. I’m not typically and analytical, look at the numbers type decision maker – yet this time I couldn’t ignore them. On top of that, my heart was calling me to shift gears and explore something new. Through the winter of 2024, I waited on medical school acceptance from 4 schools in Ontario, 4 schools in Ireland, and 4 nursing schools in Ontario. Within weeks, come January, early acceptances began to roll in. At the time I thought Ontario Tech would be my top choice. I figured Trent’s Compressed BScN would be too competitive and I wouldn’t get in – a testament to the demoralized view I had after years of rejection letters. Eventually, I received and entrance scholarship and accepted my offer to Trent.
From accepting the offer to beginning the program, I was undergoing role transition stress as I prepared to be a student again. I had spent my years since graduation working camp jobs and ski instructing and patrolling. I talked to co-workers who were in school about strategies and ad tools and everyone pointed me towards purchasing and iPad. So now not only was I going to be a student but I would be and iPad owner. Talk about a role transition! I consider my iPad to be an item that symbolizes this chapter for me and served as a tangible part of the transition into being a student again in 2024.
I recall a conversation from the summer where I told my partner my life felt like it was not mine because there had been so much monumental change in one year to the identities I once held. I went through each day but when I looked at it from a more “zoomed out” lens, I didn’t recognize it. My family moved, I met my partner and entered a new relationship, and I found out I would be attending nursing school. This felt like a big shift from my former identities as a student-athlete and future physician. Meanwhile, I was a YMCA camp director and ski bum. This shift is common as novice nurses enter the workforce and experience burnout and transition shock (NewsRx, 2024). In my case, the transition was from seasonal worker to student. Scholars have identified that “misalignment between expectations and reality could lead to negative outcomes” (Al-Rawajfah et al., 2023). I went into the program with an open mind that allowed me to avoid this disconnect from expectations and reality.
Since the beginning of the nursing program at Trent, I have felt more myself than I have in years and in touch with who I am and where I want to go. I have felt that how I spend my days is for the most part, in alignment with my personal values and furthermore, I am advancing towards my career goals with every day.
Since the beginning, people have been my mission, and creating meaningful connections is what drives me. I feel at home in the shoes of a future nurse now, and am grateful for the path that led me to the profession. I bring the expertise of a student-athlete, a camp director, a ski patroller, and more, to the patient’s bedside when I interact with a patient.
Al-Rawajfah, O., AlBashayreh, A., Sulaiman Dawood, A. S., Al-Maqbali, M., & Yahyaei, A. A. (2023). Role transition from education to practice and its impact on the career futures of omani nurses. Nurse Education in Practice, 68, 103594. Doi https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2023.103594
NewsRx. (2024); School of Nursing Reports Findings in Psychology and Psychiatry (Novice nurses’ transition shock and professional identity: The chain mediating roles of self-efficacy and resilience). Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. p 615. https://link-gale-com.proxy1.lib.trentu.ca/apps/doc/A784914809/AONE?u=ocul_thomas&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=045b4e2f
