Reflection

In 2019, I graduated from Trent University with a BScH in Biology. I focused my studies on ecology and conservation for my love of nature and all living things. During my studies, I got a job through the Trent Work Study Program at a non-profit, charitable organization B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop. After graduating and struggling to find a position in my field of study, I continued working at B!KE where I discovered my passion for working hands-on and making meaningful connections at a community level. In 2022, I welcomed my beautiful daughter Leona into the world. Starting a family has re-shaped my life, my perspectives on parenting, and my future goals in supporting our family and our wellbeing. I deeply care for my home and community and value connecting with and helping others. These life experiences have certainly shaped my interest in pursuing a career in nursing.

Now, in 2024 I have begun my journey in the compressed nursing program at Trent University. I am very ambitious, and am navigating this transition, while balancing priorities at home and school. So far, my studies have required a great deal of self-discipline and planning to adhere to a Monday-Friday 8-4pm schedule dedicated to schoolwork. This provides me with the most time and space to be fully present with my family on evenings and weekends. Having a child and being a student require proficient planning skills. My partner and I enjoy the fleeting time we have with our daughter and value incorporating meaningful self-care into our routines. Ensuring that we are connected socially, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically is an ongoing balancing act. Managing my own needs and the needs of my family help me to grasp prioritizing many important demands at once. The CNO emphasizes the need to identify key strategies for coping with stress and how fatigue and burnout may impair the care we can provide for patients (CNO, 2019). I recognize the need personally and professionally for the promotion of health and well-being through self-care practices to prevent distress and burnout.

So far, through my first semester of the nursing program I am feeling eager, excited, and optimistic. I am pleased to learn about core nursing values and their implementation in the CNO’s Code of Conduct which guide nursing standards of practice (CNO, 2023). The alignment of my own values with core nursing values helps me to really visualize myself as a nurse and reassures me that I am on the right path. I remain optimistic, acknowledging that there will be challenges ahead for me as a student and as a practicing nurse. I trust in myself to ask for help and resources to access support when I need it.

I am enjoying the opportunity to learn more about the scope of practice, expectations, and requirements of a nurse in class. I am also looking forward to applying theoretical nursing models we have learned to practice. Ongoing self-reflection and identifying areas to improve without taking feedback personally will allow me to integrate knowledge and provide the best patient outcomes. A meta-synthesis nursing study found that quality reflection involving knowledge of our learning barriers and self-discovery improve practice outcomes and allow for the integration of nursing theory into practice (Barbagallo, 2021). Through effective communication and active listening, I hope to build my knowledge and collaboration skills. I anticipate that entering clinical practice next semester will present challenges. Particularly while balancing my responsibilities, energy levels and fatigue, and utilizing healthy coping strategies to manage stress. In a research study on the role transition for new nursing graduates, it is emphasized that personal enhancement activity encouragement is vital to sustainable commitment and retention in professional practice (Duchscher, 2021).

I am an open-minded and curious learner who is dedicated to expanding my skills and knowledge through my lifetime. I believe a commitment to ongoing learning is essential to achieve our potential and engage with the world in meaningful ways as systems, schools of thought, and best practices change during our lives. I am proud to be studying in a profession that values life-long learning. I look forward to the future personal, professional, and clinical experiences that will provide reflective learning opportunities and shape my growth and development. I believe the contexts of our learning are not bound to specific situations, instead they traverse our lives in every way. Remaining open-minded and curious in the process of ongoing learning will benefit my relationships and practices throughout my life. Through my learning journey in nursing school, I aim to become a nursing leader and collaborator who promotes holistic, ethical, and patient-centered care. I hope I can make a positive impact on the lives of patients and their families, as well as our community.