5 Artifacts

Artifact One:

My first artifact is a picture from when I had completed my first post-secondary program at Algonquin College in early childhood education. Throughout high school, I could not decide between becoming a teacher or a nurse. I began to lean towards a teacher more because I did not believe in myself and thought that I was not smart enough to become a nurse. Although I was not 100% if I wanted to become a teacher, I decided to try the early childhood education program because I thought that it would help me have a better understanding of a teacher and I did not like it after I completed the program. I worked at a daycare the entire time while completing my studies which really helped me understand that I did not want to become a teacher and that I need to try to pursue nursing because I did not like the idea of not knowing if I could have became a nurse.

Artifact Two:

My second artifact that I have selected is a certificate that I have received from my previous program at Durham College. I attended this program for about a year starting in January 2024 and graduated in August 2024 right before the start of this nursing program. I decided to take this program at Durham when I realized that I did not want to become a teacher anymore to get a feel of what courses are like and, I wanted to get ahead in the workload because I still had not believed in myself. I thought to myself that if I had taken the pre-health sciences program, I’d be able to gain the knowledge and put in the effort to be smart enough to become a nurse.

Artifact Three:

The third artifact is the acceptance letter that I had received to get into the nursing program at Trent University. This was a big milestone in my nursing journey as I was always worried about being able to maintain the grades or not “being smart enough” to become a nurse. It had taken me some time to believe in myself, just enough to apply to school for nursing. I believed that if I could not get into nursing school, I truly was not smart enough to become a nurse and should stick to becoming a teacher. When I received this letter of acceptance, I realized it was confirmation for myself as well that I can do this and become a nurse.

Artifact Four:

This trip to Barbados is my fourth artifact. This trip was a big factor in deciding whether or not i wanted to change career fields from teaching to pursue a nursing degree. My family is originally from Guyana and some have moved to Barbados to start their own lives. My uncle had moved to Barbados before I was even born. My grandmother was visiting my uncle and unfortunately became very ill. My mother and I flown out to Barbados to visit my grandmother and I had learned a lot about nurses from this trip. As Barbados is not a very wealthy place, I noticed how much that had impacted nurses and the care that my grandmother had received. The nurses were over worked and lacked experience/knowledge due to fiscal reasons but are needed and were able to provide the best care that they knew. Unfortunately, my grandmother did pass away however, the experience made me realize how much I wanted to help and become a nurse to help prevent situations like what had happened with my grandmother.