Can someone proof read my essay for nursing scholarship?? Thanks

April 25, 2011

When we look up the word “nurse” in the dictionary, we will read something like “somebody who cares for a sick person”, or “someone who is educated to take care of the ill.” Thinking about those definitions seem pretty straight forward/easy; however, I believe that there is more to nursing than those simple definitions, and I believe that nursing is not just an education taught to you, that it takes special qualities in a person to become a nurse. Some of the qualities I believe that make a great nurse are; communication skills, compassion, open mindedness, empathy, flexibility, devotion, and hard working. Being a nurse is a very influential and rewarding profession. Nurses care for people through illness, injury, pain, loss, dying, grieving, birth, growth, aging and health. They not only care for people through illness, but they also promote health, prevent diseases and educate the public.

With all the examples stated above I KNOW that I fit the aspects of what it takes to become an excellent nurse. I have always known nursing is the profession I have wanted to go into. Since I was a younger girl I showed compassion in everything I did, my parents said that they knew I would end up in a career where I would show my compassion towards people.

When I was in elementary school we had an assignment where we had to present to the class what we wanted to do when we grew up. I find this very amazing that when I was younger I already had it figured out, Nursing is what I wanted to do! On my poster I said I wanted to be a nurse so I could give those that were hurt hugs and put my princess Band-Aids on them when they got an owie. My parents continue to bring up this story, reminding me I was destined to become a nurse!

On my journey to become a nurse I had choose to go to school for my LPN degree, by doing this it has not only shown me a portion of what nursing is but has only re-assured me more that nursing is what I know I want to do. I have had the opportunity to work as a LPN now for two years on a Medical/Surgical and Oncology floor. By having this experience it has opened my eyes to the great opportunities nursing has in store for me! I have been able to work side by side with RNs seeing what they do on an everyday basis which has helped restore confidence in me that I have the uniqueness to become a RN.

With the experience I have as a LPN in a hospital setting I have many meaningful stories I could talk about that has only influenced my career decision even more. Though, there is one that always stands out in my mind.

One experience I will never forget is when I was taking care of a cancer patient of mine who had came in because he was short of breath and felt like he could never get enough oxygen to breath, this was due to his diagnosis of COPD and Lung Cancer. I had, had him a couple times before when he came in for the same reasons, however this time was different. I came into his room the next morning and like always was greeted with a big smile. Out of breath he said “Briana I am so happy you’re my nurse again today, god has put you in my life for a reason”, not thinking too much of this statement I continued with my vitals and could see he was struggling to breathe. After we tried a couple different treatment and other remedies to help him breathe we decided he needed to be put back on a BiPAP machine (which is a breathing machine device to help the patient recover from acute respiratory failure). This however didn’t work for him, his Oxygen levels continued to drop and the patient became very aware of what was happening and said that he was ready to be done and knew his body couldn’t fit this anymore. With this decision, the patient wanted us take off the BiPAP machine and just keep him comfortable. It was very hard to watch the patient of mine that I have had over the past year struggle so much and know that these were the last few hours of his life; this moment truly questions my ability to become a nurse. I sat by his side holding his hand until the family members arrived, many times I thought I don’t think I can be a nurse anymore. It was not until the family came and I was getting up to leave that I remembered why this profession is the only thing I want to invest my time into. As I got up to leave the patient didn’t let go of my hand, he grasped it tighter and looked at me and said “God sent me an angle today and that angle was you, thank you for being the person you are, your smile and heart is healing to anyone that crosses your path”. As I left the room I was so touched and speechless knowing I made that much of an impact on this patient unknowingly. This patient of mine passed away 3 hours later. This encounter is something I will never forget and will always keep close to my heart. Days are not always going to be the best in nursing I know this however, when they are not I have this experience to always remember that I have a special gift that not everyone has, and that gift is the ability to be a nurse.

I have set some very high and achievable professional goals for myself, some of which are graduating from an accredited Associate of Science Nursing program, achieving a full-time RN job after graduations and a long term goal I have set for myself to achieve is to eventually go back to nursing school to obtain my Masters Degree of Nursing and hope to work as a CRNA someday.

I am looking forward to becoming a full-time student of nursing. By doing this, I will begin to fulfill my obligation to myself, to the medical profession and to society. However, being a full-time student in a nursing program, means working full time won’t be possible. The program administers suggest that you don’t work during school because all free time should be dedicated to studying. Nursing school requires all your hard work and dedication to make it through and I am totally dedicated to it. Therefore, I will have to cut back my hours at work, and being on a single income supporting myself this will cause added financial stress during the course of the program. I plan on using my personal savings, income from my job throughout the year, potential scholarships, and loans to fund this extraordinary education opportunity that I was given.

I know that I have the heart and strive to become a more educated nurse and believe that I was given this opportunity for a spot in such a competitive LPN-RN program starting this fall for a reason. The experience I have gained from working as a LPN is exceptional and I know will only help me in nursing school. I couldn’t be more excited to start my new journey in such a rewarding profession.

Thanks for you time and consideration for the 2011 scholarship, it’s very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Briana