Interest in Nursing: a Journey of Helping and Caring

The Importance of Nursing

Nurses play an essential role in healthcare worldwide. Nursing also offers a diverse range of specialties that allows experiences in different settings. The level of care and compassion nurses provide to their patients is what I find most admirable about the career. My passion for helping other people is the main reason I gained interest in nursing. This is why I decided to pursue a career in nursing through the Practical Nursing program at Centennial College.

My Passion and Interest in Nursing

For as long as I can remember, I have always felt a passion and interest in helping other people. Whether it was playing “hospital” with my sister as a child or helping family members while they were sick, I always wanted to help others as much as I could. My grandmother was the first person to help me realize that nursing would be the perfect career for me after I took care of her after her surgery a few years ago. She told me that it had always been natural for me to care for other people and in her experience in working in a hospital, it is the most important in a healthcare setting where people need to be cared for. At that point, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career yet besides helping other people. It wasn’t until I realized that I had become fascinated by science and especially learning anatomy and how the body works, that I wanted to find a career that combined my two interests. Through lots of research, I found that nursing was what have always wanted to do.

Nursing Experiences and Volunteer Work

To further my education and interest in nursing, I decided to become a HOSA member through my school. This year, I am participating in the Clinical Nursing event and have started studying for the competitive event for the conference in April. My studies for my event include practicing basic patient care, clinical care and treatment, and clinical skills like starting an I.V. I chose to be a part of HOSA through my school because it is an opportunity for me to explore the career I want to pursue and to learn the skills and practices that nurses do throughout their day while also being a part of a group of students from my school who are also interested in a health-based career.

Outside of school, I often volunteer my time to babysit and tutor a few school-age children in my area. I typically volunteer to help babysit while the parents clean, cook, or go out for a while and need someone to help with keeping their children busy. Through babysitting and tutoring, I have learned a lot of patience because younger children need the time to process the request and that has helped me with the way I interact with the children I work with. Tutoring younger children has also helped me to understand when I need to communicate with more detail and clarification. My overall experience in volunteering with young children has also allowed me to understand the different levels of care needed for younger children compared to adults as children require a more gentle form of care and attention.