Way Back Yonder....

A few months ago, when I was drowning in the sea known as Patho.... I graduated Level 1 Nursing at KCC. Interestingly enough I was one of the students elected to give a speech at our Pinning ceremony. Why on earth they would elect me is beyond my comprehension... but they did. Mostly because Maria let it out that I used to work in radio, and I think most everyone grabbed that tid bit and assumed I wasn't afraid of a microphone. Which, I'm not... but that doesn't mean I was dying to give a speech. A speech where I rambled needlessly about stuff that I have no clue about... seriously... team sport? Come on... like I'm a nurse already. Sheeesh... who let her in here?! Anyway if you're interested here is the lovely speech that I wrote during the lecture in Patho. LOL Seriously, I wrote most of it then, when I should of been listening. In retrospect perhaps not my best choice of time spenditure.

Good evening everyone, I want to thank my fellow students for giving me the opportunity to say a few words this evening. I will always cherish the memories of my dear friends and classmates and the many good works of our teachers and mentors in our nursing formation. The instructors in this program have helped to train another generation of nurses and their influence will be felt for years to come.

My earliest encounter with the nursing world started when I received my very first medical kit complete with blood pressure cuff and stethoscope when I was four years old. By 8 I was fascinated with Florence Nightingale because I liked the idea of being able to care for people in their time of need (the idea of being surrounded by soldiers was just a bonus)

Nursing fascinated me and I always loved anything relating to it. I took my first CPR class just for kicks. Six years later I got my first job at a hospital. I would pour over the doctor’s notes, when I was supposed to be filing the chart and practice learning the big words that were written in them. I would then casually drop those big words like cardiomyopathy into everyday conversation just because it made me SOUND cool. My Mother asked me why I didn’t just pursue nursing as a career and I answered her they way most of us answer our parents… because mom, I’m not SMART enough to be a nurse. (like she was the wrong one) And each time she asked my answer remained the same…

Almost two years ago I found myself out of a job and at a crossroads in life. I knew I needed to do something and through much support of my family and encouragement from my friends, especially the one who is here to pin me tonight I decided that maybe… just maybe I AM smart enough to be a nurse. So I found myself here at Kirtland registering for classes that would ultimately lead me on this path.

Last Autumn, we embarked on this journey to better ourselves, and the lives of those around us. I think we can all agree that this journey has been an emotional… well…. Roller coaster seems MUCH to mild a word to use… so I’m going to go with hurricane. In this hurricane we lived through late night study sessions, and feeble attempts to balance school, families, and existing responsibilities without letting them get swept away in the storm. I remember the first time I walked into the Nursing Lab I had a deer in the head lights look. I was just waiting for Anne to come in grab me and say, HEY…. Who let you in here!??” Heck, I went home and thought I was going to fail bed making! After lab we moved into our actual clinical time in the hospital and we freaked OUT that first day when we couldn’t find the “On” switch to the Blood Pressure machine. We spent 15 minutes debating weather or not it was prudent to take a simple band aide off a patient without a) having our instructor watch us, b) using adhesive remover, and c) assessing whether or not the patient was on Coumadin for fear they might bleed out once the band aide was removed.

We’ve come a long way in the last 18 months Not only can we make beds, but we can turn on a blood pressure machine too! YAY. We have managed to make appropriate nursing diagnosis, and develop our critical thinking skills in the process, We’ve given someone their first bath in life, and given another their last bath. We’ve studied till our brains couldn’t take anymore and somehow passed our classes, survived our clinicals and even retained a few things for our own practice. (however at times I can’t help but think that whoever was posting my grades might have an undiagnosed case of dyslexia…. And other times I can’t help but think that maybe… just maybe I really am destined to be a nurse)

We’ve seen a lot during our short stints as student nurses and it’s important for us to remember and learn from both the successes and the challenges we have encountered along the way. Good nurses never forget what it was like to be a student, recently qualified, or new to an area.

As we move into yet another phase of our lives, I hope that we remember our time in nursing school. We’ve each had that day in clinical when nothing went right. You’re first assessment was on an angry patient, you couldn’t remember what an ace inhibitor did and to top it off you managed to break the third guys dentures. It was just a very bad day…. But remember the relief when your classmate simply said “Hey, you need me to do something?” or when your Clinical Instructor or Co-assigned nurse would say, “It’s Ok…. It happens” Remember the nurse that you were excited to be assigned to because you knew you would learn from her and you did not have to be afraid of her. I encourage you to become that nurse! It’s important that we emulate the positives that we’ve seen, and use the negatives only as learning experiences. Remember these moments and embrace them because someday, you will have the opportunity to return the favor.
Nursing… is a team sport. And each day when you wake up you have a choice to be a part of that team, or a hindrance to that team.

About 6 weeks ago we were given an assignment to write down our philosophy of nursing and what nursing means to us. One of our classmates said A nurse touches a patient’s life at a time when health is challenged and help is needed. What a privilege we have to be able to touch someone’s life on a daily basis. We may not be able to change the world, but we can change our little corner of it, and we do just that each and every day, little by little. We do it when we help our fellow nurse who is having a rough day, we do it when we assure the patient looking up at us that we honestly don’t mind cleaning up the remains of their gastrointestinal misfortune, AND really we don’t mind, because we care and we would like to make their day as comfortable as can be.You have the power to change someone’s day, to influence someone’s life. It’s an awesome opportunity, and a great responsibility. It’s a gift. Use it wisely and make a difference. After all, I know that being a nurse isn’t just about being smart anymore, it’s about having the innate capacity to care for others whom we have never met and whom we will probably never meet again.

In closing I would like to share with you Robert Louis Stevenson’s thoughts about the true meaning of one’s profession

“If a man loves the labor of his trade, apart from any questions of success or fame, the gods have called him.”

We have come this far because we have worked hard for it, and I do believe deep in my heart that we will make it through the next journey because we are called to this profession. We… are nurses.



And yes... I really did make all the jokes that are listed in there. Oh and Autumn, she's a friend of mine in class and I promised I'd mention her in the speech... see how I did that? There were 3 of us speaking and all 3 of us worked it in there! LOL We rock!!!