Personal Narrative: My Medical Career
I've started my medical career in the early 1990s as a Medic in the Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG). The HIARNG had given me an opportunity for advancement and subsequently went to school for nursing while serving in the HIARNG. A few years later, I became an Army Nurse after obtaining my Associate in Science degree in Nursing (ADN) and started working as a full-time nurse at the Queen's Medical Center (QMC) in 2004.
As a full-time nurse and as an officer in the HIARNG, my work responsibilities (along with my share of military deployments) would often conflict with my responsibilities at home as a parent, husband, and caregiver to my parents. Over time, I thought my responsibilities would ease up, however, it did not. Due to having only
an ADN degree, I had to leave the military service before I could reach my potential as a military health officer due to not having a Baccalaureate degree (BSN). To prepare for the Healthcare Transformation 2020, nurses at the QMC are expected to be well educated not only in patient care, but also in health care financing, community and public health, and quality improvement, therefore the QMC is encouraging present nurses to have a BSN degree at a minimum. For these reasons, I embarked on obtaining my Baccalaureate degree in nursing through UH Manoa's Executive RN to BSN program, (a 12-month; 40 credit course). Taking pre-requisite courses for the Executive RN Program, along with my responsibilities at home and work, life became stressful not only for me but also for my entire family. Hence, in the Fall of 2015, I have decided to work as a part-time nurse.
Since becoming a part-time nurse, work, school, and personal life became more manageable. Since becoming a part-time nurse, my responsibilities as a float pool nurse at QMC had increased over time. I have become a clinical coach RN to the many newly hired nurses in the Float Pool Department. During the inpatient surge earlier this year, I did more than my share of being a Charge RN on Pauahi 5 as compared to my full-time colleagues. Recently, I also became oriented in caring for stroke and trauma patients in addition to my training in caring for telemetry, ventilated, transplant, and medical/surgical patients.
As my quest for the BSN is nearly complete, I will undoubtedly apply what I've learned in the nursing program (also from Health Care Administration Program) into my practice in serving the many patients I care for. I hope that Ruth E. Black Scholarship Committee would consider my time in service and training background in granting my third attempt in applying for this prestigious scholarship.
As a full-time nurse and as an officer in the HIARNG, my work responsibilities (along with my share of military deployments) would often conflict with my responsibilities at home as a parent, husband, and caregiver to my parents. Over time, I thought my responsibilities would ease up, however, it did not. Due to having only
an ADN degree, I had to leave the military service before I could reach my potential as a military health officer due to not having a Baccalaureate degree (BSN). To prepare for the Healthcare Transformation 2020, nurses at the QMC are expected to be well educated not only in patient care, but also in health care financing, community and public health, and quality improvement, therefore the QMC is encouraging present nurses to have a BSN degree at a minimum. For these reasons, I embarked on obtaining my Baccalaureate degree in nursing through UH Manoa's Executive RN to BSN program, (a 12-month; 40 credit course). Taking pre-requisite courses for the Executive RN Program, along with my responsibilities at home and work, life became stressful not only for me but also for my entire family. Hence, in the Fall of 2015, I have decided to work as a part-time nurse.
Since becoming a part-time nurse, work, school, and personal life became more manageable. Since becoming a part-time nurse, my responsibilities as a float pool nurse at QMC had increased over time. I have become a clinical coach RN to the many newly hired nurses in the Float Pool Department. During the inpatient surge earlier this year, I did more than my share of being a Charge RN on Pauahi 5 as compared to my full-time colleagues. Recently, I also became oriented in caring for stroke and trauma patients in addition to my training in caring for telemetry, ventilated, transplant, and medical/surgical patients.
As my quest for the BSN is nearly complete, I will undoubtedly apply what I've learned in the nursing program (also from Health Care Administration Program) into my practice in serving the many patients I care for. I hope that Ruth E. Black Scholarship Committee would consider my time in service and training background in granting my third attempt in applying for this prestigious scholarship.