Scholarship
Describe which experiences or persons have contributed to your plans to pursue a career in a health related field. (500 words)
I am inspired to become a nurse because of the positive relations with nurses I have known, personal experiences, and my interest in public health nursing. Having achieved a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Services Administration and Urban Planning twenty-six years ago, I have gained a solid foundation and maturity to approach a nursing education and career with a new perspective. My only regret is that I did not enter nursing school sooner!
First, I have had the privilege of being raised by a mother who was educated as a nurse. She had the amazing ability to lovingly and effectively juggle thirteen children in our family (yes, one family with thirteen children with my father!). I partially attribute this remarkable skill to her training as a nurse, as I think she would agree. She not only cared for her own children but neighbors would call on her nursing skills to assess their children for a quick consult when they were ill. It was inspiring to see her put her nursing skills to work. I still feel proud to this day how her compassion and knowledge as a nurse could benefit so many children while maintaining her own family. Incidentally, she was doing community nursing long before the phrase was used! Today, at the age of eighty-two years old, she continues to make “house calls” to “elderly” neighbors needing assistance with medicines and carrying out nursing skills. (see the neighbor to draw in reader more)
Secondly, I had the unfortunate personal experience of seeing and caring for two sisters who lived with and eventually died from ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig Disease). I can honestly say this was not the nursing experience that is at the top of my list. Obviously, I did not have my nursing degree at the time but I quickly learned the skill of tube feeding as well as other nursing techniques out of necessity.
I am inspired to become a nurse because of the positive relations with nurses I have known, personal experiences, and my interest in public health nursing. Having achieved a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Services Administration and Urban Planning twenty-six years ago, I have gained a solid foundation and maturity to approach a nursing education and career with a new perspective. My only regret is that I did not enter nursing school sooner!
First, I have had the privilege of being raised by a mother who was educated as a nurse. She had the amazing ability to lovingly and effectively juggle thirteen children in our family (yes, one family with thirteen children with my father!). I partially attribute this remarkable skill to her training as a nurse, as I think she would agree. She not only cared for her own children but neighbors would call on her nursing skills to assess their children for a quick consult when they were ill. It was inspiring to see her put her nursing skills to work. I still feel proud to this day how her compassion and knowledge as a nurse could benefit so many children while maintaining her own family. Incidentally, she was doing community nursing long before the phrase was used! Today, at the age of eighty-two years old, she continues to make “house calls” to “elderly” neighbors needing assistance with medicines and carrying out nursing skills. (see the neighbor to draw in reader more)
Secondly, I had the unfortunate personal experience of seeing and caring for two sisters who lived with and eventually died from ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig Disease). I can honestly say this was not the nursing experience that is at the top of my list. Obviously, I did not have my nursing degree at the time but I quickly learned the skill of tube feeding as well as other nursing techniques out of necessity.