In a lecture by one of the former presidents of the American Nursing Association (ANA) it was stated that if nurses took a day and did only what doctors told them to do, the entire system would fall apart. Nurses are on the frontline of patient care. They are the first ones to know when a patient improves, or takes a turn for the worst. While doctors treat the disease, nurses care for the individual as a whole, and that is what attracted me to the profession.
I was inspired to go into nursing during an assistantship assignment I was on while pursuing my first master’s degree. I was shadowing both a physician and resident on an OBGYN rotation. Before we went into one of the rooms, the resident ran down the details of the patient’s chart. However, when we entered the room there was a person laying in the bed… not a list of symptoms or current medications. It was at that precise moment that I knew nursing was what I wanted to pursue.
Apart from the financial assistance, the RWJF scholarship program has provided invaluable resources including an excellent academic support system, and an opportunity to learn about becoming not only an excellent nurse, but a leader and advocate for the profession. I hope to contribute the skills that I obtain from this program to the field of nursing. It is my goal to utilize those skills to ensure the quality of care that each patient deserves with special attention given to the indigent among us who too often are allowed to slip through the cracks of our healthcare system.
