Jorge Alvarez
Winner:
June 2015
Class of 2015
I believe this about nursing: that we can truly change the world. That is what I have been learning so far at the University of Pennsylvania and as a part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing Program. I mention this because I never realized just how far a nursing career could reach. Nurses can be in a hospital taking care of acutely sick individuals to promoting cervical cancer screenings to at-risk HIV positive women in Botswana to promoting health equity through political advocacy. I imagine that I will continue to be surprised by the nursing field throughout my entire career.
This was not the original reason I began nursing; since I did not know the full scope of nursing practice before I began my nursing education. My original reason for nursing school was my stepfather, an anesthesiologist. When he passed I saw firsthand how essential nurses were to his care and in making his last few weeks not feel like we were in a strange place. They were all so nice and it was great seeing them every day. He wanted me to become a nurse because he believed that it aligned perfectly with my personality.
Bolstered and inspired by his encouragement, I decided I wanted to become the best nurse I could to provide others with the same level of care and dedication I saw in those who treated him on his weeklong hospital stay. In addition to my nursing career, I plan on providing additional community care to residents of West Philadelphia who are under, or not, insured. I lived in that community for years and got to know its people, its cultures, and its struggles. As a long-term goal, I would like to become a professor and help encourage and inspire the next generation of nurses. Teaching would bring a beautiful marriage between my passion for nursing and the patience I have while helping others. As a nurse, I will do my best to change the world, starting from within my community first, because that is what I believe about nursing.
