Registered Nurse Reflection

All the bells, beeps and buzzers were quick to disrupt my early morning serenity as soon as I stepped on the unit. It was mid February, a peak month of flu activities and increased hospital admissions. As a Critical Care Nurse of 3 years, I was used to the chaos. I had developed the wisdom to put my patients’ needs before mine and to always remember that they were having a much worse day than I was. At 10 AM I admitted Mr. Watkins, a 73-year-old gentleman, with complains of productive cough and increased work of breathing. Upon further interview, I discovered that Mr. Watkins was a long time smoker, which only increased his risks for developing array of respiratory diseases. I performed patient education and offered Mr. Watkins resources to

During my 4th year as a nurse, I took on the responsibility to conduct patient case presentations on my unit. I particularly picked rare and difficult cases that we encountered on our unit, and illustrated what available evidence-based information indicated about recognition, monitoring, treatment and prevention of such conditions. To this day, my presentations help generate useful discussions amongst my colleagues and help maintain high standards of

In 2014, I enrolled at the State University at Albany to continue my education towards a career in medicine. My decision to become a physician is a combination of several driving forces. I realize that becoming a physician requires extreme degree of dedication and mental discipline; for me, these are also the attractive aspects of the career in medicine. One of the greatest accomplishments one can hope to achieve is to have a career that improves human pain and suffering, while encouraging sharing of ideas to improve delivery of care and patient outcomes. I feel that my empathetic nature, intrinsic motivation and energy have made me well prepared for a career in medicine. Medicine offers the challenges and opportunities that will allow me to serve my patients to the best of my