There are a number of students in the campus that I personally know and they happen to be taking Nursing as a major course. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to describe a Nursing student’s experiences as he/she relates with the environment. When Erin was entering her senior year in high school, she was still ambivalent about which course she should pursue in college. This is due to her varied interests which makes it difficult for Erin among her many options. She is good in the arts, she spends time with testing recipes, and she also enjoys the outdoors as well as the medical field.
It was only when classes came to a close when Erin had taken the battery of psychological tests which had greatly helped her decision to finally narrow her options. With the recommendation and advice of her guidance counselor and the support of her parents and friends, Erin eventually chose Nursing. Fortunately, her best friend Dawn and a couple of friends also had made Nursing their final choice. During an unusually “pleasant” week, which normally falls after a major exams schedule, Erin and Dawn, have plenty of time to hang out with their friends with their favorite pastime – videoke singing in a nearby pub.
They consider this also their very “good” time, wherein they can catch up with the latest of their overseas internet community of friends. Their friendship is enhanced during this much needed break. But this does not last very long. After just a week of semi-lethargic mood, they’re back on the demands that seemed to sap their mental, emotional and physical strength. There have been times when everyone’s nerve is raw, and someone in their group, particularly, Erin (whose personality has changed a bit since taking up this course) easily gets irritated.
The sleepless nights make her very edgy and considerable tension erupts whenever their two demanding instructors do not give in to conflicting schedules which tend to pull their students apart by the sheer pressure they were experiencing. Erin said that she feels affirmed though, whenever she wears her uniform. It feels like a status symbol for her; knowing that a lot of people know how difficult it is to balance many things together in this course. Moreover, the fact that it is a professional course with noble intentions is an added boost to her especially when rough days come.
She said she just tries to focus on what’s ahead when she is finished and has taken her board exam. Looking back though, what accounts for overcoming the difficulties was the continued support of her parents in a lot of areas, especially their understanding when she can hardly put in her share of household chores. In addition, her natural love for learning things that pertains to scientific explorations, relating to needs of people and understanding human nature contributed a lot to withstanding the long-hours of reading and reviewing all her materials.
She believes that in general, society looks at them as the future of health care; people who take service at heart and that they are much appreciated by the community. She just longs to have just one semester with only a few subjects but knows that that is impossible unless she shifts to another course, stops, or flunks in many subjects; things which she dreams won’t happen to her, of course. She does envy at times, other students in the university, despite the difficulty of their courses; they don’t have the same demands as much as being a Nursing student has.
However, the challenge that is constantly before her, i. e. getting good grades and truly learning the skills and absorbing the knowledge being taught by her professors, actually thrill her and finds that this is actually one factor that Nursing is one big enjoyable experience. Erin also believes that her other friends who are not Nursing students fancy her as “authority” of so many important things in the medical profession. This is an exhilarating feeling for Erin, and she delights to help them see the daily practicality of the knowledge she has gained in school by pointing out to them vital information with regards health, relationships and the growth and development principles of the person.