5/2 Assignment Reflection

I found this photo on www.robertchelle.com
I wanted to include this photo because I felt like it once
again displayed what it looked like behind-the-scenes where I mentored. 

I found this photo on www.ctpost.com
I think that this photo accurately demonstrates what
it looked like behind-the-scenes where I interned,
where the nurses are normally at their station
and the doctors are normally always filling out papers and
then handing them to the nurses. Everybody is normally
running around and its always go,go,go.

 

I have learned a lot from my internship and I have gained a lot of experience that will be useful in my future academic career as well as my job in my future. I learned the pros and the cons of nursing, especially in the emergency care facilities and I was able to see sometimes the not so great aspect of nursing that really opened my eyes and allowed me to weigh the different options that nursing had to offer. I was able to shadow the nurses at Guilford Immediate Care and I was able to see what they went through every day when they come in to work and I enjoyed being able to observe and experience just what they went through because I feel like that has shown me the real sides to nursing and not just the glamorous side that is always portrayed in TV shows and movies. I like the fact that some days I got to see bloody, gory injuries that kept me on my feet, and then other days all we saw were people with the flu. I got to see a lot of variety as far as emergency situations go and that was exciting because I never knew what to expect.

I definitely asked a lot of questions regarding the field of nursing and I think by doing this it helped me to one not only relate on a deeper level with the nurses, but also to see what someone else’s experience was through another’s first person perspective. This mentorship gave me an experience that I can use towards my education in the future and it helped me realize what exactly I want for my future, in regards to what field of nursing I want to go in. I think that this mentorship gave me a good visual picture for what my future would look like in an emergency care clinic and I was able to view the experience from an insider’s perspective, which gave me a real feel for whether or not emergency care would be something I would like to continue on in my future endeavors. I like the fact that in emergency care clinics there is always a variety of things happening, however I also took in to account the fact that there is not a lot of consistency so if that’s something I’m looking for, maybe emergency care isn’t the right route for me. I enjoyed my time at the clinic because it gave me a new insight into the field of not only nursing, but emergency care clinics.

Before going into my mentorship, I always thought that nursing was a piece of cake, but after mentoring I can honestly say that it takes a lot of courage and patience to be a nurse. There were some days where there were rude and obnoxious people and the nurses just had to suck it up and be courteous and then there were some days where people were deathly sick and someone flat lined and because of the courage that the nurses had and the bravery that they exemplified, the man was saved. I learned that it takes a lot more than just being a nice person; the nurses I shadowed had hearts of gold and you could just tell that they really wanted to help others and that they had a passion for that. My advice for future students who want to participate in HMP is that they keep an open mind and ask a lot of questions. Asking questions and having an inquisitive mind go hand in hand in learning and making the best of an experience. 

3/14 Assignment Reflection

For this week's assignment, I was asked to watch a video on public speaking and reflect on how I could use the tips mentioned in the video to my relevant group presentation. I definitely get nervous whenever public speaking is something I have to do, however the video I watched had good points that I could use for my group presentation. One of the main points mentioned the the video was to prepare and make sure you know your topic very well; this useful tip is something I can definitely use, because if I know my information backwards and forwards I won't be as nervous to talk about it and it would almost be like a regular conversation. The video also mentioned that posture is key to presenting something, so I will take that into account and make sure that I am standing naturally because that way it will feel more natural when I'm presenting. Their were also other great tips I can use, like holding eye contact, which is something I specifically struggle with and in a situation if something feels awkward or uncomfortable use humor to lighten the environment. Overall, I really do think that the video mentioned a lot of things that I could use to benefit me when I'm presenting.

Here is the link to the video that I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShavGuo0_E

2/22 Assignment

1. What I Need to Know

As far as the nursing field goes, I really want to know why people want to become nurses. What would be the driving force behind someone's decision to go into nursing and how does someone really make this decision? I believe that by being able to identify why people are persuaded into going into this field, it will allow me to make absolutely certain that this is what I want to do with my life.

2. What I Know or Assume

I can only assume that many go into nursing for the same reason that I want to go into this field, to help someone. However, I can also imagine that people also have other factors as to why they feel nursing is a best fit job for their life. Many people I  know who are involved in the nursing field generally seem to enjoy helping others and enjoy meeting new people. I also know many people who don't seem to like the hours or the commitment that it takes to thoroughly take care of a patient, and therefore heavily dislike their job. Both extremes are seen in the field of nursing and so being able to weigh the options allows me to note the positive an negatives outlooks that this job can have.

3. The Search

Throughout my search to find out what really makes some one want to be a nurse, I consulted many different resources including books, an interview and different websites on personal nursing experiences. Within my sources, I was able to find a common integer, this being the want to help others or likely called a caring and generous spirit. Every person who went into the field had a genuine feeling to help others and in the interview I had with my mentor, she mentioned that yes, she did want to help others and the paycheck she would receive was also a nice bonus. In many articles I found, many people noted the increase in nursing students across the US. This leads me to believe that many people are seeing a worthwhile career in nursing, whether it be through their drive to help others or other benefits they might receive through nursing.

4. What I Discovered

I had assumed at the beginning of my research that many people had a big heart and their only real reason to become a nurse was for their humanitarian effort to help other people, however  I also learned that many might view this as a wonderful thing, but their biggest motivator was the paycheck or health benefits that many nurses receive upon being hired. Overall, a person's factor for becoming a nurse varies throughout each person and it all depends on each individual's independent experience. 

2/15 Assignment Annotated Bibliography Summary

"Advancing Graduate Nursing Education Through Innovative Programs." INSIGHT Into Diversity 86.4/5 (2016): 47-49.       

Business Source Complete. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.

This resource notes the competitive field of nursing and how many schools in the US are stepping up their game as far as their nursing programs in hope of drawing in more people for this type of career. This source demonstrates how many colleges from around the US are creating new innovative nursing programs to help fellow nursing students adapt to the ever changing medical world. There are many quotes in this source pertaining to the ever-chaning and every evolving world of nursing and it states that, "Today’s healthcare professionals have to be able to provide culturally competent care to patients from around the world," a true statement that cements the fact that nursing students have to learn to adhere to the medical world and it also shows the ever growing number of students going into the nursing field if schools have to keep creating new and evolving ways to teach. I would note that this source is reliable in the fact that it comes from a published and renewed research website, Galileo. I would use this source to establish the nursing world as one that is ever growing and to illustrate the main point as to why I want to go into nursing and why others want to go into this field. 

 

2/1 Assignment

For this week, I have mainly been focusing on continuing my interviews and working on power point presentation to help aid my project. I have also been working on keeping up with my internship hours and trying to get as much research done so that I will be able to answer my essential question for my project. I hope to have more internet and book sources because I do want a wide range of variety as far as research sources go.

1/19 Assignment: Second Graphic Organizer

For this week's assignment, I was asked to create another graphic organizer that would later help me in the future with my end of the year capstone research project.

Name: Savannah Girard

Source #____ Bibliography (MLA or APA) 10 pts	Fondiller, Shirley H., and Barbara J. Nerone. Nursing : The Career Of A Lifetime / Shirley H. Fondiller And Barbara J. Nerone. n.p.: New York : National League for Nursing press, c1995., 1995. Georgia PINES Catalog. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.
Annotation: (Describe ALL info. that might be important for your paper. Explain to the reader and/or summarize what might be found in this source) 35 pts	The book discusses the novelties of being a nurse in this day and age and whether the prospect of being a nurse holds true throughout a lifetime. The book holds important aspects such as the pay, the ethics surrounding nursing and whether the degree for nursing is valuable concerning the job placement in nursing.
Potential Quotes: (Are there any significant quotes you can use or paraphrase from this source?) 15 pts	"Although social conditions have markedly influenced the nurse's role, and will continue to do so, nursing will always retain its two important core values of caring and humanitarianism." (Page 16).
Assessment: (Analyze and explain why this source is credible) 15 pts	This source is published by New York : National League for Nursing press, a reliable and credible publishing firm and the book was also included in Galileo's research website. The book was also written by credible medical officials and experienced medical professionals.
Reflection: (How will you potentially use it?) 25 pts	I will use this resource as a credible source to discuss whether the institution of nursing is a viable career option and whether or not the career of nursing will continue to grow exponentially and if the career is a fulfilling lifetime commitment.

1/11 Assignment

For this week's assignment I was asked to conduct an interview with my mentor or someone in the same field and  report my findings here. I was unable to conduct the interview this week due to conflicting schedules, however I am able to conduct it next week. I'm going to go ahead and post my questions here and then once I have the interview done I can insert the answers and my reflection on the questions.

My questions:

1. Why did you want to pursue the field of nursing?

Mentor: I wanted to pursue the field of nursing because it gave me a wide range of possibilities for my future and I genuinely like helping people.

2. Was the schooling to become a nurse a difficult pathway?

Mentor: For me personally, I attended a school where I could graduate in 4 years with my RN degree, so my pathway was fairly easy however in college  there a multiple different paths I had thought of taken.

3. What different avenues did you consider when making your choice to become a nurse?

Mentor: I thought about the different types of nursing options and what field I felt would best fit my lifestyle as far as the hours and the pay went.

4. There are many different types of nursing options, what was your reasoning behind wanting to be an emergency clinic nurse?

Mentor: I like having new people come in every day and having different situations come up because it makes my work days that much more interesting.

5. What was your passion behind being a nurse?

Mentor: My main passion was wanting to help people, and I felt that the easiest way to do this was to go into the field of nursing.

6. In college, are there many different programs in the nursing field that you had considered, other than the program you had chosen?

Mentor: For me, no, I wanted to go into a program that would allow me to graduate in 4 years with my RN degree. There were many different programs at the college I went to, however most were either 2 years or 6 years and neither included getting an RN degree.

7. What is your favorite part about being a nurse?

Mentor: My favorite part about being a nurse is being able to help others and I enjoy meeting new people everyday and getting to experience new things.

8. Are there any major difficulties in the nursing field, if so, what are they?

Mentor: The hours can sometimes be extreme and there is a lot of work going into the job. Each day, you face different difficulties, but I would say the hardest things is sometimes the 12 hour shifts you have to pull.

9. After having received your nursing degree and working as a full time nurse, how do you now perceive your job versus when you were still in school?

Mentor:When I was in school, I didn't anticipate the harsh working hours or sometimes the unexpected lull in working because sometimes the clinic is very busy and sometimes it can be very slow and we don't get people coming in.

10. Do you feel that there are specific traits someone might need to become a nurse? If so, what would those traits be?

Mentor: I think someone wanting to go into nursing should be able to work under pressure, no doubt. I also think that they should be able to be caring and considerate and also have patience with others and the job itself because sometimes it can be tiring.

1/5 Assignment

What is driving my research? Most of what is driving my research is the wanted knowledge of what it would be like in my prospective field. Experience is what most of my research would be and therefore I would based most of my research on all of my experiences in my mentorship. My current essential question is: Why do people want to become nurses, why do I want to become a nurse and what is the passion behind nursing? I plan on using prezi and maybe a film or a exhibit to showcase my project. My "real inquiry" will include a survey and an interview with people at my mentorhship and I plan to answer all of the questions I had posed at the beginning of my mentorship.