Journey to Becoming a Nurse: Impact through Personal Reflection I was originally trying to get into policing; I gained plenty of experience volunteering with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and dedicated most of my early 20 's to that career. However, after numerous attempts to get into the police force, I decided to find a different career. An old friend was in the Douglas College nursing program and she persuaded me to consider nursing as a career option. After researching the career and the academic program, I realized it would be a perfect fit for me. I applied in 2010 and was accepted into the program for the fall semester. According to the rites of passage identified by Turner, the first stage is separation from previous
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Working as an ESN allows me to strengthen my skills and assessments; however, some of the nurses remember me as an HCA and ask me to complete those duties. Although, when I have a spare moment, I will complete some of the tasks such as filling the blanket warmer or taking the filled linen bag to the back. For example, one of my shifts a month ago, the patient care coordinator (PCC) asked me to complete some care aide tasks because there were no patients in the ER. I completed the tasks because I want to have a good reputation for a potential job after graduation. With this in mind, I still felt conflicted to fill the role of HCA as it is not my job as an ESN. I understand when Holland (1999) states that there are two concerns: First, if a student takes on both roles when do they learn the future professional culture and accountabilities. Second, if a HCA is deemed competent in that role than they are competent as a student nurse. Holland’s (1999) study showed that student nurses were taking on HCA duties during their indirect teaching time. Furthermore, nurse colleagues working alongside the student nurses did not do HCA duties while working the same hours and shifts (Holland, 1999). When does the student nurse learn about becoming a registered nurse? It has been suggested that despite student nurses being supernumerary, in actuality, students are important contributors to the care given to patients while being unpaid health workers in relation to their competency
Working as an ESN allows me to strengthen my skills and assessments; however, some of the nurses remember me as an HCA and ask me to complete those duties. Although, when I have a spare moment, I will complete some of the tasks such as filling the blanket warmer or taking the filled linen bag to the back. For example, one of my shifts a month ago, the patient care coordinator (PCC) asked me to complete some care aide tasks because there were no patients in the ER. I completed the tasks because I want to have a good reputation for a potential job after graduation. With this in mind, I still felt conflicted to fill the role of HCA as it is not my job as an ESN. I understand when Holland (1999) states that there are two concerns: First, if a student takes on both roles when do they learn the future professional culture and accountabilities. Second, if a HCA is deemed competent in that role than they are competent as a student nurse. Holland’s (1999) study showed that student nurses were taking on HCA duties during their indirect teaching time. Furthermore, nurse colleagues working alongside the student nurses did not do HCA duties while working the same hours and shifts (Holland, 1999). When does the student nurse learn about becoming a registered nurse? It has been suggested that despite student nurses being supernumerary, in actuality, students are important contributors to the care given to patients while being unpaid health workers in relation to their competency