Nursing Field Experience Essay

In the nursing field there are over 100 areas to specialize in. This large quantity of options makes it difficult for a young adult to know what he or she would like to specialize in and work with. There are two major ways to explore and find out where one’s calling may be, clinical experience and shadowing. The shadow opportunity was very enlightening. I was able to learn about a new floor of medicine I was not very familiar with; while shadowing a nationally recognized award winning nurse. The nurse I was able to shadow was Garett Lemerand. Garett is an alumni of the 2013 WLC nursing class; she has been working at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin since graduation. Within the few short years as a nurse, Garett was recognized as being an extraordinary nurse and was award the DAISY Award. This award is a nationally recognized award that is given to nurses who provide super-human work for their patients and families. She has not yet furthered her education since being at WLC. She shared with me that her original plan was to go into pediatrics oncology; which did not work out. During her clinical …show more content…
I have volunteered at the Ronald McDonald house countless times, played with kids, and even work with kids, but never really dealt with children in the manner Garett and other pediatric nurses do everyday. After the shadowing, I don’t think I will be able to work with any other age group, besides pediatrics and neonatal. Witnessing the interaction between the nurses and parents was a generally good experience, but there will be a time when it is not good and the parent will not be as invested in the child. Seeing that father become an expert (in my eyes) about his daughter’s condition was amazing. Unfortunately, not every guardian of a child will be like that and now I have a greater urge to be there for the children in anyway possible to let them know they are not