After completing my first degree in biology, I started working as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) for a home health care agency. I worked primarily with disabled and geriatric patients for a year and a half before starting my journey at UNE. Although most of my experience is with the geriatric population, I am interested in working in the emergency department and possibly training for a wound care certification down the line. I’m looking forward to working in a hospital setting this semester, as all of my experience is in inpatient homes or rehab settings. I enjoy fast-paced environments, which is why I am drawn to the emergency department a trauma center. I would like to learn more about the differences between emergency department and trauma nursing, as well as what a potential future as a wound care nurse would look like. Because many of my patients were immobile, the only wounds I saw were early-stage pressure ulcers; I am looking forward to seeing what other types of wounds I could work with if I pursue a certification down the line.

I am looking forwards to evidence-based practice as I always enjoyed the research component of my biology degree. I minored in mathematics, so I was able to use modeling to support research, and I am interested in seeing if those skills can be utilized in my nursing career. Insofar, it seems like evidence-based practice is more hands-on than it was in biology. The methods seem to utilize implementation early on, which I find exciting as it means the field will be ever-changing. While at the New England Rehabilitation Hospital, my clinical instructor told us about the evidence-based practice they were starting to implement in their practice. She explained that the nurses were moving more towards utilizing straight catheters instead of foley catheters for short-term use. Even though a straight catheter would be inserted more frequently, the infection rate decreased when compared to foley catheter use. This makes sense, as catheters should be inserted in sterile fields so the frequency of insertion ideally should not drive up the infection rate, and indwelling foley catheters leave the patient susceptible to infection the entire time it is in place. Learning this was a great opportunity to see how the standards in nursing are changing so we can reduce the risk for patients.

During this course, I hope to learn more about implementing new methods into my nursing process and seeing how those methods are researched. I am also interested in learning what continued education could look like as a nurse. My first major in my undergraduate degree was education, and I have a passion for working with and teaching others. I eventually changed majors because the draw I had to the sciences was stronger than that to the classroom, but I am definitely interested in seeing how I could combine the two down the line and take up education in addition to my nursing practice.