Nursing Goals

In my first year of grade 12 I took a co-op at my local hospital. There I was able to explore the many different health care fields. A few of the departments I was able to work in include: radiology, nuclear medicine, physiotherapy, pharmacology, cardiology, and a variety of nursing wings. I found each department extraordinarily fascinating and I learned as much information from each section that I could. The department that kept my attention however was the newborn nursery and pediatrics. There I worked with many different nurses who taught me about proper care for infants and their nursing role in teaching the new mothers how to breast feed and change diapers. I was very fortunate to witness a cesarean section (C-section) in which a beautiful boy and girl were born. These experiences were very positive and helped to guide me in my decision of becoming a nurse. I hope to one day achieve my goal of working in the pediatric/newborn nursery ward. There will always be a need for nurses in these fields as there are babies being born every day. One day my ultimate goal is to work at a hospital such as Sick Kids or CHEO. As my first semester as a nursing student draws to an end, I take comfort in the fact that I am now one step closer to attaining my goals.

Communication Through Technology

Technology has been improving the way nurses communicate with their colleagues and their patients. Communication barriers are being knocked down by technological advances such as telemedicine and computer reporting. In an age where there is a significant shortage in healthcare professionals, we need to think of more creative ways to provide care for patients who may not have access to the help they need. Telemedicine allows doctors and other health care professionals to care for patients at a distance, monitoring them through a television, audio recording, etc. Health care professionals writing their patient reports on a computer system minimizes communication errors that may happen with oral or hand written reports. There are also simpler technologies that improve communication in the hospitals such as call bells.

The Nursing Shortage

As a nursing student, I believe that one of the most serious issues we will have to face in the workforce is the dreary nursing shortage. I can safely say we have discussed this topic in all of my classes at one point or another throughout this semester. As future nurses we will not only have to care for the sick and the elderly that are presently in need, but also for an even larger population as the vast majority of the baby boomers are moving into retirement. This large group of people also includes a lot of nurses, burnt out nurses, who are going to depend on us to take over the workload. I believe that by the time we graduate, we are going to have our hands full. The skills that we are learning in our year one classes are very valuable, and I hope that everyone will carry them on to their clinical placements and future jobs, just as I hope to. Unfortunately, with the rapid decline in RNs and RPNs I can only hope that with the predicted workload we are able to give our patients the kind of care they need and deserve. Technology is taking over simple jobs for nurses, such as taking a patient’s blood pressure, that would provide the nurse and client a time to bond; however, if the shortage causes as much damage as is rumoured, then I find it very unfortunate that nurses will depend on such equipment, and perhaps machinery that is even more complex.