Career

My resume includes my educational background, clinical experience, work experience, leadership roles and long-term volunteer experiences. Here is a link to my resume: AbbeyResume2018-2gvpp67

Applied Experiences and What I Have Gained From Them

As a nursing student, I have clinical experiences every semester. This semester (Spring 2019), I am on the Burn Unit at the Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University. So far, I have learned many skills that can be transferred into my career. Not only have I learned actual clinical skills (e.g., wound dressing changes, inserting catheters, etc.), I have gained so much communication experience when working with patients. Every time I step into a patient’s room, I am gaining some new experience or learning how to answer a question I have never heard before. The connections and the quick trust that nurses need to make with their patients is something I am still trying to learn, but I get closer each week. This clinical is also teaching me how to create and foster interprofessional relationships. When you are working in the hospital, it is not only nurses; there are surgeons, doctors, PT/OT, PCAs/techs, etc. Learning how to collaborate with these other professions as a member of a cohesive care team is a skill I am finally getting the chance to practice.

I have also worked as an STNA (nurse’s aide) in a long term care facility. Though my training and work, I have learned a variety of basic care skills that are needed in the day to day practice of a nurse. Having been able to work in this position before I started nursing school, I came into my clinicals and courses with some patient care experiences under my belt. I am able to work with a variety of patients: mobile and non-mobile; those with Alzheimer’s and/or dementia; patients of all ages; and patients with a wide span of medical diagnoses. The biggest skills I took away from this job are critical thinking and adaptability: no patient is ever “textbook” and you need to be prepared to adapt to whatever is thrown at you. Knowing what patients to see first, which situation seems most critical, as well as simpler tasks (like knowing how long it will take to give a bed bath or to toilet a patient) is so important in the time management of a nurse. These skills have helped me immensely in my courses and clinical experiences so far in nursing school.