My sophomore year of college presented many new and exciting beginnings, most notably the start of my undergraduate nursing studies. I was indescribably anxious as I prepared with tasks such as the purchasing of my signature red scrubs, receiving my first stethoscope and blood pressure cuff, and obtaining all of the books I would use to learn the profession I was so passionate about. With all of this excitement, I was able to mask the nerves and anxiety that soon crept up inside my head as I prepared for my first true clinical experience second semester. I shook off the nerves at first, hoping it was normal jitters associated with the apprehension of my first patient interaction with the word “nurse” on my identification badge. However, the fears did not quickly dissolve. I went to clinical every week in my second semester, and each week presented new challenges: my first time pulling and administering medication, my first shot administration, my first conversation with an emotionally struggling patient, and so much more. The anxiety got so bad at times that I began to question my choice of pursuing a career in the nursing field. “Am I not cut out for this?” and other similar thoughts replayed over and over in my head. I was really starting to believe that this was not what I was destined to do for the rest of my life.
However, over time, I gained confidence in myself and my skills, slowly but surely. I was eventually able to give medications without checking them 5 times too many, as I knew that I was knowledgeable in my pharmacology. I began to administer shots knowing the proper site, needle type, and dosage preparation without having to ask my instructor. As my confidence grew, my doubts faded, and my thoughts were restored that this is what I am meant to do for my profession. This was a scary time for me; the thought of not being good enough for the profession that I so desperately longed to work in was an extremely intimidating mind set. Thankfully, with the help of my outstanding clinical instructor and always supportive peers, I was reminded of why I am so passionate for this field. I worked with cancer patients anywhere from new diagnosis to what was hopefully their final surgery, and seeing the impact that the nursing staff had on their journey was something to remember. I learned their gentle ways of communication, their reminder to put human connection at the forefront of care, and that perfecting clinical skills is only one piece to the puzzle of becoming the nurse that everyone strives to become.
My professional goals changed slightly over the course of the year. At the beginning of my nursing career, I was pretty torn between the fields of mental health nursing and neonatal nursing, a population and specialty that really see very little overlap in the medical field. By the end of the year, on professor named Christa Newtz helped me make my final career trajectory decision. Christa was my professor for both Introduction to Professional Nursing as well as Nursing Therapeutic Communication. As a Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, I heard her stories and the way she felt that mental health impacted the physical healing process of all patients. Learning from her solidified my passion for mental health, and I am now decided that I would like to pursue my master’s degree in Psych Mental Health nursing. More specifically, I would like to be a PMHNP working in pediatric age populations. In late April, I had the opportunity to shadow a PMHNP, Bethany Downey, who currently works at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in an outpatient setting. I was with her all day, as I wanted to see what a day in the life of someone in this profession was like. I loved every second of being there and learning about what she did. Bethany had such a personal relationship with each and every one of her patients, as she was able to speak with each of them from 30 minutes to an hour and a half at each appointment. She considered all aspects of their life, from home to school to social, in order to devise an appropriate and effective treatment plan for these children. I could see how grateful each and every one of these kids was to have her in their lives, and I want to be able to provide that same relief and comfort to my patients one day.
Through the year, I continued to work at the Institiute for Behavioral Medicine on two breast cancer research studies. This has been a great learning opportunity for me, and I hope to be able to continue this work throughout my undergraduate career. There, I am able to learn a lot about therapeutic patient communication and the impact that cancer has on the lives and mental health of our participants. I also began my own research with my honors advisor Dr. Fitzgerald. Over the next year and a half, we will be looking at the reliability and validity of the Spanish translation of the IAPCC-R, a tool used in health care provider education and training on cultural competency. I feel that this will be a valuable research project for me to be involved in because I will be working with diverse populations as a nurse, and learning now how to better my cultural care will only help me be a more effective nurse in the long run. This summer, I will be starting a newly accepted job as a Patient Care assistant for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. This, I feel, will be my first steps towards realizing my goal of working for Nationwide Children’s Hospital as a Psych Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in the years to come.
o, my name is Jessica Witkin and I am a rising fourth year student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as a minor in General Psychology. I lived in Chicago, Illinois until I was 14 and then moved just north of Columbus to Lewis Center, Ohio when starting high school. Medicine has always been a passion of mine; growing up, I always thought that I would go to medical school. However, I decided to volunteer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in high school, and this is where my passion for nursing care was born. I loved the intimate, bedside care that nursing had to offer and felt this was the way that I would personally be able to connect best with my patients. While working with children has always been something I have wanted to do, volunteering in the Behavioral Health Unit of Nationwide Children’s grew another interest of mine, which is promoting and treating the mental health and wellness of children and adolescents. I grew to realize how important it is to be mentally well in order to work towards improved health and wellness and saw this to be true in so many of the patients that I had the pleasure of working with.