Written by Albanus, Nursing Graduate
I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the generous support, which has made my study program possible. You have opened a door to a wealth of educational and cultural experiences that I could only have dreamed of.
Your belief in my potential and investment in my future has been incredibly motivating. I am committed to making the most of this opportunity and to making you proud of me.
A flashback about my Nursing decision and career — I feel like everyone has their own reasons as to why they wanted to start nursing in the first place. Mine was definitely because when my best friend was really sick when I think I was about 13 or 14 years old. I found it really difficult to just watch him be sick and for me to be able to do absolutely nothing. I wasn’t allowed to go and visit him because he was in ICU and for some reason they wouldn’t let me in.
I think because of my age, there were too many people, and also maybe because of the healthcare system setting in our public hospitals. This just really affected me because although I was quite young at the time I think it stayed with me as I wanted to be able to do something if one of my loved ones ever gets sick again. I think that was the main thing from an early age, why I wanted to do nursing and I think I’ve always been a very outgoing person.
I’ve always loved being around people, always being an outgoing person, so an office job never seemed like something I would do. It’s just not in my nature to be sitting at a desk all day in the same office, in the same space; I love a variety of jobs.
The other thing is being busy – I hate doing nothing. I would rather be on my feet than be sitting in the same spot all day. So I think that’s also what appealed to me about nursing and just how diverse it is. I think people sometimes don’t realize how many opportunities that actually lie within the nursing umbrella.
I didn’t even realize how many jobs there is! I used to think a nurse was just a nurse, but that’s completely wrong. There’s your basic staff nurse on a ward, but then there’s also so many other jobs available as well.
You’re more than likely to start on a ward and build up your experience, then you can apply to other roles such as advanced nurse practitioners, you can work in theaters, you can work in the community, you can work in outpatients – there’s just a crazy amount of opportunities which I really like.
In a job – let’s say a teacher – you’re a teacher and then you may become a principal, and apart from that there’s not much else you can do, so I think with nursing it’s just so diverse. That really, really appeals to me, so that definitely inspired me. Also, helping people, as generic as it sounds.
Coming home from placement, getting home and having all these crazy stories about what you’ve done and who you’ve helped, and seen people go from completely bad to being able to walk again – it’s just incredible!
My Interest after nursing is taking a specialty in theater as an anesthetist since I have been working in theater as a scrub nurse/ runner nurse most of the time and I love it so much.
I am happy and excited to be a beneficiary of Hanne Howard fund and my promise has always been giving back in all ways possible, this was a chance that occupies the biggest part of my heart and I remain truly grateful.
At the HHFL project now, I am an active player for guiding the young ones in career selection as to their performance and talents. It makes me feel great to be part of the alumni where the staff can entrust me with that huge responsibility.
Some of the skills entailed during my training were, assessing patient, obtaining vital sign measurements, giving injections, assisting with exams and treatment, understanding medical terminology, tracheostomy care, wound care, catheter care, dialysis, central line dressing and care, antibiotic therapy, gastrostomy (feeding) tube care , explaining treatment, educating about disease, illness or trauma, explaining prescriptions and when to take medicine, alerting patient or caregiver to watch for infection or side-effects, sharing information about infection control, ophthalmology care, Oncology care, outlining pain management measures, the list is long it can go on for days.
My promise to the community is that I care about the wellbeing of future generations. Their needs are just as important as those of today.
When I am making a major choice in my own life, when I am facing a significant ethical or moral question, and when I am involved in policy-making or decision making, I take into account the needs of the next two or three generations.
No short-term or narrow goal should be allowed to jeopardize humanity’s long-term future. My choices support the principle of equal opportunity for each future generation. We should not cause their opportunities and well-being to be less than ours. I promise to abide by The Nurses Oath that I will take during my graduation scheduled at the end of the year.
Thank you for the continued support. I will drop another email soon keeping you aware of my next step after graduation.
Lots of love,
Albanus The Nurse
