Ever since I was a child, I've dreamt of working in a hospital. I've always regarded nurses as true heroes and was very eager to enroll in a course that provides me with the best tools to be a nurse.
That is why I enrolled in my nursing degree course at the University of Malta, which was the best choice I could have ever made.
Nursing is not a mere occupation, but it is a vocation. From the placements in different hospital settings I had, such as Oncology and the Obstetrics units, one can easily deduce that a nurse sees the world in its most raw and vulnerable state.
A nurse sees life and death, miracles and misfortunes, love, and heartbreak. Nurses relieve suffering, heal, and care unconditionally. Nurses give hope to strangers and wipe away their tears. Nurses are there from the first breaths of life, to the very last.
As a student, it has been an interesting ride. No day was ever a bore at the hospital. I still remember the first child I held in my arms to rest the mother and the first code of a patient I witnessed.
I vividly remember the first death of a patient, I still recall her name and date she died, I cried for hours as my mentor explained to me that that was how life worked and that the nurse did not fail the patient when the patient died.
I remember the thrill of buying my stethoscope and wearing green surgery scrubs for the first time and being in the OR witnessing my first surgery. It was epic!
Life at the hospital is not all there is to a nurse, but a nurse has to be backed up by good and evidence-based practice, grasped only through studying the theory and persevering with the notes taken from classes and from nursing books.
And, if I had to give students, especially prospective students some advice it would be to work hard quietly, set an alarm, wake up early, make some coffee and start studying for your future. For you and the world will thank you for investing your time and energy in nursing, as to be the best nurse a patient could ever need.
Ms Cini is in the second year of her Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Nursing.
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