Nursing is one of the most professionally, personally, and spiritually rewarding careers there is. People are driven to a career in nursing for a variety of reasons. What I find to be the most rewarding about being a nurse is the numerous career paths that are available within the profession. I was not the person that grew up always wanting to be a nurse, I always wanted to be a medical doctor. However, when I found out I was eligible for the nursing program at a school of nursing. I decided to pursue it as a possibility. I never imagined how that spur-of-the-moment decision would change my life. Once I started classes, I fell in love with every aspect of nursing. I graduated with RN (registered nurse) certificate at the age of 20 and after working for a while, I went back to school to pursue my bachelor’s in nursing sciences..

I’m in my penultimate year now and it hasn’t been a smooth journey. I have loved empowering and supporting patients and families to know that they are able to get through anything. Working for a hospice agency, I have been able to help patients have dignity at some of the most vulnerable times in their lives. Being with patients and their families at the end of life is a privilege. It has been an honor to have been with so many at that time. I also love the pride I feel in my work. Being a nurse is one of the most challenging jobs someone could do. It’s physically and mentally demanding at times. However, at the end of the day, you feel amazing satisfaction and pride. Being able to help those in need for a living is unlike any other profession.

Being with people at what is sometimes the worst moments of their lives or the best moments (diagnosis is negative or the birth of a baby) is a privilege and one I take very seriously. Being with a family as their loved one is passing away is the ultimate compliment for a nurse. Death is a sacred and scary time for many, and to be allowed within that sacred circle to offer support and comfort is what is rewarding about nursing. I lost my first ever patient in my first year in school of nursing.. It was though and hurting, I never thought I’d survive the trauma but here I am today, kicking strong even with many deaths witnessed so far in my career.

If I can walk away after my shift knowing that I have eased a person’s worry or fear and brought some sort of peace to them, then my day is fulfilled. And the best part of that is that I get many opportunities every day that I work.

Never give up, it’s going to be hard. You may fail but you need to try again and again. It isn’t impossible, give it ­time.

Alfred Victoria oluwadamilola

University of Nigeria Enugu Campus

400 LEVEL

Director of socials NUNSA National

alfredvictoriad@gmail.com