Hi!

One of my all-time favorite experiences at USCL was working as a research assistant in the body composition lab. It all started when I was approached by my mentor Dr. Easley in the Spring of 2024 to join her research study done on NJCAA female athletes from our commuter-based campus. That summer I received the Pure Grant and worked closely alongside her learning lots of information about the research field in relation to exercise science and developing the research question I was going to conduct to analyze data on our findings. The PURE grant was a $1,000 grant that allowed me to get paid for my work as a research assistant over the summer. During this time, I was able to have hands-on experiences with taking measurements and collecting data on participants. This was one of the first experiences where I actually had the chance to complete a task on my own without a teacher doing it for me. This was also the first official job that gave me a small insight into “adulting" and I learned a great deal of what it is like to work with others, how to take responsibility for my actions, and how to manage my time efficiently. This experience taught me that it takes getting comfortable with being uncomfortable to be successful in the workforce. While working as a research assistant I often had to use instruments and technology that I was completely unfamiliar with. However, my amazing mentors Dr. Easley and Dr. Sellhorst gave me a comfortable environment to grow as an individual where I could made mistakes and learn from them. From this experience, I also grew a love for the research field, which encouraged me to pursue a nurse researcher career in the future.

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In my experience during college so far, my classes have challenged me and expanded my knowledge past what I thought was capable of. I have learned how to effectively study and manage my time. These prerequisite classes have prepared me for a successful transition into nursing school as I learn how to apply the skills I have learned so far, to provide effective patient care. For one of my within the classroom experiences I chose to highlight within my portfolio when I took Pathophysiology in my 3rd semester of nursing school. This was by far one of my favorite and most challenging courses that I have taken so far in college. Pathophysiology is the study of how diseases develop and manifest within a patient. In this class we learned an extensive amount of information regarding many diseases and illnesses that many people are familiar with including the symptoms, causes, risk factors, and treatments for these illnesses. One of my favorite parts of this class was learning how to properly educate a patient on an illness, so they know how to take care of their body and promote healing. This class gave me the skills that I would need to start thinking critically in my challenging nursing classes. Many illnesses are very similar to one another, all it takes is a small piece of information to completely change the diagnosis and treatment plan for a patient. In Nursing 208: Nursing Informatics, I learned how to properly document patient care in the hospital and use a lot of the technology in hospitals that help healthcare professionals validate patient data before administering care. This class highlighted the importance of scanning patient wristbands and medication to confirm that the right medication was being given to the right patient while completing med passes. While this process can be lengthy, it helps to ensure the safety of the patient and further proves that tasks done with intention help to eliminate human error.

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Overall, through my within and beyond the classroom experiences in my college experience so far, I have learned that I am a diligent worker who is willing to go above and beyond to provide the best outcomes or help for the people that I am working for/servicing and I am passionate about prioritizing the mental health of healthcare professionals within the medical field. My first Key Insight, “Preciseness Eliminates Error,” explains how I learned from work as a research assistant and my Pathophysiology class that being intentional in doing tasks eliminates the frequency of human error. This is especially important in the nursing field where even a small error could put not only my patient’s life at risk but also my license in jeopardy. In my second Key Insight, the “Power of ‘Uncomfortability,’" I discuss that you must get uncomfortable to receive the results you are looking for. While working as a research assistant with human participants, there are many times you have to get up close and personal with the participants to collect their body composition measurements. This can be uncomfortable for both the researcher and the participant, but as a research assistant it’s my responsibility to act professionally and make the participant as comfortable as I can during the process. In my leadership proposal, “Wellness Wednesdays,” I discuss starting a program aimed at encouraging Nursing faculty and students to meet at a nearby trail and participate in an hour of exercise in nature. Nursing school is very physically and mentally exhausting, so this program gives nursing students an opportunity to connect with other nursing students while also being physically active to help reduce some of their stress levels and improve their wellbeing.

 

In conclusion, my beyond and within the classroom experiences have given me the foundation that I need to be successful as not only as I transition to nursing school, but also as I begin a career in the healthcare field.