Student profile: Nursing

Why I chose nursing

I fell in love with medicine while working in an emergency department in the United States. I decided to pursue nursing because I wanted a career that was not the same day-in-day-out. I wanted a career that was both interesting and challenging, emotionally, physically, and most importantly intellectually. As a nurse, I get to build relationships with my patients and their families and engage with their stories while providing them with care.

A typical day

A typical day for me would involve lots of coffee and lots of people from all different walks of life! I normally have anywhere from two to four classes per day, and try to fit some time to study in between. My favourite part of any typical uni day for me is the people!

My favourite subject

It’s hard to pick just one, but if I had to choose I would say Context of Health and Disease. We had some fantastic speakers that came in and spoke to us about nursing in diverse social contexts such as refugee health and charity work with Mercy Ships.

What surprised me about my degree

Studying nursing surprised me with how, at times, it can be quite intense. There are often days when you will be trying to study for a quiz, go to class, finish an assignment and sleep somewhere in-between. I’ve had to learn to prioritise my time, which has also helped me on placement when dealing with so many tasks.

My career goals

My goal is to pursue a career working with organisations such as the World Health Organization in emergency and disaster relief/management.

My advice

Nursing is quite different from any other degree and it is often the friends that you make here that help get you through everything! Get involved in student groups, make friends with people in your classes and always remember why you wanted to become a nurse!