Graduation.

After High School, I decided to go directly in Nursing at Montmorency College. In this program, I needed to be thoughtful if I wanted to have straight A's. I did a lot of specialties like pediatric, psychology, surgery and others which are fascinating, but I didn't know which I would want to do in the future. After all my three years of college, I graduated, and I needed to choose which University I would want to go to next semester knowing that I live in Pointe-Calumet. What should I choose?

Choice 1 : If I were you, I would go to the University of Outaouais in Saint-Jerome.

Choice 2 : If I were you, I would go to McGill University in Montreal.

If I were you, I would go to the University of Outaouais in Saint-Jerome.

I did my first internship at Saint-Eustache's hospital at the emergency department. As I was already working there, I had a foot in the door, and I knew the employees and procedures. One day, a patient was confused and attempted to remove his nasogastric tube (a device inserted into the stomach used to feed the patient), his urinary catheter (a device used to empty urine from the bladder to prevent urinary retention) and his intravenous catheter. I received a splash of blood in the eye. I was very upset because I was afraid that I had contracted an incurable disease, and I didn't know what to do.

Choice 1 : I notified my director to take steps to screen for a blood-borne disease.

Choice 2 : I decide to withholding the information to avoid knowing the possible outcome.

If I were you, I would go to McGill University in Montreal.

As it is an English-speaking university, I had to practice my English in order to stand out. On my first day of internship, I got stuck in traffic and arrived late. I wanted to explain myself to my teacher, but I have frozen because I had to find an excuse to explain my delay. What did I do?

Choice 1 : I couldn't talk to the teacher, and I stayed frozen.

Choice 2 : I told him that I was stuck in traffic.

I notified my director to take steps to screen for a blood-borne disease.

My internship director understood the situation, and he knows the associated dangers, so he offered me two choices.

Choice 1 : He told me to take the day off to take my mind off things and get tested.

Choice 2 : He forced me to cancel my session to avoid that I transmit the virus to hospitalized patients as the viral load is slowly growing.

I decided to withholding the information to avoid knowing the possible outcome.

20 years later, I started having questionable symptoms. I frequently had a fever, often felt weak, and had regular nausea. I was tested negative to any blood disease, but I felt sick every day, and I was getting some complications like pneumonia, recurrent infections, etc. I had to retire because I was no longer able to provide adequate care to hospitalized patients.

Choice 1 : The end.

He told me to take the day off to take my mind off things and get tested.

After thinking for a long time at home, I decided to get sucked up in and to proceed to the screening tests to have a clear conscience and to be able to receive the treatments if I am positive. A week later, I received my results...

Choice 1 : I tested positive for AIDS (progressive, irreversible, incurable blood disease).

Choice 2 : I tested negative for any blood disease and could continue with my internships and nursing career.

He forced me to cancel my session to avoid that I transmit the virus to hospitalized patients as the viral load is slowly growing.

During this sabbatical year, I could not work, so I could not save money for my future expenses. I was very anxious. After some time, I had received my negative screening test, so I could go back to practice my profession and my internship. I finally graduated as a baccalaureate nurse. Two jobs positions were open to me, but I didn't know which to choose.

Choice 1 : I decided to go work in the blood department where the person works with people whose bodies have difficulty filtering their blood.

Choice 2 : I decided to go work in a screening clinic for sexually transmitted and blood-borne diseases (STBBIs).

I decided to go work in the blood department where the person works with people whose bodies have difficulty filtering their blood.

I was very lucky not to have contracted a disease, and I decided go to change the life by offering care to patients who unfortunately contracted one during their lives.

Choice 1 : The end.

I decided to go work in a screening clinic for sexually transmitted and blood-borne diseases (STBBIs).

For 1 year, I lived with the fear of having contracted an STBBI, so I decided to go and help people who lived this same inner fear. Suddenly one day, I turned around and saw the positive result from the patient I had blood contact with...

Choice 1 : The end.

I tested positive for AIDS (progressive, irreversible, incurable blood disease).

I had to pay for my many treatments and medications. To do this, I had to mortgage my house again and quit my school and my job in health because I was too contagious for the population. Finally, I decided to go and teach in high school about blood diseases to prevent a contraction of these.

Choice 1 : The end.

I tested negative for any blood disease and could continue with my internships and nursing career.

After I had graduated two years later, I volunteered across poor countries where I learned so much information. I realized that I was lucky to live in Quebec and to have access to such a fast and efficient healthcare system because this is not the case for all countries.

Choice 1 : The end.

I couldn't talk to the teacher, and I stayed frozen.

He told me to get back to my house because I was too late to start my shift. He said that if I started my day, I would be late in my evaluation, my medication and my paper because of my hinder. Furthermore, he told me that it was a misconduct to come late for my first day. If only he understood that I lived far away... He asked me to do an extra work on a pathology, and I would need to explain it to him next day. I hesitated between two choices of pathologies for my compensatory work.

Choice 1 : Atherosclerosis, a pathology caused by deposits of lipids on the walls of the arteries and which leads to many complications such as arterial hypertension (HTA).

Choice 2 : Dysphagia, a condition that makes swallowing (swallowing food) difficult and can cause choking.

I told him that I was stuck in traffic.

The whole group looked at me, I was troubled, and I felt the blush rise to my face. He looked at me straight in the eye for a good minute, and he said:

Choice 1 : Thanks for telling me the truth, you'll have the patient in room 575 today, you can go start your rounds.

Choice 2 : At the university, the delay is unacceptable, you have a breach of the code of ethics, you will have to do me a work of reflection.

Atherosclerosis, a pathology caused by deposits of lipids on the walls of the arteries and which leads to many complications such as arterial hypertension (HTA).

My professor finally loved my research on atherosclerosis, and he credited me with his course. He told me that I had done some work with thoughtful. He had even presented my project to the nursing research department, and they gave me a scholarship. The place where I was doing my internship offered me training where I earned a salary and was able to continue my career. I had to choose between too many diseases, and I didn't know which I want, so I had hard time choosing between them.

Choice 1 : Left university to work in a research center with training paid for by my directors.

Choice 2 : Forgo the offer from the research center, and instead focus on finishing university.

Dysphagia, a condition that makes swallowing (swallowing food) difficult and can cause choking.

The teacher didn't like my work at all, because he told me that we were in an obstetrician's department and the subject was off the topic. He made me fail my internship and I had to take a sabbatical, because I couldn't continue my classes...

Choice 1 : The end.

Left university to work in a research center with training paid for by my directors.

I had a lot of fun working in a research center because I was able to acquire new knowledge throughout my career. The only drawback I had was that I was never able to do floor work with hospitalized patients.

Choice 1 : The end.

Forgo the offer from the research center, and instead focus on finishing university.

I managed to finish college with straight A's. I received many scholarships for excellence, and several jobs were offered to me afterwards. Eventually, I worked for the research center part-time, so I was overjoyed.

Choice 1 : The end.

Thanks for telling me the truth, you'll have the patient in room 575 today, you can go start your rounds.

When I arrived in the patient's room, I presented myself, and told him that I will be his nurse for the day. The oxygen's patient start to crush down, so I needed to give him an oxygen mask because he had difficulty of breathing. Saturation was dropping down to 70% (the normal is about 92% to 100%). I was wondering what should I do first.

Choice 1 : Called the intensive care department in order to give him a breathing monitor because he was no longer able to breathe by himself.

Choice 2 : Tried to give him more oxygen and rise his headboard vertically.

At the university, the delay is unacceptable, you have a breach of the code of ethics, you will have to do me a work of reflection.

For my reflection's work, I decided to write about a subject that affects every student : stress during the internship. In my text, I explained the reason students are always stressed about going to the hospital knowing that they would be evaluated all day. I also explained the reasons that most of the interns didn't like it, such as having a lot of stress and didn't have a wage or event when they had professor that deters their students. Next day, I needed to present it to my teacher, I was dreaded of his reaction. He sat down at the table, and he started to read my work. He looked at me and said :

Choice 1 : This is the kind of project that I want! In Nursing, you have to assert yourself, have confidence and put your fear aside. Great Job!

Choice 2 : Perfect, you can start your day with the patient in the room 568.

Called the intensive care department in order to give him a breathing monitor because he was no longer able to breathe by himself.

My professor let me go with my patient to intensive care because he told me that I had the best clinical judgment about the situation. The team was very welcoming, and they offered me a part-time position during my studies.

Choice 1 : The end.

Tried to give him more oxygen and rise his headboard vertically.

The nurses undermined me because I did not call the doctor. I wanted to argue with them because the patient was running out of oxygen, but I decided to withhold my explanations because they were getting angrier. My professor came into the room, and he told me that I did a great job, and he was proud of me. Leaving the room, I was bragging to the rest of the team who were very upset with me.

Choice 1 : The end.

This is the kind of project that I want! In Nursing, you have to assert yourself, have confidence and put your fear aside. Great Job!

At the final, I learned that in Nursing, you will always have the drive of work, and it will never stop. At school, you have too much homework and studies, but in your career you have health of patient in your hands, and you cannot make a single error even if it is to get late because it means that you will be late for patients' care.

Choice 1 : The end.

Perfect, you can start your day with the patient in the room 568.

I was relieved that my teacher didn't get angry by my work because I spend so much time in it. As I walk into my patient's room, I saw the patient's face turn white, and it was like he was having chest pain... he was doing a cardiac arrest.

Choice 1 : The end.