What made you want to become a nurse ?

hey @coldbrewman1 ! sorry I'm not sure when you sent this, I'm not super active on this blog anymore and mostly just post a mash up of things on my main @starfish-enterprise .

anyway! I don't have a super profound answer to this question. I've always been interested in medical things/the human body as long as I can remember. I remember looking at human body books I had as a little kid and stuff like that. this turned into watching medical shows, reading lots of random stuff, and sneakily watching medical reality/reenactment shows when I wasn't supposed to be watching TLC 😆

I've been pretty involved in scouts Canada since I was six going up through the program, and through scouts I had opportunities to do first aid training which I really liked. I also met a lot of amazing people who are lifelong friends who shared my same interests, and starting in highschool I was able to be involved in a "vocational program" focused on first aid and medical training and providing volunteer first aid for camps, scouting events, and community events. I have been able to be part of the medical service for three national scout camps with thousands of kids and it's amazing!

doing this volunteering kind of solidified in my mind like okay something medical is definitely what I want to do. originally I really wanted to be a paramedic, and the year after I graduated from high school I got my emergency medical responder license. I never ended up getting paid to work with that license (I did volunteer,) but I did volunteer under that scope. where I live it can be difficult to make a good wage starting out as a paramedic. BC has a provincial paramedic service, and it's a union (which is great) so it's all seniority based, so getting a full time position in a city can take a long time. on call hourly pay is terrible, and you usually start in a rural area where you might not get a lot of calls, so if you don't get any calls you could make just $14 for a 12 hour shift.

my mom discouraged me from pursuing that for various reasons, and she also really encouraged me to get a university degree, which is what most people do in my family. I didn't want to do just like a random biology degree, because I don't necessarily work well when I can't see a clear trajectory and a concrete end goal of what I'm working towards, if that makes sense. even doing a degree with the goal of med school still has a lot of possible routes to get there, and it's so much school, which is not my favourite lol. I also knew I still wanted to do something medical/health care related, so that led me to nursing! I applied to a few universities in my last year of high school, and I was accepted to nursing programs at Queens and Western universities in Ontario. I almost went to Queens, but I didn't feel ready to go straight into university after high school.

I took a year off, did that EMR course and licensing, worked at a grocery store and as a nanny, and did volunteer ski patrol (more first aid) at my local ski hill.

during that year I applied to my local nursing program which I wasn't able to apply to straight out of high school due to various course credit stuff which they have since changed. I was lucky enough to get in on my first try, which is amazing because there's often a long wait-list for this program. then I finished and became a nurse!

tldr: I like medical stuff, becoming a doctor is a lot of school, and paramedics don't make as much money 😆

anyway, I don't a have a super profound answer or anything, it was just a good career choice that worked for me. nursing wasn't a calling to me, its not really my passion, it's my job. it's a job that I really like and sometimes love, but it's my job, not my life. I think we need to hear more of that because it will help nurses get paid more and change public perception. I'm not nursing for altruistic reasons, and honestly I don't know anyone who is. the narrative of nursing being a calling or whatever needs to change imo.

sorry about my little diversion at the end there! there's the long convoluted answer 😆

Were you diagnosed with diabetes and ADHD and everything you wrote on your bio? I'm not accusing you, I'm just curious.

yeah I am! sorry I’m not on this blog much anymore, I’m actually back on tumblr after a like two year hiatus? but yes I have an official diagnosis from a doctor for all of those things, and I’m very lucky I have been able to access that reasonably easily!

I have had ADHD since I was born because it’s a neurodevelopmental condition, but I was only diagnosed when I was 21 in my second year of nursing school. Thankfully my diagnosis process was fairly quick and free, and I was able to access accommodations after. If you want to know how I was diagnosed with ADHD let me know! it can be a huge hassle and very expensive a lot of the time, I was luck and this wasn’t the case for me mostly due to luck.

I have had generalized anxiety (most likely due to undiagnosed ADHD) since I was about 12, and depression I think since I was like 13/14. these were diagnosed by my family doctor when I was around 20, and then re-confirmed by the same psychiatrist who diagnosed me with ADHD.

I was diagnosed with type one diabetes when I was 22, in my third year of nursing school. it was a bit of a surprise, but everything turned out okay, and I finished my clinical in time even though I spent a week in the hospital!

I want to share my experience with mental health and disability in nursing and nursing school because I feel like a lot of people are told they can’t get through school when mentally ill or disabled, which isn’t the case. it might be harder and it might look different but you can do it. please message me again if you see this and you have more questions! I will reblog this to my main blog because that’s where I’m more active, and my instagram is @gwyn.with.diabetes where I talk about mostly diabetes stuff but also some nursing stuff. I hope this answers your questions!

happy saturday everyone 💛

the sun is finally out!! ☀️ i know i’m a little late but i hope you all had a happy halloween! what did you do on halloween? i worked lol

Just a bit more sunlight and this would be perfect

For all my spreads check my instagram profile <33

study day for my upcoming canadian lit exam 💛📚

more essay writing and more coffee and some extra planning for the change of months coming up in 2 days

100 Days of Productivity | #6

18th August, 2019 | Day 21/100

Today’s to-do list is dedicated to revision for tomorrow’s History Extension exam – I’m very excited to whip out the pastel highlighters and make some colour coordinated summary sheets. 

Also, quick shout out to kiwi fruit aka the best fruit.

Insta @ isthisnametakenyet

Goodreads @ isthisnametakenyet

self study guides - school starts next wednesday ! ~

🍃 don’t leaf your back to school prep to the last minute 🍃

02 17 2017

biology notes! we just finished up our previous unit and starting fresh on a new one and i’m super excited. biology is one of my favorite classes in high school :) hope you all had a wonderful weekend, xo.

currently listening to: talk by khalid

follow my studygram at @sabrinstudies

The prevalence of high blood pressure among black adults in the United States is among the highest in the world, according to the American Heart Association. More than 40% of non-Hispanic black men and women have high blood pressure.

Black Americans also develop high blood pressure more often and at an earlier age than whites and Hispanics, according to the CDC.

According to a new study, barbershops in the African-American community could help men reduce and control their blood pressure.

Medical mistrust has been an important barrier to African-Americans seeking health care, and so the barbershop -- where men go on a monthly basis and have an opportunity to develop a rapport with a trusted key opinion leader in the community -- that rapport is a perfect foundation for talking about health and checking their blood pressure.

With your donation, we will be able to equip 20 barbershops with blood pressure monitors. In doing so, we can help inform men of their blood pressure so that they may receive treatment or make lifestyle changes.

https://www.gofundme.com/blood-pressure-monitors-for-barbershops

Please read if you’re a student

You are NOT PROCRASTINATING, if - you’re sick - you have headache - you feel pain - you’re exhausted - you feel anxious - you have had big changes in your life that make you feel tired/restless/anxious/sad - you have to skip a class/take rest because of reasons I mentioned above. It’s not procrastinating. You’re not lazy. Everyone needs to have rest and take care of themselves when they’re sick. IT IS NOT OKAY TO WORK IN PAIN. Don’t burn out. It’s not worth it. Do not feel guilty. After some rest and relaxing you will study even more effectively. If you feel pain, - take a medicine if it works for you - put all of your books away - take warm shower - eat at least 1 healthy thing and 1 treat/feel-good-food, drink water - go to bed, sleep or read a book/listen to music that is not related to your school (if you have headache/migraine I suggest you to switch off the lights and just sleep) - just take your time - it’ll be all okay.

4/100 days of productivity

ap physics notes! i finished all my homework today which was difficult because i had a TON but i’m proud of myself!

vanilla baby - billie marten 

REBLOG IF

- you are a studyblr

- you are super friendly

- you love when people message you

- you want to support everyone in the community 

one thing i love about this community is that it is one big family and everyone is ready to support eachother. reblog this and follow the people that also reblog and start some super cute supportive friendships because you all deserve the best