My home page image includes the "mother doll" of the set, this picture shows what is inside of her.  I feel that this is symbolic of my nursing journey.  I wish that I could say I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was a child and that it had always been a dream of mine, but that would not be true.  I moved to Florida in 2004 in the midst of a very busy hurricane season.  I came here with no career, and despite being a shipping and receiving manager for the previous seven years, I struggled to find employment in that field.  When I read the newspaper every week there were pages and pages of jobs in the classifieds for nurses aides.  I decided I could probably do that.

I became a nurses aide through an on-site program at Timber Ridge.  Working at the nursing home was a great way to gain experience, learn how to build rapport with the patients, and just discover what "nursing" is.  As I watched the nurses care for the patients I thought to myself, "I think I could do that".  I investigated what steps I needed to take to learn more and get a better career.  I did not know anything about nursing.  I did not know the difference between an RN or an LPN.  I just knew that I needed to do MORE and to learn more.  I quickly got into an LPN program by taking an entrance exam, and by 2006 I was an LPN.

After gaining my LPN, I worked on a surgical floor.  Although I loved my job there, I soon realized the differences in practice between an RN and an LPN.  Patients asked me frequently when I was going to go back to school and become a registered nurse.  Even though this didn't bother me, I felt that I wanted more control over my practice.  I hated asked other people to give IV medicines or being unable to complete care plans for the patients.  I decided I needed to do MORE.

I started taking pre-requisite courses, which took me a few semesters.  I then entered the LPN bridge program at what was then "Central Florida Community College".  Adjusting to the role of an RN and changing my thought processes was difficult, and this was a challenging time for me.  I was forced to evolve from the task driven LPN that I had been to an RN with a more holistic approach to care.  I received my license to practice registered nursing in 2010.

Time passed, and I was working as an RN on the surgical unit at The Villages Regional Hospital.  After a few years, I began to feel like I needed to do MORE.  I started taking classes to complete my AA degree to make it easier to bridge to a BSN degree through UCF's program.

One day, I went to an advisor appointment to check on my degree progress.  I mentioned that I was planning on enrolling in the program offered by UCF through the college's university center.  The advisor told me that they were starting a BSN program on campus and encouraged me to pursue my BSN degree through the inaugural program.

My decision to be in this program so close to my home has been one of the best I have made.  Other than my initial decision to become a nurse, I feel that learning through this program has made me a better nurse and a better person.  I have considered issues that I never knew existed in nursing, and would still be oblivious to but for this program.  Topics such as politics in health care, nursing research, leadership, global health, and community health are areas of learning that have been especially enlightening to me and my professional development.

My journey in nursing is just beginning.  My matryoshka doll pictured above is the perfect illustration of the many steps I found along my way, when I thought I was just taking one. I know after this part of my journey that it will not end because I still want to do MORE.

Please compare my ADN philosophy (with its own page) to my BSN philosophy (located in the "spirit of inquiry" section).  I had fun reviewing and comparing my older ideas with my newer ideas.