Deborah Stevens Pediatric Nursing Scholarship

Growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya, I was exposed to the harsh realities of limited access to healthcare and saw firsthand the struggles that my family and community faced when it came to getting the medical attention they needed. These experiences have deeply impacted me and have shaped my desire to pursue a career in nursing. I am motivated to become a nurse because it allows me to utilize my compassionate nature, strong work ethic and willingness to learn, to make a positive impact on the lives of others. I am particularly drawn to pediatric nursing as it aligns with my passion for working with children and providing them with the care and attention they need to grow and develop into healthy adults. In addition to my passion for pediatric nursing, I am also committed to continuing my education, expanding my knowledge and skills in the field, and staying current with the latest research and advancements in healthcare. I am excited to take on new challenges and opportunities to develop my skills further and to provide the best possible care to my patients. I understand the importance of working as a team, that's why I am committed to being an active member of the healthcare team and collaborating with other professionals to achieve the best outcomes for my patients. I believe that with the dedication, compassion and skills that I bring to the field of pediatric nursing, I will be able to make a real impact in the lives of children and their families. In conclusion, I am determined to make a positive impact on the world through my career in nursing, and particularly in pediatric nursing, by utilizing my compassion, dedication and willingness to learn. With the passion and commitment that I bring to this field, I believe that I can make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and their families. The loss of a close family member or loved one has further strengthened my resolve to focus on what matters most in life and to fight for the things that I believe in. I am confident that my commitment to continuing my education, expanding my knowledge and skills, and being an active member of the healthcare team, will enable me to make a positive impact on the world as a pediatric nurse. I am excited to begin my journey as a nurse and to use my skills and knowledge to help others and improve the lives of children and their families.

I am choosing a career in nursing because I have always had a heart for helping others, as much as I can. I have been told I have a kind compassionate heart toward others. I believe that being in a nursing environment or any kind of health care profession, you have to have a certain mindset and emotions to be able to work in nursing. I don't believe nursing is just to help others but to have a kind compassionate heart for those around them, especially the patients. Being able to help them and nurturing them during their journey no matter what the outcome is. Certain skill sets would help it become nursing, for example, communication, observance/ attention to detail, adaptability/flexibility, striving to learn new techniques and critical thinking. Having a communication skill set is one of the major aspects in health care or any profession I believe. Being able to communicate with patients and patient's families and being able to determine what is the next step for their family members. Having an observant mind is another great aspect, paying attention to detail in the patient's medications. Making sure you are giving the correct dosage, and being observant of any changes to the patients. Adapativibility and flexibility are being able to make changes through the environment. Whether that means you are short-staffed or one of your patients is not having a good day and giving you a hard time, last-minute schedule changes. I have always been wanting to strive to learn new techniques no matter what point in my life. I always wanted to move further in my life, and learn new ways in my environment. My career is to be able to become a pediatric nurse oncologist. Cancer has been an important topic in my life considering I have had family members die because of it. I have always loved children, I hope one day to have them later in my career. I understand that working in a nursing environment isn't going to be an easy task let alone telling the children's families what would come next during their journey. I would like to become their sort of best friend while they are in my care, no matter what kind of outcome there is and be able to be their support for the families. Being a pediatric nurse you can help from infants to adolescence and can give viable information to help the parents to help their children. I believe I am a hard worker when it comes to my job, I am committed to my work and environment. I always give my 100% in my job and nothing less, no matter what is on with my life, I leave it at the door and make sure I have a correct mindset while steeping into the health care facility.

Nursing is known to be one of the most needed professions not only in the United States of America but across the globe. I have been intrigued to become a nurse from a tender age as I had already started the journey from 2011 in my home country, Jamaica, but because of financial difficulties I had to stop. My reason for choosing nursing is because of the wide variety of different professions. My goal is to become a Pediatric Nurse Practioner with Master of Science in Nursing as I have an interest in the Pediatric Unit. Due to the pandemic, we have lost many of our heroes to either burn out, brain drain, unfair treatment and sadly death. My intention is to bring back hope to some fellow students who have lost their spark to become a nurse by showing them my perseverance and ability to thrive through these hard times as education does not come at a low cost to become a Pediatric Nurse Practioner. In the African American and black communities and countries, children's health care in at a higher risk as there is a lack in Pediatrics during clinical. In my home country, we have only one pediatric hospital serving the entire country. I believe there should be additional training in regards applying pediatric care. My intention after completing my studies as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse specializing in Pediatrics once employed to the Bustamante Children's Hospital is to dialog with the nursing adminstrative team to host seminars specifically for Pediatric care. My intention is to have a small team of nurses who are dedicated to saving and caring for children to travel and host the seminar. With the technology and skills taught in the first world country as the US in comparison to a third world country, these skills, with the ability to compromise in the situation, can improve the care of children. Being a young black woman attaining a master’s of science in Nursing, will encourage other black women to do so as in my count