Nursing Profiles

Danielle O.

Fairfax, VA
Student

When I was 18 years old and living in Ghana, my grandmother was hospitalized with diabetes. The way her nurses took care of her really inspired me to want to help people in the same way by becoming a nurse. Nursing school is challenging, but all the work prepares you for the next level. I have worked in a couple different specialties — gerontology and pediatrics. As it turned out, neither of them was for me. But that is what’s so great about nursing — there are so many different areas to practice, and I can move on to another area if I want. Now I work as an assistant in the Medical/Surgical unit. The pace is very hectic and busy, and I really like it. We get to deal with all different types of patients and diseases. I see myself working here when I graduate, and would eventually like to return to school to get my Master’s Degree and conduct medical research. Nursing school allows me to do almost anything. This is a great time to be graduating from nursing school because it’s not difficult to find a job anywhere. I also look forward to finding the right nurse or nurses at my next job to help mentor me. And someday I’d like to mentor young nurses myself.