After Megan graduates from college, she wants to become a pediatric registered nurse at a children's hospital in LA.
Roadmap.
.jpg)
"Please take care of yourself and engage in self-care activities. AOC can be very stressful and demanding, so it is important to do things you love besides academics. Keep these habits for the future as well, especially in nursing school and when you become an RN. If you cannot take care of yourself, how do you expect to care for others as a nurse?"
Hear Megan talk about her pathway into nursing, and how you can maximize your time at AOC!
.jpg)
MILESTONES
My career roadmap has been somewhat defined.
I always felt my calling was to help and love people. I’ve been passionate about working in the medical field. I debated between a psychiatrist or doctor. After having more direct patient care experiences as my father was frequently admitted into the hospital, I was drawn to becoming a doctor.
In Sophmore year, I watched too much Grey's Anatomy and was drawn to surgery, so I wanted to become a Pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. I also was a volunteer at my church in children’s ministry and a volunteer on Med Surg 5 at Henry Mayo Hospital.
The summer going into Senior year I attended Camp CHLA where I witnessed and fell in love with surgery in person; however, it was too impersonal for me. I also performed rotations with a NICU nurse and was drawn to becoming a nurse.
I applied to colleges as a nursing major and was happy with my ultimate career choice. I love the interactions nurses have with the patients.
I was rejected to the majority of my colleges I applied to. I got off the waitlist of my safety school and I committed to attending Point Loma Nazarene University, PLNU.
I became a nanny for a 5 year-old boy with Diabetes. I learned how to give him shots and tend to his needs. I further learned how to work with children who needed medical aid.
I was academically successful during my freshman year at PLNU. I joined the California Nursing School Association. I did struggle socially and felt I didn’t belong. In hope to transfer, I took an online class at Saddleback College while being enrolled at PLNU in order to fulfill all my prerequisites.
I was admitted to University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Nursing and I planned to attend Fall 2020. However, due to COVID-19, my plans drastically changed and I will continue at PLNU for my BSN. I am currently excited to start clinical rotations within the hospital.
EXPERIENCE
Here are my extracurriculars relevant to this pathway
DURING MY HIGH SCHOOL CAREER
Med Surg 5 Volunteer at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (2 years)
Children’s Ministry Leader (Life Group Leader) (4+ years)
American Medical Association (AMSA) (2 years)
CAMP CHLA (competitive summer program)
Associated Study Body (Commissioner of Fundraising): Hurricane Harvey Fundraiser and Thirst Project Fundraiser
DURING MY COLLEGE CAREER
CNSA (California Nursing Student Association), involved in the mentorship program
CAREER
What I'm currently doing/hope to do
While remaining at Point Loma Nazarene University, I begin clinical rotations this Fall 2020. I will be taking part in COVID-19 testing and other public health opportunities they offer. After finishing up nursing school, I will obtain my BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and I will take the NCLEX. I plan to work as a Pediatric Registered Nurse at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. I want to work in the psychiatry, or hematology and oncology department.
ADVICE
How to maximize my time in high school?
Advice #1: Take courses at COC that are required prerequisites for the nursing program you are looking at. I encourage you to enroll in these common prerequisites: Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology, Nutrition, Statistics, and Developmental Psychology/Human Development. Please invest a lot of time in these courses. Anatomy is a lot of memorizing material, so become comfortable with that. Become familiar with everything you are learning. Instead of just studying then forgetting the material, you will need to remember basically everything, so apply it to real world examples. Nursing is very hard and time consuming! You need to be passionate about becoming a nurse because it is difficult.
Advice #2: I highly recommend working on your communication skills. You will be engaging with all kinds of patients, so become familiar with talking with people of different religions, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Advice #3: Please take care of yourself and engage in self-care activities. AOC can be very stressful and demanding, so it is important to do things you love besides academics. Keep these habits for the future as well, especially in nursing school and when you become an RN. If you cannot take care of yourself, how do you expect to care for others as a nurse?
Advice #4: I suggest you apply to a nursing school where you earn your BSN. A lot of hospitals are looking for individuals who have a Bachelor's degree. Also, you should find a nursing school where they have high NCLEX passing rates (above a 85%)!
Advice #5: Make sure you gain experience in the hospital setting. I recommend volunteering inside a hospital to become more familiar with how patients and staff work together.
