As someone who wanted to make others smile, I realized that nursing was the only profession that could help me achieve my purpose. The realization of my love of nursing… Click to show full abstract
As someone who wanted to make others smile, I realized that nursing was the only profession that could help me achieve my purpose. The realization of my love of nursing unfolded when I entered the Kamuzu College of Nursing in 2008. As a nursing student, I wanted to provide excellent nursing care. In my third year of my BScN studies, I had a clinical home-based rotation in Lilongwe, Malawi, where I was introduced to chronically ill patients. I realized that this chronically ill population was the most neglected in Malawi, similar to populations in other sub-Saharan African countries. My exposure to home-based community care redirected my passion to this population. After graduating with my BScN, I worked in a hospital's intensive care unit for two years, where I gained advanced skills and experience in the care of critically ill patients. My interest in oncology nursing began when I cared for a pediatric patient with Burkitt lymphoma who had large masses on the head and died from nasal bleeding. I felt that I did not have the knowledge to care for this patient and felt defeated. From that experience, I desired more knowledge about cancer, which led me to oncology nursing.
               
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