Jenna Witte
April 12, 2020
Final Analysis
The time has finally arrived. I am a graduating senior in nursing school! The past three
years have been full of many achievements, challenges, and periods of growth. My knowledge,
skills, and attitudes have all evolved and matured over the course of the past three years. I am
the first in my family to attend college and I will be graduating Summa Cum Laude and have
been accepted into the College’s honor society, two accomplishments for which I worked very
hard. I am President of the Student Government Organization (SGO), a College Ambassador, a
member of the National Student Nurses Association, and an Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity
brother. Membership in these organizations has granted me several invaluable leadership
opportunities that will benefit me as I grow as a nurse. I had two babies while in school without
slowing down or pausing my semesters, something of which I am extremely proud. It took a lot
of dedication and perseverance to push through nursing school and earn these achievements, but
I worked tirelessly and accomplished great things. I believe those personal qualities will aid me
as I begin my work as a Registered Nurse in the near future.
I came into nursing school wanting to either work in the mother-baby world or in
pediatrics. A few semesters of adult medical-surgical clinicals combined with my time working
in the Pediatric Emergency Department confirmed that I definitely do not want to work with
adults. I felt very unsure of myself as a brand-new nursing student in ANS clinical. I thought,
“What have I gotten myself into? I have no idea what I am doing!” However, once I arrived at
the NICU in Clinical Immersion this past semester, I knew I was where I was meant to be. I
learned so much during school and incorporated those lessons into my practice as a student
nurse. On the very first day of clinicals, I learned how to clean up liquid stool with a smile on
Jenna Witte
April 12, 2020
my face; then I immediately made it a point to find out where the nurses kept the peppermint oil.
I never again forgot that peppermint oil when responding to a call light! Every semester, I
watched unit nurses work together and discovered what types of people it takes to truly create a
good team. I made it a point to volunteer my help to my fellow classmates, whether it was
working together to bed-bathe a patient in clinical or lending a hand to help study for exams.
Helping my classmates really paid off when I needed a little extra help during those early
newborn days with my babies. I began nursing school not realizing a Foley catheter went in that
hole; but now, I could start an IV on a squirmy toddler and drop an NG tube on a preemie with
my eyes closed. That being said, while the number of nursing skills under my belt has grown
immensely, I know that I have barely scratched the surface and still have much to learn.
However, seeing my own knowledge and skills increase over the past few years makes me feel
more confident and capable of being the good nurse that my future patients deserve.
Time management, attention to detail, and the ability to multitask are areas of strength
that I see in myself. Having three young children leaves little time for personal activities, so I
have become very adept at organizing my family’s schedule to best suit everyone’s needs,
including the necessary blocks of school and study time for myself. This organization and ability
to juggle various commitments will help me in the future. In that same vein, I have become
skillful at the art of multitasking. I can nurse a baby, cook dinner, and study for a
Pathopharmacology exam all at the same time! This is something that is going to be largely
helpful as a nurse because it will always be necessary for us to do more than one thing at a time.
Lastly, my attention to detail and borderline perfectionism have helped me to accomplish my
goals in school. I am a stickler for double-checking my work and ensuring all i’s are dotted and
Jenna Witte
April 12, 2020
t’s are crossed. I think that this is a very important characteristic that every nurse should have. It
is vital that we constantly check behind ourselves to achieve safe patient outcomes.
Because I am about to be a new graduate nurse, there will be many opportunities for
growth. I do not know everything. I am nervous about starting on a new unit. I am still
extremely comfortable working with adults unless they are laboring mothers or parents of
pediatric patients. I think that these are all things that will get better with time and experience. I
am grateful for my two years of experience as a PCT as that has helped me to be more
comfortable talking to patients and more confident when treating them.
I have worked incredibly hard to get to this point and I almost cannot believe that it is
over. I believe my education here at BSMCON has laid a solid foundation for me to build upon
as I begin my nursing career. I look forward to graduating next month and beginning my journey
as a Registered Nurse!
