Student Feature: Kim Lontoc, Nursing Student
What courses did you take in high school and which are you currently taking in university for nursing?
When I think about graduating from high school almost six years ago, it feels very nostalgic to look back at the classes I have took which have heavily influenced where I am today. In high school, I took a variety of core courses such as Enriched Pre-Calculus, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and both an English Literary and University Preparation English class. I also took other optional classes such as History and Geography. Some additional classes that I believe to have also exposed me to my current field of nursing include the Career Internship Program being offered for us at the time, as well as a Medical Office Clerk class. Other fun classes I have also took include dance and choir. However, I also participated in extra-curricular music programs such as Vocal Jazz, Chamber Choir, and Grad Choir which contributed to the fun and memorable experiences I had during high school.
Currently, I am now in my last semester of nursing at the University of Manitoba as a fourth year student. As part of my last semester, I am taking the following courses:
Health and Illness 7: Community and Population Health
Professional Foundations 6: Leadership and Change Management
Professional Foundations 7: Preparation for Nursing Practice 7
Nursing Practice 6
Nursing Practice 6 is a community clinical rotation course which counts towards our clinical hours required to move onto our practicum placement after this semester. In my community rotation, I am currently working at Gordon Bell High School to assess the social determinants of health and will be implementing a project to meet the perceived needs of the community. For our project, our target population includes middle school, Community Access Program (C.A.P.), and English as an additional Language (E.A.L.) students. My clinical partner and I will be educating these students about COVID-19 and incorporating mental health and well-being through interactive presentations and by using a hand-made digital illustrative story for further education supplementation.
What type of nursing do you plan to go into?
I hope to pursue my nursing career in the maternity field such as Labour and Delivery, Post-Partum, or even at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). I hope to go into this field of nursing as I thoroughly enjoy providing compassionate and quality care for new parents and their newborns while assisting to improve in the growth and development transition. As an individual of Filipino heritage, growing up with strong family ties strengthened my interest in taking care of young children, especially adorable babies! But more than that, I believe becoming part of a field of nursing which involves bringing new life into the world is a beautiful and intimate experience I would be very privileged of pursuing if the opportunity persists.
How did you know what you wanted to study?
As a young child, I always knew I wanted my career to revolve around the medical field. Nursing was always in the back of my mind, but there were times when I would often feel intimidated by the profession and question if nursing was the right fit for me. Yet, I knew I wanted to study nursing when I realized that although also essential, nursing is not only working at the bedside and performing medical skills. Nursing is about putting patients at the center of care in a holistic way and making meaningful connections with patients and their family members as equal members of the health care team. I knew nursing was what I wanted to study because as cliché as it sounds, I wanted, and still want to help individuals not only in the physical aspects, but across emotional, spiritual, and social levels. I wanted to study nursing as I know the profession is heavily involved in promoting and advocating for health, which goes with my belief in the quote, “health is wealth”, and that adequate health care is a human right for everyone.
Do you get some off time, like do you have time for sports and family/friends?
When deadlines stack up and exams approach, it can get a little chaotic so I do have to prioritize my time with studying and completing assignments. However, I do have time for relaxing and spending time with loved ones! It may be challenging at times to juggle between school work and studying, especially with the transition of online school due to the current pandemic, but spending time for myself was still possible in the nursing program. It is just a matter of organizing my schedule effectively, staying on top of school, and getting things done early to account for other competing priorities or life events. I also believe engaging in self-care is a priority to help me succeed with school.
How heavy is the class load?
Generally, I think it is pretty acceptable to say that the nursing program has a heavy class load. For example, health and illness courses which focus primarily on physiology and the pharmaceutical aspects of medications and health conditions are complex and studying is a must in order to understand the theory and class lectures. This is especially important as nursing exams not only involve memorization, but critical thinking and applying learnt theory to several patient circumstances and situations that may not always entail direct answers. Being tested on medication calculations are also dispersed throughout the curricula. Nursing also usually has 5 or more classes juggled in one semester, with the addition of any additional clinical placements to be done outside of regular class hours. Not only are lectures a big part of the faculty’s curriculum, but laboratory nursing skills classes are pass/fail, meaning a lot of time is spent practicing the skills required to move on to the next semester.
In terms of assignments, nursing involves a lot of individual reflection papers, essays, analysis papers, and group work. Group work can be a challenge as team work, effective communication, and sharing of responsibilities needs to be employed for successful outcomes. That being said, group work can take the form of presentations, papers, or multimedia projects that need to be done collaboratively based on a group’s own availability or schedule.
What advice can you give those aspiring to be a nurse?
If there is any advice I would give, I would say to make sure you are going into nursing with the heart and good intentions to genuinely help others, and not for the focus of “employment status” or pay. Nurses work with diverse populations, and before obtaining the title of being called a patient, they are equal humans deserving of respect and compassion. Nursing is no doubt a hard profession to study for, but being confident in yourself and never giving up will bring you that much closer to fulfilling your goals and ambitions! You are strong and capable. As much as it is vital to remain successful in your nursing studies, it is also important to note that nursing and the associated education that comes with it is a life long journey that does not stop at the end of nursing school. There will always be opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish.
