Nursing Scholarship Essay

Since a young age, I have always put the needs of others before mine. I like to believe that I was born with a passion for helping and understanding people, and this passion has only grown stronger as I matured. I have been in and out of hospitals since a very young age. Every time, what amazes me is the care, calmness, and compassion of the nurses as they take care of both the patient and loved ones. Just being around them and watching them work made me want to become just like them.

During my junior year of high school, I volunteered at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Center City, Philadelphia. This program was very select and limited to only fifty applicants. I competed against thousands of high school students across America to earn my spot. I wanted to be apart of this program for years, and once I turned sixteen I immediately applied. I cannot express the amount of joy that I had when I received the acceptance email. The equivalent was when I made the sixth best girls soccer team in Pennsylvania, which I cried and laughed for an hour. Before I began volunteering, I had to undergo a series of requirements that included immunization records and forms, blood tests, drug screen, a reference letter, fingerprinting, and child abuse

clearance. Completing these requirements was predicted to take six weeks, however, I severely injured myself and was unable to walk for two months. With this setback, I had to put in a greater effort to finish these requirements before the deadline.
Even though I am a new face in the program, I kept in close contact with the head of the program before I started: giving him updates and advance notices.

I volunteered at the Emergency Department, one of the most fascinating areas of the hospital because of the changing atmosphere, and worked alongside with nurses. Typically, most first years are only allowed to do the minimal tasks of newspaper runs, however, I am very determined to become a nurse in the near future, which is why I took the initiative to go further and challenge myself. In addition to gaining this exposure at a young age, I also had the opportunity to talk to nurses about what their usual day is like and the positives and negatives they have experienced with this

job.
I am a firm believer in making connections with others. I was taken under the wing of a patient advocate, Al Finelli, who showed me how the hospital worked as a whole, doctors in different medical fields, and setting up times for me to meet with those who worked in these departments. Furthermore, I have become good friends with the Senior Vice President for Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer, Dr. Mary Ann McGinley, during my time at the hospital. By making these valuable connections, I have taken a step further in solidifying a nursing career at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
The most rewarding part of the job is making patients smile. I am always open with patients and I believe that this openness causes the patients to be open with me. It is easy for me to talk to a patient about anything that they want, to take their mind off of their situation. Through conversation, or even just being there, I can make a patient smile and laugh. When this happens, my day is made because of their happiness.
This entire experience has given me invaluable learning experience that has only fueled my passion for nursing. I am eager for the opportunity to see how much I grow as I move forward to the next step in my career path at university. I want to put my passion for helping others to use, and this will only motivate me further to become one of the best nurses in my field.