Bradley’s Nursing Program Was Definitely The Right Choice

Since I was a young girl, I always knew I wanted to become a nurse and help others in any way I could.  During my senior year of high school, I decided Bradley was the best choice for me based on my tour of the nursing simulation labs and seeing the bright, welcoming campus.  Now, during my senior year of college, I know Bradley was definitely the right choice, but for an abundance of reasons.

My sophomore year in Bradley’s nursing program started off strong!  I was assigned a great clinical instructor and a great group to work with for the semester.  My professor told us all “You will be surprised by how much you know by the end of the semester.  It will seem like a lot of information, but believe it or not, you will be on your way to being nurses.” I definitely did not believe her, and I was very overwhelmed for what was to come!

Something awesome about Bradley is that our professors are still practicing nurses at the bedside, and many of them work at the hospitals that we do clinical rotations at. They are very knowledgeable about the new medications and technologies being used in practice, and they come back to educate us about them in the classroom!

I love the variety of units that we get to experience because the different cases teach us so much.  I always thought I would want to be a Labor and Delivery, which do not get me wrong, I would still love to do, but I also learned that I really enjoy working in Med Surg and with geriatric patients.  I have had some of the coolest clinical experiences such as scrubbing in to observe hip and knee replacements, watching a Caesarean-section and seeing a baby being born, holding a malnourished child and comforting him while he received a tube feeding and everything else in between!  I have learned so many different skills like inserting catheters, handling IVs and pumps, passing medications, giving injections, taking blood pressures, how to do a full-body assessment and more.

Here I am, writing this as a senior nursing student.  Wow!  Time really does fly, but I can tell you 110%, my professor was definitely right.  I have never been more confident in my nursing skills and excited about my career ahead.  About a month ago, I decided I wanted to look into grad school, something I thought I was totally against before!  This is the kind of student you become when you choose to study nursing at Bradley.  After graduating, I want to work as an RN in a hospital back home in Chicago and then eventually go back to school to keep learning.  I hope to one day educate future nurses too.  Bradley has made me into the woman and nurse that I am today, and I feel very blessed to be part of such a great community.

Olivia A.