It Takes Lots of Courage and Loving Heart, To Be A Nurse

About the Book

This book is a letter to my friends who had expressed interest in majoring in nursing at the local college where they lived. Most of them had graduated from college in a different field, and had been struggling for years to find employment in their respective chosen disciplines. The book detailed my experiences and experiences of my nursing colleagues both during our college days and after graduation from college. It would have been easier to tell my friends to enter the nursing profession because of the shortages and because it offers fruitful employment, but I chose to let them decide for themselves. Nursing school was not easy. The program was difficult and more strenuous than that of medical school. The program instructors were like werewolves. They were not easy to please. The nursing students were treated with disrespect and indignity. The assignments were extremely difficult. The method of teaching and learning were different from that of high school. A student has to be exceptionally careful, humble, and determined to be all he or she could be to graduate. After graduation, there were other difficulties such as intimidations, abuse, and threats from colleagues, patients, their families, friends, and other disciplines. However, as a nurse, there are un-comparable rewards that we often enjoy such as the thank you that we receive from patients, and the smiles and the joy of savings stranger’s life. I am a nurse and I am proud to be a nurse. I would not trade it for any other profession. I wanted my friends to see the world of nursing through the eyes of a nurse and make up their mind to see if they are nursing materials.

About the Author

The writer is a Nigerian-American. Mr. Kehinde Ikuomenisan, emigrated to United States in 1981. He attended Hostos Community College in the Bronx, New York, where he received an Associate Degree in Applied Science; after graduation in 1993. In 2002, he graduated from the State University of New York, Old Westbury with BA in Economics and Society; and in 2005, he graduated from the University of Phoenix, Arizona with a Master's Degree in Nursing. Mr. Ikuomenisan worked for many years with the elderly as a Registered Nurse in the capacity of a Clinical Nurse Manger and a Director of Nursing. He is currently doing nursing research. In 2008, he received a certification from ANCC after passing the gerontological nursing certification examination of the American Nursing Association.