Keah Mclean-Garraway
Self-Analysis of the Program
Completing the BSN program has been a very challenging experience for me. I actually started this program almost five years ago, but life circumstances of being a wife; mother of four, one child being disabled, and working a full time job has delayed my progress of completing the BSN program. However, today I am extremely proud to say that I am finally finishing up and will be earning my Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Not only am I am pleased that I have accomplished this goal, but I am extremely proud of the knowledge that I have gained in the field of nursing while I was enrolled in The New York City College of Technology BSN program.
As a registered nurse who works in many areas of the hospital such as the telemetry unit, emergency department, stroke unit, and medical surgical unit as a float registered nurse, I understand that the decisions the nurse makes in regards to the care of a patient can be crucial. The knowledge that I have received from the BSN program has helped me to broadened my horizons, improve my critical thinking, decision making and clinical skills which has helped me to provide comprehensive care to the patients I serve. For this I must thank several individuals such as Professor Dato, Professor Kontzamanis, and Professor Keane, and many others for the wonderful qualities, increased knowledge and managerial skills that they have helped to instill into me. This knowledge I will carry throughout my career as a registered nurse. The information that I have learned during this program has helped me to make informed choices about the care of my patient each day I go to work. This BSN program has taught me the importance of promoting wellness, patient teaching, and preventative care and helped me to understand the rationale behind it all, and retrieving better outcomes.
Courses such as Case Management has helped me to look at nursing in a different aspect because it helped me to understand the financial aspect, and role of the case manager and the reason certain things occur in the world of healthcare, and how to deal with them. Today I have a better understanding when they say evidenced base practice and how it affects nursing. Dr. Dato has done an excellent job in expanding my knowledge in data collecting, variable and everything that goes along with it. Most of all she has taught me the correct ways of implementing changes if needed. I now know that complaining is not the way to make changes, but gathering evidence, data and researching the outcomes is the way to go. I have the ability to take on the role of management if I was interested in that field of nursing, but it helped me understand the decision making of the Unit Managers in the hospital where I am employed.
Community and Urban courses has helped me to understand that as a nurse you are not only responsible for the patients who come into the hospital and seek out medical care, but as an advocate you must reach out to individuals, groups and communities to prevent disease, improve the well-being and speak out for those who are less fortunate. Nurses must be proactive and we are here to make a difference in the lives of many individuals. The world of healthcare is forever changing and as a nurse you must keep up with the complex world of healthcare, which includes our society and the population because the need of our patients we serve are always changing, so education is not an option and it must be done in order to provide adequate care to the individuals we serve. Even though this nursing program has taken me a long time to complete, today I can honestly say that I have become a better nurse based on the skills that I have acquired from the work force, in addition to the knowledge that I have gained from the BSN program here at New York City College of Technology, and this will encourage me to continue my education as I continue to work on my master’s program.
