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Ashley Herrington
UWRT
Arnold
September 2, 2014

Literacy Narrative

Call lights are going off everywhere. My lima bean colored scrubs are soaking wet from
the lady that just pulled me into the shower with her and the man that puked on me earlier. This
day is not going exactly how I wanted it to. Its a full moon tonight you know? one CNA says
to another. That makes it all clear. Theres a myth that full moons make the residents crazy and
hard to deal with. Its true. I have never been so tired in my life and I have only been here for a
little over an hour. Showers usually take almost my whole four hour shift, but today I finished
them in an hour and a half. I still have an hour and I have completed all my assigned tasks.
Despite still smelling of vomit, I am actually happy standing with the residents after an
exhausting day. I have worked my whole high school career to be standing in this spot and I
doubted every choice I had made. Hey good looking comes from behind me. I turn around and
Mildred is sitting there in her wheelchair waiting for our daily conversation. Seeing her brightens
my day. After a day of hell I still managed to get my duties done and spend time with the
residents. I realize that maybe the lady that told me I would never make it was wrong. Maybe
this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing.
I have loved hospitals ever since I was a young child. I am very accident prone and end
up in doctors offices, emergency rooms, and urgent care in a year more than most people do
their whole life. Watching doctors and nurses fix my cuts, broken bones, and sickness captivates
me. I see people with large veins and the first thing to come to mind is how easy it would be to
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feel there pulse or insert an IV. Unfortunately its frowned upon to walk up to a total stranger
and ask to feel their pulse. My realization of my love of nursing came in 2008 when my sister
became violently ill. Thats where it had all started.
I sat there comforting my sister as she went through another crohns attack. Cold sweats,
vomiting, and pain controls her life. Sierra is almost six foot and weighs only ninety pounds. She
hasnt had a day where she wasnt sick for about a year. Crohns disease causes inflammation of
the intestines and the development of ulcers that bleed internally. The combination of the two
causes her to vomit constantly during a flare. After months of not being able to eat solid food she
went into surgery to have a foot and a half of her small intestine removed. The hospital gave her
the wrong medication and she bled internally. Because of the excessive loss of blood her body
went into shock and she lost consciousness. Blood transfusions and the work of the hospital staff
saved my sisters life. When she came home with a complete recovery I knew exactly what I
wanted to do with my life.
I had just moved from a tiny little town to Lake Norman High School. Im only a little
sophomore and a transfer which means I get last choice in classes. I got stuck in the stupidest
classes. What even is biomedical technology? I now know that its the application of technology
to the medical world, but at that moment I was frustrated and annoyed at the pointless classes I
was in. That class was actually the gateway to my future. Mrs. Russ was my first sponsor of
literacy. She opened up numerous doors for me to pursue my dream. She told me about a
program our school offered to graduate as a certified nursing assistant. With her help and support
I was accepted into nursing fundamentals at the Career Academy and Technical School which is
a very selective program.
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I walked in on the first day of nursing fundamentals nervous and afraid. What if this
wasnt what I was supposed to be doing? What if Im just wasting my time? The class only had
eight people which made me even more nervous. That few amount of people meant that
everything I did would be noticed. The eight of us were completely different. I didnt know how
we would have enough teamwork and support to make it through the semester. As time went on
these seven other girls became my best friends. They encouraged me and supported me to do
things I had never imagined I could do. In a way these girls became a sponsor of literacy for me
as well. As our clinical time came near we stuck together to complete what we knew would be
the hardest month of our lives.
Do you want to practice vitals? a nurse said from a distance. Vitals are easy I would
much rather do that than give showers. Of course I say. I am giving medication off of these.
So they have to be very accurate. she responds. Its only my second day at clinicals, why would
she possibly trust me to take vitals? How am I competent enough to do that? Im freaking out,
but I gather the stethoscope, thermometer, and sphygmomanometer. I walk into room 255 and
there she was. The meanest patient I had come in contact with. Everything was going great. Then
it was time for blood pressure. The hardest vital there was, especially if the patient was
overweight and elderly. Check and check. Im on my fourth time doing blood pressure and still
cannot hear a thing. I know Im hurting her but I dont have a choice. In the middle of taking her
blood pressure for the fourth time she rips it off. You will never be a nurse. Youre not going
anywhere in life so you should just go apply to McDonalds and stop wasting your time she
yells. Instantly tears stream down my face. How could anyone be so mean? She starts calling me
explicit names and told me to get out of her room this instant. From this moment on I decided I
would do whatever I could to prove her wrong.
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Any chance I was given I volunteered to practice vital signs. Another sponsor of literacy
was my nursing fundamentals teacher Mrs. Rogers. She encouraged me with everything I did.
She quickly became my favorite teacher and we developed a bond I had never had with a
teacher. After many hours of in class lectures and hands on practice of skills we had reached the
point we had been waiting for. The North Carolina Nurse Aide Test. Preparing for this test had
consumed for life months. It was the beginning or the end to my nursing career. The day of the
test was the most stressful day of my life. I had worked so hard for this and suddenly I didnt
want to finish. Standing in front of the evaluator while you completed the skills was shear agony.
Getting that piece of paper that had said I was officially a certified nursing assistant was the best
day of my life. I worked incredibly hard to get here and could not have done it without the love
and support of Mrs. Rogers, Mrs. Russ, and my nursing fundamentals girls.
Becoming literate in nursing as a certified nursing assistant was a rough road with many
obstacles. I had to study hard and practice skills daily. I have made a lot of progress but I am not
completely there yet. In the nursing career theres always more to learn and improve on. Even
though I am literate in a section of the healthcare world there is so much more to learn. I hope to
grow and mature into the best nurse I can be.