NTI Member Scholarship

Is this where I post my essay?

Nursing is my passion. For as long as I can remember, helping people, and or animals has always brought me joy. I want to attend the National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition (NTI) to network and be around others who share that passion. I enjoy learning new ideas, treatments, and new ways of taking care of patients. Once I joined the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and started navigating the website and doing my continuing education (CEU’s) through them, I was hooked. I also originally joined the American Nurses Association originally but found that I enjoyed the AACN website to be more informative for me.
I wish I could attend every session offered, and browsing the schedule has been rough to decide which classes I would like to attend. I have always had an interest in sepsis and continue to do so. We have put so many policies and procedures in place to combat this deadly disease that is still one of the number one killers in the hospital setting, and still, it remains one of the main reasons for death. I also want to attend the cardiac and ventilator sessions since I am a ICU/CCU registered nurse (RN). I also signed up for the procedural cadaver session, which is a pre-session that I think will be really informative and interesting. I secretly wanted to take Dr Carmen’s class at Western Nevada College, but everyone warned me not to because he failed everyone, but he also used cadavers as a tool. So I am excited for this pre-session. I am also interested in taking the liver sessions due to the fact that there is so much cirrhosis in Nevada. I have had so many young, really young patients die from liver cirrhosis. I am also interested in any renal sessions that I can take so navigating the cardiac, liver and renal, and sepsis sessions may be a challenge, but one I am definitely up for.
I did read that we are not allowed to record sessions, which is kind of a bummer since my plan was to record and then return to my hotel room and review all sessions and take notes. But I am mentally prepared to focus and use my photographic memory and sensory memory to return to my hotel room and take notes, and then share what I have learned from these sessions. How I will share I am unsure of as of yet, I have thought of making PowerPoint presentations and reviewing them myself, and then sharing if anyone is interested. I plan on communicating with peers about the topics discussed and if they seem interested, then I will definitely dive deeper and share through notes, verbal communication, and even PowerPoint if they seem interested. Most of all I am attending NTI because I want to be a better bedside nurse for my patients. Patient-centered care is my passion. To watch a patient go from being vented to walking out the door is the greatest feeling. To hold a patient’s hand in their darkest moments and to be a light if only for a second, to wipe away their tears, make them smile, and help them on this journey in life. That is what I am here to do. Nursing is my passion, and if I can help even one person have just a little happiness, more life, then I have accomplished what my life was intended for.