PaulinaRN

Congratulations DG! Very exciting for you! Good luck with everything. Just curious too, which organization were you out of the country with? Thanks for the response. Have a great day! Paulina

Hey everyone! I'm already a RN with a BScN but definitely planning for further education. Nursing is an amazing career in the sense that we learn every single day. I've been working for 4.5 years and have had an incredible career so far. I was inspired in my first year of nursing by an amazing prof who talked about her work overseas. She was the type of woman who would just get on a plane, show up in a community and offer help. It was during one of her lectures I learned about MSF. Since that point, I have geared my education and work experiences to prepare for MSF (I'm currently putting together my application). Someone early on told me to 'do everything that scares you' because after you put yourself out there and problem solve through it and gain the confidence, you can really do anything! I would recommend for anyone who wants to work overseas to start early on in your education. You can write papers geared towards global issues/infectious diseases, etc. You will have opportunities for volunteering during your summers/time off. Think about possible specialties in Emergency, OR or LDR as these are the most sought after nurses for humanitarian work. I was fortunate enough to be offered a seat in the Gorgas Course in Clinical Tropical Medicine and studied in Peru for 3 months and keep in mind, this is pretty much a prerequisite for MSF. I have worked in Emergency for just about 4 years. My training allowed me to have had some of the most culturally rich, meaningful experiences working in small First Nations communities in Northern BC. Being able to problem solve in communities with limited resources will provide you with excellent clinical skills. I would find a mentor, one whom you admire and works in a similar area in which you see yourself working later on and show interest and volunteer or shadow in a similar environment. Show initiative and motivation and I'm sure you will have an amazing career. My plans now are to go away with MSF for 6-9 months and then begin a Masters in Public Health through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and later, do my Family Nurse Practitioner and get back up North when I'm a little more settled down. My dream is to one day live in Africa, working on a public health project with my hubby and small children. Good luck to all of you! Hope you don't mind my two cents but these are words that inspired me along my path... and please remember, you are Ambassadors of Nursing, please continue to work towards keeping our profession well-respected!! P.

Hey DG, Just wondering how your interview went? I'm just in the process of applying and would like to do some preparation for the interview as well. I would love to hear more about the whole interview experience. Hope it went well! Thanks and take care, Paulina