More than 4,000 students have graduated from McMaster's nursing programs. Here we meet Laurel Nash (Locke), RN at McMaster Children's Hospital
Published: May 9, 2016
McMaster Degree:
I graduated from the McMaster BScN program in 2015.
Current Position:
I’m working as a registered nurse at McMaster Children’s Hospital on the Pediatric Hematology Oncology unit. I have been working at McMaster since May of 2015.
How I Got Here:
After graduating from McMaster University, I continued to work part time at Ronald McDonald House Charities Hamilton as a Family Services Assistant, which I did during my university degree as well. When I was nearing the end of my degree, I began applying for “new graduate” program positions as well as external postings of hospitals within the GTA. I had a few interviews and after a few months of applying to jobs was accepted as a registered nurse at McMaster Children’s Hospital.
Why I Chose McMaster:
There were multiple reasons why I chose McMaster. The main reasons were the small group based learning environments, the strong science component of the program and the hands-on experience in the clinical lab as well as placements within the local hospitals themselves. McMaster was focused on you as an individual and tried to always provide the best types of learning environments to help the student succeed.
How my experience at McMaster has helped me:
When I started as a new nurse at McMaster Children’s Hospital, I was exposed to a large range of clinical skills that I had never seen before. At first you hesitate, but then I remembered all the critical thinking skills McMaster taught me to use and all the knowledge from PBL that allowed me to adapt to these situations and research evidence-based articles to give me the knowledge to learn these new clinical skills. McMaster also taught me when to seek guidance and advice from colleagues and how to utilize the knowledge and skills of others to help allow the whole team to succeed as well. Without all of the critical thinking, problem based learning and teamwork skills that McMaster taught me, I would not be the nurse I am today and would not be able to adapt to the different situations that I experience daily during my job.
If you are a graduate of the School of Nursing, we'd love to hear from you and learn about your experiences. Please email spenceg@mcmaster.ca.