From the Textbook to the Hospital

By: Kimberly Osborne
Posted In: Entertainment

When Julie Lindblom, a 20 year old nursing major at Salve, was in second grade her grandfather had his first open-heart surgery. It was then that Lindblom first decided that she wanted to be a nurse; more specifically her grandfather’s nurse.

During her junior year in high school, Lindblom’s grandfather died, but her dream of becoming a nurse didn’t die with him. In fact, this tragic turn of events only strengthened her desire to pursue nursing.

Like many nursing students at Salve, Lindblom is aware of the harsh realities, as well as, the rewards that come with studying nursing.

Lindlom, a junior this academic year, is taking all nursing classes this semester. Part of her schedule includes a maternity clinical at Newport Hospital and a Pediatric clinical at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, during which she shadows and assists a registered nurse.

“You take what you learned in class and apply it to the hospital or nursing home,” said Lindblom.

According to Lindblom, the expected amount of studying for a nursing major is two hours for every one hour of class.

She said that studying means integrating a lot of reading with a lot of supplemental resources, such as online work and CD ROMs. After all is said and done, Lindblom knows that she is one step closer to becoming a registered nurse.

“Even though it’s really hard, at the end of the semester you feel so accomplished and so proud of what you’ve done,” said Lindblom.

When asked about her major, Lindblom said that she takes notice of people’s reactions when she tells them that she is studying nursing.

She believes that people often focus on what’s negative about the job rather than the many good aspects, such as helping a mother breast feed a child or witnessing a birth.

“It’s not all about wiping butts,” said Lindblom.

Terri Campbell, also a nursing major at Salve, knows this first-hand. Over the summer Campbell worked as a student nurse at Norwood Hospital in Norwood, MA.

She saw that many of the patients there had no family to visit them and often times she had to take on the task of being their support system.

“It was sad, but in a way it made me feel good to know that I made their night,” said Campbell.

Campbell knows that some people get involved with nursing because the money is good and others pursue it for the joy of helping others.

Campbell said that she believes that taking on nursing as a major is a huge commitment, especially when students consider the fact that they need to maintain a certain average just to stay in the program.

“As corny as it sounds, it’s almost like a calling,” said Campbell.