I've always been drawn to research and I stumbled upon this opportunity by mistake. I love my major (nursing) and I’ve committed to pursuing psychiatric
nursing. Detecting subtle injuries and photographing them can make a huge difference to anyone who has been through an instance of physical violence and
being a part of a study that is trying to improve the clinical protocols for it
made applying a no-brainer.
My long-term goal is to get my NP and help open a psychiatric ER. Domestic violence is an area of interest for me and
exploring the forensic nurse specialty has opened my eyes to many details that I would need
to consider when working with persons who have been through instances of physical violence.
Every week is a different challenge. I do a lot of data analysis, but we were also given the opportunity to conduct our own study. Participant
recruitment takes more energy than I anticipated, and we spend a significant amount of time on that. The rest of our time is dedicated to actually carrying out
the study.
I discovered that thinking critically is a skill and that I still have a lot to learn. I’m so grateful to have been exposed to minds that
are creative and flexible. I was never particularly good at school; I still am not, but learning that thinking is a skill made a huge impact on me. Skills can be developed, and I hope that I can get to where I want to be.
