My name is Tasha and I am a Registered Nurse in Calgary, Alberta. I attended FFCA K-12 and would love to share my educational and career experiences with fellow FFCA members. Thank you for taking the time to read!

Towards the end of my grade 11 year at FFCA, I was inundated by so many people with the same question: what do you want to pursue in university? FFCA certainly set me up well for a transition into post-secondary studies as this was the natural next step for me. My journey had a bit of a rocky start but nursing quickly became my path to a fruitful and fulfilling life. Out of all the courses I had taken in high school, I most enjoyed biology and was fascinated by the human body. I also knew that I wanted to pursue a program that wasn’t ambiguous – I wanted to know what I was going to do with the degree I earned. When I thought about studies such as the arts or business, it was quite unclear to me what I would actually do with such a degree.

Nursing felt like the natural answer for me – I was going to be a nurse with my nursing degree. It made sense to me because I am a compassionate person who finds joy in helping others while also pursuing my curiosity for human sciences. To be honest, I didn’t do as much investigation into nursing programs as I should have. I didn’t know there was a 2-year Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program and I didn’t apply to U of C’s nursing program – I only applied to Mount Royal University’s Bachelor of Nursing program. Unfortunately, I was not accepted to the program on my first application, and therefore decided to spend a year upgrading my sciences.

It was a challenging year taking the same courses offered in high school in such a different setting to FFCA, but it was ultimately worth it because I was accepted into MRU’s nursing program the next year! I spent four years learning the art and science of nursing through theory courses, labs, and clinical placements. I made some of my best friends during these four years during our shared experiences in clinical placements throughout all of the city’s hospitals on a variety of units. Clinical placements on units like cardiac surgery, pediatrics, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal (to name a few) lead me to choose labour and delivery for my final practicum specialty which was a pivotal experience at the end of my degree. While I feel like I learned so much during nursing school, the real learning came afterwards.

I moved to BC following convocation and started working in a long term care facility. I felt immense imposter syndrome as a brand new, 23-year-old nurse in charge of over 200 elderly residents, 10 LPNs, and dozens of health care aids, but after some time and support, I gained confidence and experience. I also worked a short stint in pediatrics, but realized it wasn’t for me when Covid hit and I ultimately decided to move home to Calgary.

To my surprise, after choosing the specialty of labour and delivery at the end of my degree, it is not the specialty where I would work in BC nor upon returning to Calgary. Funny how life can guide you in a different direction than the one you imagine.

One of my close friends from nursing school got me in contact with her manager on the Intensive Palliative Care Unit at Foothills Hospital which is where I would work for the next five years taking care of patients with diseases like breast, lung, gastric, and esophageal cancer among others. Here is where I leveled-up and became such a better nurse; my medical knowledge snowballed and I learned how to help patients and families navigate terminal cancer, pain, and death. I became proficient in being a part of codes when patients are acutely ill and need to be resuscitated (a situation I used to fear but have now come to thrive in). I realized my passion for guiding others through the end of life processes because it is often misunderstood and feared in our society; we all have birth and death in common and are so comfortable talking about coming into the world but rarely do we openly discuss the other end when we leave this world. I find it incredibly rewarding to be the guide through the darkness of terminal cancer and help ease patient’s pain and other symptoms while helping families have as positive of an experience as possible during their loved ones death. Of course it is sad, it is not lost on me that I witness many people’s worst days and most traumatic experiences, but my ability to separate myself from the sadness allows me to do my job and feel fulfilled in it. I like to take a moment of thought when I see the unit’s tiffany lamp turned on. Whenever a patient dies, the lamp is turned on as a symbol of their passing.

After five years of working in Palliative Oncology, I decided I was ready for a change. I wanted to learn more and have a fresh challenge while still staying in the field of oncology, so I applied to the hematology/bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit at the Foothills. Upon being hired here, I was trained to care for patients with Leukemia and Lymphoma (cancers of the blood) which share similarities and differences to the solid-tumour patients I cared for on the Palliative ward. It is engaging to learn a different type of medicine and to be involved in administering a variety of chemotherapy protocols, new immunotherapy research, and stem cell transplants. It has been engaging to be a learner again and I feel like I learn something new every day!

Ultimately, I’ve loved nursing because it allows me flexibility. I work day and night shifts, which I prefer over the Monday-Friday 9-5 grind; however, if I decide one day that I want a regular daytime job, there are nursing options for it! Flexibility also comes into play with the multitude of practice settings I can pursue; with my one nursing degree, I can choose to work in anything from emergency medicine to cosmetic nursing, operating room to community health. I’ve loved having the opportunity to teach nursing students and new hire nurses. I know I will never be bored with nursing and I am always grateful for the opportunity to play a pivotal role during my patient’s most vulnerable experiences.

My advice to anyone starting out or deciding what kind of career to pursue would be to seek out job shadow experiences that will show you firsthand what an average day is like at any given job. Schooling is an important experience, but it is only a small portion of the rest of your career and life. During nursing school, it felt like the be-all and end-all, something that felt like it would never end. In hindsight, it was just a chapter in my long story of nursing and life. I still network and shadow other nursing areas because the possibilities are endless, it’s all about finding the right fit. My next curiosity is to shadow a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit for a shift to see if the high acuity and skills would be of interest to me, or possibly a shift to an outpatient daytime chemo nurse role.

The world feels like my oyster and I would highly recommend nursing to anyone who is medically inclined, likes hands-on engagement, and enjoys making meaningful connections with people. Thank you for taking the time to read about my experiences.