Susie
Grist
May 2021
Susie
Grist
,
MSN, RN
Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Quincy
,
IL
United States

 

 

 

For once now, I actually felt like I had picked the right profession. Educators are the heart and soul of our system. Educators like Susie, don’t come around every day.
After my sophomore year of nursing school had finished and I was coming in as a junior in the fall, I was very down on myself. With COVID pushing things back and making clinical online, I felt that I was behind and did not think I would ever get past nursing school. That is when I met Susan.

She went beyond to help me in clinical get to practice my skills to turn my confidence around. In the mornings, I would come in early to ask questions about my clinical paperwork and Susan would take the time to sit down and help explain to me what I was looking for. She would break things down or continue to ask me questions to get me thinking in the right direction. After that, I felt confident being able to turn in paperwork. Each clinical, Susan continued to push me further to be the best nurse possible. She listened to our concerns and adapted the learning to fit us best. Towards the end of the semester, Susan would let us take patients in the morning, which we would prep in the morning. By doing this, I really worked on my time management and planning. I was never afraid to ask questions, because she was respectful and kind when answering, always wanting to help in any way.

Susan is the reason I am still in nursing school today. Throughout the entire semester, my feedback was always filled with words of encouragement that kept me going. Here is an example of some of my feedback “Great patho! Your interventions are specific and demonstrate a higher level of critical thinking, You are getting it! The med profile was fantastic! You got all of the parameters in there-great job! I am proud of you! Can’t say enough about your improvement over the last few weeks. You should be proud of your hard work because I am! Thanks, Susie.”

When I read feedback like this from her, I cried. I sat with my mom and cried because just the semester before I had all the doubt in the world against myself. For once now, I actually felt like I had picked the right profession. Educators are the heart and soul of our system. Educators like Susie, don’t come around every day. She truly has a passion for what she does and you can see it inside her. She comes to clinical with a smile on her face and makes the best of any situation. Susie is amazing and there is no one else that deserves this award more than her. I will always be grateful to have had Susie in my life during this nursing school adventure.