Happy Nurses Week to our Chi Omega Nursing Majors

Studying Nursing at the University of Iowa has been the most challenging, rewarding, and inspiring experience of my 21 years thus far. Ten years from now, I see myself as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner working full time in a NICU, providing extraordinary care to neonates and their families. To say that pediatric nursing is a clinical interest or a preference of mine wouldn’t nearly be enough. My passion for providing care to children and babies is as deeply ingrained in me as my heart and soul; it is something that makes up the very fiber of who I am. Pediatric nursing is not just my goal, but my vocation: a path I feel so inherently suited for and confident about that I couldn’t imagine dedicating my life any other way.

Neonates need not only a dedicated, competent nurse, but also a motherly figure for when mom is gone. They need a voice for when they cannot speak and eyes and ears to monitor their health and direct their care when they cannot. They need critical thinkers, clear communicators, detail-oriented observers, and emotionally stable supporters. Since I joined Chi Omega, I have been incredibly blessed to belong in a sisterhood of women who provide each other with genuine care and support similarly to the care I value so much in giving my patients. My Sisters in Chi Omega are my eyes, ears, shoulders to lean on, cheerleaders to find perseverance in, and above all, my family in a new and unfamiliar face. They push me to refuse to settle, and to remember to believe in myself when the stresses of college seem unbearable and my goals seem unattainable. Chi Omega has instilled in me leadership skills that I plan on translating into the workplace by becoming a leader in the nursing field, particularly by going back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner.

I chose nursing because I believe in my capability and in my purpose. My Chi Omega Sisters are always there to remind me of this when I forget.

Amy O'Grady