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02/15/2023 08:19 AMFamily has been the overarching theme for Nick Nguyen during his five-year nursing training.
“Being a nurse, you’ve got to be very passionate, to have a drive to care for others,” Nick says. “I always treat my patients as if they were my own family, making sure that they’re well-cared for.”
For the past three years, Nick has been pursuing his Master of Science in nursing degree at Quinnipiac University, as part of its Family Nurse Practitioner program. Caring for others is personal for Nick, and he says it stems from his own family.
“I have a younger brother who’s autistic. Ever since growing up, I’ve kind of been like the parent — always caring for him, always looking out for him,” says Nick, who afterward began participating in programs to assist challenged and disabled children.
“Nursing kind of fell in for me; it just came kind of to me. I always wanted to help people, no matter what, and I thought of becoming a doctor,” Nick says. “Thinking back, going to see these doctors, and see how they see patients for maybe five, 10 minutes every day, it’s not what I wanted. I wanted to be more personal, so being a nurse, you’re always there for them. Always on the spot, all day, in the hospital with patients.”
Being a male nurse in a crowd heavily populated by women was never intimidating for a born caregiver like Nick, nor was the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic. The latter only motivated him more to continue down his path.
“In my case and scenario, it definitely showed more value in being a nurse because you’re in the frontline. You’re always up front with all the sick patients.”
Both the American Journal of Nursing and the American Nurses Association reported in 2021 on the numerous adverse effects of the pandemic on the health and careers of nurses in the United States. Their findings are not lost on Nick, who is mindful of the ripple effect the pandemic is still causing across the medical field.
“It’s definitely taken a toll amongst a lot of nurses, to the point where some people feel mentally drained, and they question themselves if they want to continue being a nurse. There’s so much weight on our shoulders and too much responsibilities that we have to partake without the resources that are provided to us,” he says. “With the post-residual of COVID, it’s gotten better, but the resources for nurses is kind of still lacking to provide for patients.”
In the Family Nurse Practitioner program, Nick has had the opportunity to shadow teachers and preceptors, follow their daily schedules, and learn about different procedures and specialties. Cardiac, respiratory, renal, and primary care for all ages is all on the agenda. Some of his medical studies throughout his training have taken place at two nationally-ranked centers: Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and Yale New Haven Hospital. He also helped to provide care for low-income areas in Fairfield County, and Afghan refugees in West Haven during his time with Yale.
Ultimately, Nick has found that studying at Quinnipiac has been the right move for him over his entire postsecondary academic career, having studied there as an undergraduate before pursuing his master’s degree.
“I really appreciate Quinnipaic’s mindset of looking out for other peoples and alumni in surrounding areas,” he says. “They caught their students as a holistic mindset, which is like mind and body, and that definitely was a thing that built on what I’ve already had kind of an idea of. I always thought of someone as a whole person versus just, ‘I’ll just treat you because you’re sick.’ We want to talk about the whole body, the whole mind.”
Although Nick feels a little anxious as he inches closer to graduation in May, his optimism surpasses those nerves as he is ready to take his next step along his journey.
“It’s the next step for me to kind of pave the way to give back more,” he says. “Most people settle with a nursing degree. I always wanted to go up the next step — what’s the process where I can go and get better.”
Nick’s long-term vision for his career in medical care is to work in pediatrics, but with a sports twist too.
“[The] long-term goal for me is opening a clinic or facility that houses sports. So next to it would be more like a clinic setting, and giving back to the community, focusing on more the Special Olympics,” he says. “When I was in high school, I used to volunteer for the Special Olympics for all those disabled kids and providing them the opportunity to play sports. So, treating people one side, making sure they’re well for doing sports activities, as well as providing the opportunities to do sports.”