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One of my best friends from high school at The Ursuline School of New Rochelle, Nicole Longo, made the brave decision to go into medicine for college and her career. Nicole currently attends Sacred Heart University as a Nursing Student. She has worked numerous hours in different hospitals and specialties for Clinical hours as part of her studies at Sacred Heart. Many of those hours have been a huge sacrifice, taking her health and safety into her own hands working as a frontline healthcare worker throughout the global pandemic of 2020 and 2021. 

I greatly appreciate Nicole for her decision to go into medicine and wanted to ask her more about her experience so far. 

I ask Nicole what made her want to go into medicine in the first place.

Nicole says:

“I wanted to help people. Personally, I experienced watching my grandpa get sick and have to go to the hospital. I loved the way the nurses were compassionate not only to my grandpa, but to my family and I as visitors as well. The way the hospital staff cared for my grandpa affected my family as a whole and it opened my eyes to what nursing really was. I realized that working in healthcare was more than just medical treatment; it was helping people function and helping the patients’ family go through the process too.”

I asked Nicole why she chose to go into nursing specifically.

Nicole says:

“I chose to go into nursing because I find the job and roles within nursing therapeutic. I think I have a great bedside manner which is really important when working as a nurse and I want to help everyone, which nurses definitely do. Doctors kind of come in and do what needs to get done. Nurses are there through a patients’ entire treatment plan and I love that.”

I asked Nicole what her experience of undergraduate nursing has been like so far.

Nicole says:

“My experience at Sacred Heart has been great; I’m learning so much and it’s opened my eyes to so many different areas of nursing. I am able to work clinical rotations in every specialty unit, which has been such an amazing experience and learning opportunity. Working throughout the pandemic has really shown me how appreciated and needed nurses are. We make so many sacrifices to help others and I find that really inspiring to be a part of.”

Nicole only has about a month and a half left of classes before she can work as a nurse officially. I asked her how she feels being so close to the finish line of school and being at the start of her career.

Nicole says:

“I am super excited to get out there and actually be able to implement my learning and specific nursing skills. Being able to help people by applying everything that I’ve learned so far is really going to make it all worth it. I am so grateful to have been surrounded by such amazing friends, family and school staff that have helped me get through the difficult times that come with studying medicine. I am so excited to start my career and help people.”

Nicole has balanced being a cheerleader and studying medicine which I still can’t figure out how she’s managed. I asked her for her advice to anyone thinking about going into nursing or other fields of medicine. 

Nicole says:

“I would tell anyone who is interested in going into medicine to really buckle down and study hard. It can be incredibly stressful and challenging to balance school and a social life, but it so incredibly rewarding when you get into your scrubs and work clinical. I can’t even imagine how rewarding it’s going to be in the end when I officially graduate and start officially working as a nurse. If you are interested in going into medicine, I would say to do it and don’t look back. You have the opportunity to learn so much and help people and that’s an amazing feeling.”

Tying Nicole’s experience in the medical field into what we do at Target Patients MD, I asked Nicole what she thinks about medical marketing and how it applies to medicine.

Nicole says:

“I think medical marketing is so important for medicine because it enables people to learn about their options for treatment and medical conditions. Providing accurate medical information to people is so important because knowledge is power and our health is everything. I really appreciate the field of medical marketing. From what I understand, Target Patients MD helps medical practices spread their messaging and what they offer, which is awesome work.” 

Codi

Author Codi

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