Aplastic Anemia & Myelodysplasia Association of Canada Scholarship

I am currently entering my third year of the three-year direct-entry Master’s in Nursing program at McGill University. Prior to starting this program, I spent many years in the area of cell and molecular biology and cancer research. While I loved being in research, I came to realize I wanted to do something closer to my central interests in health care and working with people. I chose nursing because I wanted a challenging, diverse career that provided the opportunity to make a difference in people lives everyday.

During our student clinical rotations, I had the opportunity to work on a hematology and oncology floor. I found I really enjoyed working in this area as it is an incredibly dynamic, challenging, and rapidly advancing field. There is so much to learn and many different opportunities for counseling, education, and collaboration with patients and families. To learn more about this field of nursing, I chose my master’s research project in the field of oncology, exploring how living with cancer influences people’s experience with the health care system.

After graduating, I plan to continue in the area of hematology/oncology nursing and work to become an advanced practice nurse in the hopes of contributing to the future of cancer health care through leadership roles, teaching and research. Through this work I also hope to help identify concrete and innovative ways to advance the field of nursing.