Sharon Nield Memorial Award

I returned to school this past September after spending several years working in exercise science and oncology clinical research.  During this time I had the opportunity to work with patients and families with chronic disease.  It was through this experience that I realized I wanted to be directly involved in the care that these patients were receiving in order to support them through illness.  The caregiving role felt natural for me, and thus thought nursing would provide an excellent opportunity to continue to build therapeutic relationships with patients and families and provide care on a full time basis.

I am passionate about child health and feel strongly about building a supportive early environment that fosters positive growth and development.  I have worked to reduce barriers to physical activity and create opportunities for youth of all physical abilities and health status throughout my previous exercise science graduate work.  I believe that physical activity and exercise play important roles for all levels of health care, be it health promotion, illness prevention, treatment or rehabilitation.  Thus, one of my personal goals is to better understand and find opportunities to incorporate this form of health promotion into my nursing practice.

As I progress through nursing school I am continually amazed and excited by the diversity of roles nurses play and the environments in which they work.  I am very grateful for the support of the CNF as I pursue my nursing career.