Wheaton News

Vienna Anosike ’27 surprised herself. During a three-month internship at Sturdy Memorial Hospital, the junior nursing major not only found growing confidence in connecting with patients but also an unexpected affinity for caring for the acutely ill, in the emergency room and the intensive care unit.

“I learned so much during my time in the ICU,” she said. “All the nurses and doctors in intensive care were very open, willing to teach and answer questions. They also would call me over to shadow them when they were doing a procedure that they thought I could learn from. It’s been a really good learning experience.”

She entered college with an interest in specializing in women’s health, but she is now reconsidering her plans. “Patients in the ICU present very complex cases. It’s a challenge, but I found that was very interesting and far more varied than on a regular medical-surgical floor,” she said. “I’ll have to think more about it.”

Anosike also enjoyed helping patients in the emergency department. Aside from shadowing nurses and doctors, she was assigned to observation duty on patients requiring continuous monitoring as well as assisting families.

The rising junior praised the nurses and certified nursing assistants with whom she worked in every unit of the hospital. “They are the best people, always there to help,” she said. The reality of the work, caring for multiple patients, as opposed to focusing on one at a time during clinical coursework, gave her a new appreciation for the challenges of nursing, she said.

Over the course of the summer, Anosike rotated through nearly every one of the hospital’s medical units. As the first recipient of the Sturdy Health Nursing Scholarship Award, she has been invited to complete a senior capstone in her specialty of choice.

No matter the unit, however, Anosike said that she learned a great deal about how to interact with patients, making them comfortable while taking vital signs, recording data in medical charts, delivering food and helping people to get out of bed and walk or use the bathroom. And the opportunity to care for the same patients daily allowed her to see the impact of her work.

“It’s so rewarding to see someone beginning to heal,” she said. “When you meet someone for the first time, and they’re sick, they may be down, angry or depressed. When you have the same people for multiple days, you see them getting better, you get to know them and see more of their personality.”