The Joy of Meeting Someone Who Makes You Think, "I Want to Be Like Them" | Kiyoka Nozue, Head of the Nursing Program, Graduate School of Health Management
October 11, 2022
The clinical practicum for third-year undergraduate students in the fall semester has begun. Around this time of year, I often find myself reminiscing.
When I was a university student studying nursing, A-senpai was one of the people who made me think, "I want to be a nurse like that." Since she was a senior student, she wasn't technically a nurse yet. But to me, she was an aspiring nurse I looked up to (a nurse-in-training).
A-senpai, who lived in the same student dormitory, came back after finishing her surgery practicum and told me what had happened that day. A patient scheduled for surgery, whom she was in charge of for her practicum, had been telling her every day, "I don't want to have the surgery." However, the patient was persuaded to go through with it because it was necessary. That morning, when my senior visited the hospital room, the patient's face fell, again saying they didn't want the surgery. Then, the time finally came, and a nurse arrived to take the patient to surgery.
And then, my senior... unbelievably!
She stood in front of the nurse with her arms spread wide, blocking the way, and said that the patient didn't want the surgery and that she wouldn't let them go to the operating room. For a student trainee to physically try to stop a surgery... I think students in the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care can truly appreciate this, but it was an unimaginably shocking event.
Some might say that while they understand her concern for the patient, there could have been other ways to handle it, or that the patient might have intended to have the surgery despite their complaints. That may be true. However, I believe A-senpai's action was a desperate, last-minute appeal: "Please listen to the patient's feelings! Please accept and respect them!" And she did this from the (vulnerable) position of a student trainee. (Senpai, you were amazing!) I was deeply moved.
So, what was the outcome?
Apparently, the person most surprised by A-senpai's action was the patient. The patient said that they were fine and would have the surgery because it was necessary, and then headed to the operating room. I don't know the full details, but I imagine what I would have thought if I were that patient. I might have been surprised and a little troubled, but that surely wouldn't have been all.
The Japanese Nursing Association's "Ethical Concepts in Nursing Practice" states: "In nursing practice, nursing professionals must act as patient advocates, protecting patients' rights, assisting them in making decisions that best align with their values and beliefs, and respecting their human dignity, privacy, and so on."
To carry out this important and tough practice, it is crucial to be convinced that everyone has their own feelings and thoughts, and that understanding and respecting them is of the utmost importance. And just as the patient's feelings and thoughts are important, one's own feelings and thoughts should also be cherished and respected. A-senpai's action was a desperate attempt to cherish both the patient's feelings and thoughts and her own. In it, I felt I saw the pride of a nurse (in-training).
It is a true blessing to meet someone during your student years who makes you think, "I want to be like them." You can learn from their way of life and grow as a person. That person might be a great historical figure, someone in the media, a teacher, a senior student, a classmate, or even a junior student, a coworker at a part-time job, a family member... and so on. Just as Yukichi Fukuzawa is a great pillar for Keio University, these role models reside within each of us, supporting us, sometimes scolding us, and always cheering us on. A-senpai has been such a presence within me for decades.
To all the students: do you have someone who makes you think, "I want to be like them"? I sincerely hope you find someone.