Meet Maggie.
With a doctor as a dad, Maggie Jamerson (pictured right), has grown up around medicine her entire life. "We were that family that would pull up graphic trauma pictures and talk about surgeries at the dinner table. I love learning about the human body and truly at the end of the day, we are all the same humans made up of flesh and bone.
"Nursing offers a special aspect of care in the sense that we care for the entire patient. We are the ones holding their hands, calling their family and sitting with them at their bedside. It’s an honor to be able to be a light in their life when they are hurting, alone and scared."
Did you have an ah-ha moment about wanting to become a nurse?
There wasn’t ever a lightbulb moment, more of just a gradual realization of what I want to do and how I want to care for people.
Why did you choose the WVU School of Nursing?
I am from Charleston, West Virginia, and I have grown up going to WVU sporting events my entire life, so WVU has always been my dream school!
Could you share a positive experience from your time at the School of Nursing?
A positive experience I had was during clinicals. We were able to go to the operating room for a day to observe a surgery! I was able to observe a complete hysterectomy that involved a uterus with a mass. During the procedure, the surgeon had me come up to the side of the table as he walked me through the entire procedure. I loved that he took the time to explain what he was doing – it was an amazing experience!
What is one piece of advice you would give your freshman self?
My one big sister tip is that anything worth doing, is worth doing 100%. Show up early, ask the hard questions, take an extra 10 minutes to sit with your patients and never stop learning. We play such a sweet and vital role in the patient’s care, so do it with your entire heart and do it with honor!
What do you hope to do after graduation?
As of right now, I hope to work in the ICU. I have always had a special place in my heart for kids and pediatrics and I am hoping for a potential job in the PICU. I am currently in my pediatrics rotation, so I am hoping that it goes well enough for it to be a career path.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I draw my inspiration from all of the great healthcare workers that have come before me and walk alongside me every day. It has been an honor to work with many great physicians like my dad, my coworkers and my clinical instructors.
Why would you recommend the WVU School of Nursing to someone?
I would say that the WVU School of Nursing truly cares about you as a person and they want you to succeed. They don’t just want you to be passed through and be an ‘average’ student – they invest in you because they want you to be phenomenal nurse!