Help me finish nursing school

This video tells the story of why I'm asking for support. If you'd prefer to read instead of watch, scroll down for the transcript. 

Options for supporting: 
Go Fund Me - https://gofund.me/97cfc2d4

Venmo - @sevelynmck

Patreon  - https://www.patreon.com/sevelynmck 

Subscribe to my newsletter  - https://tinyletter.com/sevelynmck 

 

 

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"Our task is not to seek for love but to seek and find all the barriers we have built against it." - Rumi

 

So this is a humble ask for support.

 

.who am I.

I am a writer, musician, a yogi, an enneagram 5. I love cold brew, otters, and the ocean. I am a Reverend, a poet, a daughter, a sister, a dog-mom, a friend, a partner, and I am on my way to becoming a Registered Nurse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started my accelerated Bachelor's of Nursing program in January of this year 2021 and I will graduate next May.

 

.remove the barriers.

So I came to nursing school to learn how to remove the barriers to health from a nursing contribution, to help remove the barriers that keep people from accessing what they need to make their healthiest decisions. I came to nursing school to further live out my deacon calling: to practice compassion and justice in the world. And I am on this journey discerning how my specific contribution will look. I'm thinking about maybe pediatrics in a hospital setting, and then being able to actively engage with families in the community in my neighborhood. Maybe work in the ER, or become a midwife, or a school nurse; we'll see.

 

 

 

 

.why I chose where I chose.

But I chose the program that I'm in at Ursuline College because it was the most affordable accelerated program with the most clinical hours. I chose it because of its reputation of excellence: it's got great NCLEX pass rates, 100% job placement, and a world-recognized hospital system. I chose it because 60% of our clinical experience is one-to-one with a nurse, working their shift alongside them. It's a pretty rare clinical setup. And I chose it because it has a class specifically on the Social Determinants of Health, which are "the conditions in the environment where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age; the conditions that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risk." (Healthy People 2030)

 

.what are the social determinants of health?.

Social Determinants of Health can be grouped into five domains: Economic Stability, Education Access and Quality, Healthcare Access and Quality, Neighborhood and Built Environment, and Social and Community Context.

 

So, attending to these Social Determinants of Health and the nursing role of educating and advocating for patients, that's what I mean by "removing the barriers". That's what I want to keep learning how to do as a nurse and be a part of.

 

So I mentioned that this is a humble ask for support.

 

.why I need financial support.

I have hit a funding snag.

 

To afford this nursing school season, this accelerated program, I've taken out the maximum amount of federal loans, I'm applying for scholarships where I find them, and most recently, I applied for a grant with a scrubs company about the legacy I hope to leave in health care.

 

(This is the grant video I made for FIGS)

 

 

But the truth is funding a second-degree bachelor's is hard to come by, and the support I was receiving will not be able to cover me for the rest of the program.

 

So in addition to continuing to search for scholarships and grants, I am stepping out in humility to ask for help from my community.

 

.how your support will help.

I am calculating a $20,000 total to cover the remaining program, the rest of the program.

 

A donation of any amount towards that goal small or large will cover a few things. It'll cover the remaining tuition costs for my accelerated BSN, at a school that was just named a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education actually!

 

It will cover clinical expenses and amazing class experiences like so far I've already received Red Cross Disaster Relief training and specific nursing End-of-Life care and surgical rotations at the Cleveland Clinic.

 

It'll cover frugal living expenses and it will make sure Scout has care when I'm working 13- and 14-hour hospital shifts including drive time.

 

 

.you'd be proud of me.

I think you'd be really proud of what I've already accomplished in this program. I was accepted to the Honors program. I have a 3.8 GPA. I'm the Service Chair for the student nursing organization, so I'm trying to be as involved as I can in my short time here. And I'm getting clinical experience at the world-ranked Cleveland Clinic.

 

(here's a video I made reflecting on the perioperative experience for a committee at school)

 

 

I'm also staying healthy, walking and training Scout, regularly writing to try to process the experience, and I'm prioritizing intentional reflection with my peers and faculty about areas in healthcare that need healing, including racial, gender, and economic inequities (not an exhaustive list).

 

.why I am a worthwhile investment.

It feels really scary and audacious to ask for money, especially when there are so many hurting spaces in our world and our communities right now.

 

And it feels like a growth step to invite my community further into this experience to invest in my education and what I intend to do with my education towards this calling.

 

I will be a nurse who advocates for my patients, for the health of the population, and for policy that protects and upholds health as a value that guides it.

 

We have a lot of work to do in this country, we have a lot of people who are already doing that work, and I will be a nurse that joins in those efforts, to not just have excellence in my clinical attention to my patients but that my patient-centered care sends me out into the community and into policy to advocate for the things that make people unhealthy.

 

I will be a compassionate nurse stepping into heartache and heavy situations with patients and their families.

 

I will put patient-centered care at the heart of my clinical experience.

 

I will be a lifetime learner for ways that I can connect with patients and advocate for them to the interdisciplinary caregiving team.

 

I commit to taking my nursing brain into the community to be present so that I can effectively participate in health equity, contribute to the efforts of removing the barriers to access resources needed. And I commit to contributing to sustainable, healthy neighborhoods.

 

.I'd love to support you! Tell me how.

So there are a few ways that you can support me in this season.

 

#1: Most important, you can hold me in your thoughts and your prayers as I navigate and grow in my calling. That means so much to me.

 

#2: You can become familiar with the Social Determinants of Health; you can pay attention to how those Social Determinants of Health show up in your neighborhood. We need everybody on board to do something about these, to make sure that all of our neighborhoods have access to the resources that they need: healthy food, safe neighborhoods, green spaces, transportation, technology access, all of these things that make barriers between people, and being able to choose healthy decisions.

 

#3: You can follow my newsletter. I've been writing a newsletter during the program and join me on this journey. Ask me questions. You can engage me in the dialogue of becoming a mindful, compassionate, exceptional nurse. I think everybody has either had, or knows someone who has had, an experience with the healthcare system in our country, and those stories are really formational for me.

 

I want that feedback, I want to know the experiences that patients have, so that I can be mindful of them in my nursing practice.

 

You can follow my newsletter, tell me more about your experience, read about mine, and connect that way.

 

#4: The most, kind of obvious one, number four the most literal one, you can donate financially. Any amount, small or large, is helpful and greatly appreciated. If you are able and willing there are a few options.

 

A) I've created a GoFundMe, which is a very typical education fundraising platform.

 

B) If you'd prefer to give without the GoFundMe fee that they include, and if you'd feel comfortable, you can Venmo me. I'll put my Venmo (@sevelynmck).

 

C) And third, another option, is to support my Patreon. I created a Patreon, a space for creators to offer access to their content and connect with their audiences. Many of you may know, I love to write poetry and take photos and connect those for inspiration, and noticing the invitations in our everyday. You can support my Patreon and get monthly access to some of my poetry and photography. So that's another great way to support me financially.

 

.thank you for your support and care.

In conclusion, I want to say thank you. Thank you for supporting me. I'm deeply, deeply grateful to my community. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I am deeply grateful. Blessings.