Finbar McCaughan
Throughout this degree, I have learned to be more empathetic.
I am the youngest of ten in my family and have a large extended family too. Each and every family member has shaped me into the man I am today, and I am grateful to them. Some of my fondest memories are of travelling with my family to visit cousins and rekindling those family connections.
After visiting many nursing homes throughout my life and having cared for my late grandmother in the last five years of her life, I knew I wanted to study nursing.
I wanted to study at a uni no one in my family had studied at yet! Plus, UTS has the best nursing faculty in Australia so it was an easy decision, and I’m glad I’m here.
The most rewarding aspect of this course is that, not only do we learn the essential skills and knowledge in class, we are able to put this into practice straightaway and deliver holistic, patient-centred care – even as students.
Throughout this degree, I have learned to be more empathetic. Empathy is a hard virtue to fathom at times, but, as it is an integral skill in nursing, my degree has enabled me to develop and practise empathy with my patients and my fellow peers. In addition, I feel more confident about working in hospitals and taking on more challenges that I hope will better my practice in the future.
After finishing my degree, I want to work in the paediatrics field of nursing at first. However, my ultimate goal is to be a geriatric or palliative care specialist, and to hopefully manage or open my own practice one day.
To future students, I encourage you to attend all your classes during your degree. The course provides you with a fountain of knowledge – the nursing skills you learn at university are what you will practise for the rest of your career.
Find out more about the Bachelor of Nursing at UTS
