The Story of Debra

I took nursing at the direction of my Grandma when I didn’t know what career to pursue after high school. I took her advice and graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2005. I did some volunteer work in a hospital after I got my Philippine license to practice as a RN. In Sept 2006, I worked as a Clinical Nurse Instructor in the University for 5yrs while studying for my Master of Arts in Nursing. I completed the degree in 2007.  In July 2011, I migrated to Canada with my family for greener pastures. It was very difficult at first as we didn’t know anybody.  We did random jobs to get by and fortunately I became a full- time Care Aide in Saskatoon for 2yrs. At the same time, I continued to work on my application to become an LPN under the Internationally Educated Nurses program. In Sept 2013 I became an LPN by challenging the licensure exam (CLPNE). In July 2014, I joined Stonebridge Crossing – which made me realize how much I love working with the elderly. I had lived with my maternal Grandparents in the Philippines and being surrounded with these lovely people makes me feel closer to home.

Juggling work and study is hard (not to mention some personal problems that come along the way) but chasing your dreams is a great fulfillment and has been worth all the struggles that come along with it. I am still working on becoming an RN, and I am on the last step. This last step is to sit and write the Board Exam but unfortunately due to this Pandemic, test centers are closed. I will complete this but for now I am in no rush because I am where I want to be and I am immensely grateful with the opportunities that were given to me.”