Graduating during a pandemic gave nursing alumnus a fresh outlook on what it means to be a nurse

Today is both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and International Mentoring Day, and to celebrate, we're featuring a mentor from our NurseMentor program who illustrates the value of mentoring and leadership. Mentoring is especially important for our students graduating this year who will begin their careers during a challenging time.

Mentor Alex Dang, BN’21 says his experience as a nursing student and new RN helped him recognize some of the qualities that make a good nurse, such as flexibility and resilience in the face of adversity.

A Calgary RN in hematology and internal medicine, Dang tells us why he enjoys working alongside students and new graduates and why he was inspired to share his particular experience with a student mentee.

“One of the reasons I decided to become a mentor is that I feel that I have a unique set of experiences being a student these past few years and graduating during the pandemic. During my time as a student in the nursing program, I have had the good fortune of having many diverse clinical experiences. This includes internal medicine, hematology, paediatrics as well as long-term care. Within these placements, I have had many positive experiences that have shaped the way I do my own clinical practice. Being a new graduate RN, I can still strongly relate to the experience of being a student.

“In addition, I have had a number of experiences where I was the patient receiving care. I have been admitted to hospitals as a patient several times during my time as a nursing student. These experiences have been highly influential in the way I speak and conduct care for patients and their families. It was my very first inpatient experience that inspired me to pursue nursing in the first place. As a result of all this, I feel very strongly about patient advocacy as an individual who has had first-hand experience. Nurses are the leaders of advocacy when it comes to speaking for our patients, and I feel that I embody and espouse the principles of leadership, compassion and communication that make successful nurse advocates.

“The unit I work on currently is also a medical teaching unit. This has granted me the opportunity to work alongside nursing students, new graduates and medical residents. On many occasions, I have had the pleasure of being a primary nurse to our own students. I find the experience of working alongside them to be immensely gratifying. To be able to guide and assist these students in their practice is a privilege.”

Throughout my time as a student, there have been instructors and nurses who have, in their own ways, changed me as a nurse and as a person. By working on this unit, and being a part of the mentoring program, I hope to make my own difference as well.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been immensely challenging, both for nurses and students. The tumultuous experience of shuffling between online and in-person learning can be difficult at times. But I know that students will be able to look back upon this time with pride for all that they have overcome and accomplished. It is for these reasons I have become a mentor. The exchange of experiences between different groups is enriching for both mentors and mentees, and I would strongly encourage students and RNs to participate.”

First-year nursing student Josh Yu says having Alex as a mentor has been a valuable connection outside of school:

“I feel Alex has been a personable and relatable factor moving through the first term of nursing, especially with the pandemic making it harder to intermix with people. While I don't always have immediate needs to ask questions, it's reassuring to have someone there as an extra resource that isn't a teaching assistant or instructor. And he is fun as a friend to game with!

“The matching process also made it much easier for an introvert like me to connect with someone out of my own year's classes.”