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Senior Katie Richter's
experiences with rheumatoid arthritis and a serious car
accident led her to a career in nursing.
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Nursing
Compassion
By Pamela Roe
People choose their professions for all
different reasons – some follow in their parents’
footsteps, while others choose a career path based on sports,
drama or musical role models. Katie Richter, a senior in the
MU
Sinclair School of Nursing, chose to become a nurse because
of two dramatic childhood events and the people who cared for
her.
As a child, she battled juvenile rheumatoid
arthritis and as a teen was involved in a near fatal car accident.
With these two life-altering events, Richter decided she wanted
to help and care for others like those that had cared for her.
“I relied upon caring nurses and doctors
that calmed my fears when I was scared and went out of their
way to make me feel more at ease,” Richter says. “I
can’t tell you how much I appreciated their care and concern.
Their compassion influenced my decision to become a nurse.”
Richter, of Baldwin, Mo., is finishing her
senior year with a rotation in the pediatric ICU at University
Hospital in Columbia, Mo. As a student nurse in this rotation
she finds that it’s just as important to build one-on-one
relationships with patients and their families, as it is to
find the best path for recovery based on diagnosis and the patient’s
developmental stage.
“I like the intense, critical thinking
of being on top of everything while working in an ICU setting,”
says Richter. “I adore kids. I always say you’ve
had a good day if the kids in the ICU ask if you are coming
back tomorrow.”
Arlene Merrell, one of Richter’s instructors,
agrees that she has mastered the thought processes needed for
pediatric medication as well as developing appropriate nursing
interactions necessary for this type of intensive work environment.
“She easily establishes therapeutic
relationships with the children as well as sets priorities,
plans and implements therapeutic nursing interventions,”
says Merrell, instructor of clinical nursing at MU. “She
possesses a ‘can do’ attitude, charm, an open and
honest mind-set, and is willing to take risks and walk the unbeaten
path.”
Last summer, Richter was an extern at St.
Louis Children’s Hospital in the neo-natal intensive care
unit as well as a camp counselor for children with HIV/AIDS.
“This was a very positive experience for me not only because
I was able to help these kids have a great time, but I was able
to use my nursing skills at the same time,” Richter says.
Besides holding top honors in the school,
this nursing student has a well-rounded, yet busy personal life.
She is the president of the MU Student Nurses’ Association,
the northeast coordinator for the Missouri Nursing Student Association,
on the Dean’s Advisory Council as well as a member of
the Student Nursing Council, Delta Delta Delta Sorority and
Sigma Rho Sigma, a community service fraternity. Richter also
finds time to work part time job at Columbia Mall and for the
Mother’s of Preschool Children, a program sponsored by
the Methodist Church.
In 2002, she received Missouri’s top
student nursing honor. The Missouri Nursing Student Association
(MONSA) presented Richter with the Missouri Student Nurse of
the Year award during their annual November conference in St.
Louis. She was chosen as the finalist out of 41 schools of nursing
throughout the state.
“The support I’ve had
from the faculty and my classmates has confirmed that all the
work and effort I’ve put in over the years has been worth
it,” Richter says.
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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