The night before nursing student Nadine Gatarayiha was scheduled to catheterize a patient, she practiced the new skill over and over in the Epley Center for Health Professions skills lab.

Gatarayiha's nerves threatened to get the best of her during the actual procedure the next day, but her training took over. She aced it.

"I went home that day and spent 45 minutes on the phone with my mother telling her all about it — of course respecting HIPAA rules and regulations," she recalled. "And on the other side of the phone, my mother cried and told me how proud she was of me for believing in myself and allowing my passion to become my purpose."

Gatarayiha shared this story in a speech she gave at the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing's pinning ceremony, an event marking the milestone of nursing students beginning work with patients during clinical rotations. She was invited to speak at the ceremony after winning the nursing school's coveted Clinical Excellence Award.

Gatarayiha is from Rwanda, where education is often a luxury.

"I have been fortunate enough to be among the few lucky women who have had the privilege of receiving a good education, which has opened so many doors for me — including being able to attend the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing," she said. "I see myself as an investment that other people have made in me, and I always strive to pay it forward."

As part of Gatarayiha's training, she's a nurse intern at Northwest Medical Center in Springdale.

"I love that I get to be there for people in their most vulnerable moments. I believe patients may forget what we did for them, but they will never forget how we made them feel," she said.

Gatarayiha will graduate from the U of A in December and recently accepted a position at Medical City hospital in Dallas on the mother and baby unit. She can still remember how jittery she felt during her first obstetrician rotation as a nursing student. She cried tears of joy with a woman who had just given birth after a 14-hour labor.

"She looked into my eyes and told me that she would never forget the fact that I held her hands when she needed someone the most," Gatarayiha recalled. "This taught me that, even though it may seem small, the ripple effect of small actions can be extraordinary."

Gatarayiha said the U of A has given her an excellent education and made her more open to multiple perspectives. Adjusting to a different culture and community sparked a desire to champion diversity in nursing.

"I have learned about the difficulties of being a Black woman in America and the health implications that might happen if health care providers do not revisit their biases and the way these affect their ability to provide patient care and safety," she said. "I hope this experience will help me create conversations around inclusive patient care."

Gatarayiha eventually wants to pursue midwifery and hopes to help mitigate the number of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States.

"In addition to that, growing up in a small, landlocked country in central-east Africa — and seeing the struggles pregnant women go through due to the lack of trained health care professionals — fueled my desire to become a midwife," she said.

Gatarayiha concluded her speech at the pinning ceremony by expressing gratitude to nursing school faculty for their support. Her last line: "I can confidently say that I was born to be a nurse; to hold, to aid, to save, to teach and to inspire. It is my calling, my passion, my life and my world."

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This story is the latest in a series called the Dean's Spotlight, featuring outstanding students in the College of Education and Health Professions. Visit COEHP's online magazine, the Colleague, for more news from the six units that make up the College. Visit the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing page for more information on COEHP's nursing program.