My name is Brandon Vu, a current 3rd semester Master’s Entry into Nursing student here
at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. I was given the honor today to talk about my experience and journey that led me not only into nursing, but specifically to the Hopkins
campus in general.
I was born and raised in Orange County, CA to a family of Vietnamese immigrants. I’m a first generation college student who attended the University of California, Irvine where I obtained a bachelor’s degree in
neurobiology. That was back in 2020, which, coincidentally coincided with the most severe
global pandemic that the human race has experienced in the last 100 years. You might have
heard of it.
During this time, while we were all locked up in our houses waiting for the pandemic
to blow over, I became a little bored with myself just sitting there and doing nothing in particular.
So I decided to become an EMT. This ended up becoming one of the most consequential
decisions of my life. Prior to the pandemic I actually wasn’t really considering a career in
healthcare at all. But through my experience and time working on the back of an ambulance
during those COVID years, it gave me a new perspective on the world of healthcare that I never
previously considered. And so, long story short, I decided to become a nurse.
Hopkins itself has always been an institution that I’ve been interested in. In fact, the only private
university that I applied to in my undergrad was Johns Hopkins. Of which I was
unceremoniously rejected. Everyone has their own personal reasons for uprooting themselves
and making their way to a university like Hopkins. For me, Hopkins represented opportunity and
with it, a wealth of resources that I wasn’t previously provided during my time in undergrad.
Johns Hopkins is the type of university in which if you pursue opportunity, opportunity will find
you. In just two and a half semesters here, I have been able to shadow CRNAs, NPs and
physicians associated with the medical campus with the ease of simply sending an email. I
currently hold two research positions associated with both the School of Nursing’s Research
Honors program as well as the School of Medicine affiliated Dr. Dong Laboratory of
Neuroscience. Just this last weekend I attended a conference in St. Louis, MO for the American
Association of Men in Nursing for the community service based organization that I helped to
reestablish here at JHSON. Although we are a young organization, we hope to provide community
service and educational outreach for younger people within the Baltimore County area who may
have interest in pursuing healthcare as a potential career path. I have also had the opportunity
to speak to new and incoming prospective students on various panels and provide
my insight in regard to life on the Hopkins campus as a nursing student. And this is just my own
personal story. Many students at the School of Nursing have done the same or more than me, in
the same amount of time. As I’ve stated, if you pursue opportunity on this campus, opportunity
will find you.
At JHSON we have the pleasure of working with the Johns Hopkins main hospital along with its
affiliated sister medical centers to host all of our students’ clinical rotations. An added benefit of
attending an institution with as strong ties as Hopkins is that the students are not required to
submit their own applications for clinical rotations. This is done for us by the staff. Every clinical
rotation is supplemented by a didactic portion, an on-site skills based portion, and simulation. All
aspects of which work in tandem to improve the skills and knowledge of students in this very
accelerated environment.
From my own personal experience, I have rotated between two medsurg floors, a neuro unit, a
psych unit, the OR, and various simulations. At JHSON we also employ state of the art, virtual
reality into our training program which we are currently expanding with some construction upstairs. The breadth of clinical experiences not only provides reinforcement for the skills that we are learning in lecture, but also a great deal of perspective for some students who may have never considered certain specialties after graduation.
Johns Hopkins has a lot to offer its students, but only for those with the ability and
willingness to take advantage of the resources here. If you do choose to attend Hopkins then
rest-assured, you will be well taken care of. If I am to provide any piece of advice for prospective
students, it would be to be open minded, be determined, be willing to make sacrifices, don’t
forget to relax and most importantly, to take advantage of what makes Hopkins the best nursing
school in the country. Thank you.
See All Photos From the Open House
Read More:
- Admissions Cycle Overview: What to Expect When You are Applying
- A MSN (Entry Into Nursing) Student’s Journey Through the Program: Q&A With Claire Grubb
- The Importance of Mentorship through your Nursing Degree and Career