Friends united by nursing honour

When Barbados Community College (BCC) third-year nursing student Giselle Griffith stepped forward to receive the Ramona Mascoll/CIBC Caribbean Scholarship on Tuesday, the moment carried even deeper meaning because proudly supporting her was someone who knew exactly what the honour represented.

Her closest friend and fellow nursing student, Cherise Oliver, received the same scholarship last year when Griffith was being the supportive one, turning Griffith’s achievement into a full-circle moment for the pair who have spent the past three years navigating the highs and lows of nursing school together.

“I feel really ecstatic for her because she’s a very hardworking student and she’s very deserving of the award,” Oliver said. “So, for her to have been able to receive it this year, I could not be happier for her.”

Describing how she felt Griffith said: “I feel very grateful and ecstatic about it and it really shows that everything that you do, the hard work that you put in, will eventually be recognised.”

The scholarship presentation, held on International Nurses’ Day in the conference room in the BCC, formed part of the sixth consecutive year CIBC Caribbean awarded the Ramona Mascoll/CIBC Caribbean Scholarships to student nurses at the institution.

For the two friends, the journey has been built on encouragement and shared experiences. Both are third-year nursing students and both hope to specialize in midwifery after completing the programme.

“It’s very uplifting, just to say the least,” Oliver said, recalling going through nursing school with Griffith so far. “We feed off of each other a lot because when it gets hard, we are able to relate to each other just to express how we feel, and it’s a great feeling to know that you’re not the only person going through something, that there’s somebody like-minded like you who’s also experiencing the same things.”

She added that their friendship became even more important during difficult moments in the programme.

“So, it’s good that we also have each other to lean on when it gets tough, and we just continue to build each other up as well.”

Griffith agreed, saying their connection helped make the demands of nursing school easier to navigate.

“I truly feel like this programme, the time that we came in, everything was meant to be, because without Cherice, the programme probably would have been five times harder,” Griffith said. “But being able to have someone who, like she said, understands what you’re going through and that you can relate to so deeply is phenomenal.”

The pair have spent the last three years side by side, including in the same clinical group, Griffith said with a laugh when asked if they were “joined at the hip”. 

Their clinical rotations have taken them across several healthcare settings including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Psychiatric Hospital and the Maurice Byer Polyclinic.

Away from the classroom and wards, Griffith said nursing was a calling she recognised from childhood.

“From my childhood, I knew that I wanted to do something involving caring for others but I wasn’t quite sure of what,” she said. “However, overtime it became clear to me that nursing was the path that I was destined to take.”

Although there are no nurses in her immediate family, she said both of her godmothers work in the profession and became influential figures in her journey.

The road has not always been easy. Griffith admitted paediatric nursing proved to be one of the most difficult areas for her so far.

“The most difficult class for me so far was paediatric nursing due to how tedious the specialty is,” she said. “However, it was a great learning experience.”

As they continue working toward their goal of becoming midwives, both students said support systems are essential for surviving the pressures of nursing school.

“I would say it’s always good to have someone you can rely on, even if it’s just one person you can relate to,” Griffith said, offering advice to future nursing students. “And I would say to encourage each other because sometimes you might be having a low moment and you need that person to encourage you and vice versa. So I say, rely on each other and keep each other motivated.”

(LE)