Bachelor of Nursing Accelerated Track
My name is Karin Louise Karlsson and I grew up in Calgary. My mother is Métis and my father was raised in Stockholm, Sweden and came here as an adult. I was involved with Swedish cultural events and the Swedish language school throughout my childhood. I am married to Greg who works in the gas industry.
I am in the Bachelor of Nursing Accelerated Track degree program at the University of Calgary and will graduate in 2012. I also have a Bachelor of Design degree from the Alberta Art and Design Visual Communication Program and graduated in 2006.
I have enjoyed all my nursing courses, particularly Maternal and Child Care. I gained many clinical skills this year working on a busy orthopedic unit and on an acute psychiatric unit. My favorite placement so far has been in the labor and delivery room where I gained knowledge of the birth process and worked with newborns. I am presently doing a pediatric placement and have always enjoyed working with children. Also through the nursing program, I have gained time management and work load organizational skills
I worked as a lifeguard and taught swimming with the City of Calgary for ten years. I am level headed and work well under pressure, have strong communication skills which all have helped in my nursing program.
I have volunteered with Medical Mercy Canada which provides humanitarian aid to Burmese refugees on the India and Thailand borders and has also given to the Ukraine.
My short term plans are to find a nursing job in which I can provide medical care to the under-served. This may involve diabetic education, addictions work, prenatal care, labor and delivery or wellness counseling.
My long term goal would be to become a nurse practitioner doing emergency nursing and flight nursing in northern communities. I will follow the footsteps of my grandmother who was a nurse in the north and worked with aboriginal people. I also have role models with my mother who has worked with stem cell transplants for years and my aunt who is a nurse and recently got a PHD in Philosophy.
My extracurricular activities involve fitness and nutrition, painting and designing wedding invitations and such. I have run a half marathon and I am hoping to travel the World.
