My Story

“Being in contact with people, having human values, acquiring the specific skills that are required for taking care of a sick person: those are the reasons why I wanted to go into nursing. The field is often seen as female, but taking care of a patient is not about gender. It’s a profession that requires a lot of empathy. Whether you are a man or a woman, you need to be motivated and really love being at a person’s bedside to do your job. 

I had to go through several stages before becoming a nurse. These stages were especially difficult for me, because I arrived in Switzerland from my native Cameroon with a high school diploma in Mathematics and Physical Science. I didn’t have any special honours or distinctions with my high school diploma. On the lookout for an alternative option, I attended an information day at the School of Nursing La Source Lausanne. That’s how I began taking evening classes for adults, which led to my achieving a certificate in general knowledge, and then gave me access to the induction year and a specialised professional matura examination with a major in healthcare. I continued with a three-year Bachelor’s degree at La Source Lausanne and achieved my diploma in nursing.

I am now a qualified UAS nurse, and it is time to join the professional world. I remember the hundreds of hours I spent learning in this building, in the big auditorium, and often in small groups during seminars. And mostly I remember all the simulations we did with actors in the school’s practical work centre, to practice communicating, and with dummies on technical healthcare procedures. At the beginning of the course, I would never have imagined the high quality of the infrastructure and the high level that was required. Thousands of working hours, determination for a future in the field, and strong dedication. I will never forget all the work experiences I was able to do, including an internship abroad, which the HES-SO course makes possible. The four years I spent in the UAS system are filled with amazing memories and happiness, but also difficulties and doubt. Looking back, I have been able to build up stable professional experiences covering topics such as treatment plans, the PQRSTU approach (a data collection technique), nursing theories, anatomy and physiopathology, which will be useful to me throughout my career.”

© HES-SO – Guillaume Perret