Joshua Smith

    A career in nursing is a natural choice for Joshua D. Smith, who will set the gears in motion toward achieving his goal when he starts classes today at Meridian Community College.

    “I am excited about this upcoming fall semester. A new challenge awaits, and I cannot wait to dive in!” said Smith, 23, of Meridian.

    He decided to go into nursing while a freshman in high school and credits his choice to not one nurse, but several.

    “I think most people know at least one nurse, but I was lucky to be surrounded by them,” Smith said. “My mom had a couple of close friends who were nurses, and these ladies were like aunts to me. Growing up I always remember the compassion and intelligence in each of them and thinking, ‘I would like to be like that someday.’ I also have a cousin who is a nurse, and I always looked at him as a role model of sorts.”

    Smith plans to apply for admission to MCC’s Associate Degree Nursing Program for the January class. He has already taken a few nursing classes and said he is especially looking forward to returning to the clinical setting.

     “I honestly love learning about nursing practice and enjoy going to clinicals,” he said. “Taking care of patients always reassures me that no matter how difficult nursing tests are, or how school wears on me, that this is what I was called to do and it is who I am meant to be.”

    What interests Smith most about the nursing field is having the knowledge to know how to care for someone in any given situation.

    “I feel that it takes some of the scariness out of life,” he said. “The intrinsic rewards are also a huge factor, because there aren’t many professions where you can make a difference in someone’s day just by doing a simple thing, and let’s face it, everyone wants to come away from their job at the end of the day with more than just a paycheck.”

    Upon earning his nursing degree, Smith would like to further his career by specializing in oncology or hematology.

    “I actually did a semester of clinicals on the Oncology Floor at Anderson Regional Medical Center. Going into that semester, I thought it would be the most dreary, morbid place to be; however, it turned out to be exactly the opposite,” he said.

    “When you’re caring for people who are fighting for their lives you realize that the frivolous things that bog us down in daily life just really don’t matter. It gives you a real perspective on life. It also changes your mood. It is a sad reality, but working on the cancer floor, you know you will eventually lose a long-term patient. While that sounds completely depressing, it actually isn’t. With each loss, you have to have hope for those remaining, and in turn you gain strength and hope from each patient that goes home.

    “While I have no experience in hematology, I find the area completely fascinating. What can be deduced from a person’s blood test is mind boggling. Therefore, I think I would enjoy this area,” he said.

    And if that is not enough, Smith’s career aspirations also include anesthesiology and teaching.

    “I would love to be a nurse anesthetist eventually. However, other doors may open which may allow me to do other things, and I am completely open to those ideas. Teaching nursing would be awesome someday,” he said.

    When he isn’t thinking about nursing, Smith enjoys spending time with friends and family. While he describes himself as “fairly typical,” his ideas and aspirations are anything but.

    “I’m a huge music lover, and spend time listening to music everyday,” he said. “I like movies and books. Cars have always been a passion, especially German cars. I love to travel. I have been to Spain and Germany, and can’t wait to go back! I’m also dying to go to New York City and Chicago.”

    And while he says he has no specific philosophy in life, Smith does try to live by one principle: Do what makes you happy.

    “Because when you are happy, you will inevitably enrich the lives of others. Therefore it’s a win-win, and everyone is happy,” said the son of Marilyn and Jimmy Smith. “I also believe in being your own person, and making every day count. Life is fragile, not something to be taken lightly.”