Nursing student Kapil encourages people to seek their own career paths: “Find out where you want to go and how to get there”

In his home country Nepal, nursing student Kapil Shah used to work in the business field, but had, for a longer time, been dreaming about working in the health care sector one day.

Kapil's story in the new field began during the COVID-19 period, when many people's lives were filled with tension and uncertainty about the future. 

– Back then, I thought that I want to transfer to a field that interests me, on which there would be enough work and on which I could stay for a long time.

Kapil heard about the opportunities offered by Laurea from friends of his living in Finland and applied for a place to study in the degree programme application process. He started his nursing studies in January 2021.

Working in teams and helping others in a multicultural study environment

At Laurea, Kapil studies in an international group with students coming from all around the world. In his opinion, this a great resource: a multicultural study environment helps you understand how people coming from different backgrounds and cultures think, and, after graduation, you take the same understanding with you and make it part of your nursing skills – you need it to encounter people in a holistic manner. 

What Kapil particularly likes about Laurea is that, here, students are not alone. For example, they make projects with other students, and the teachers give support and help them with their studies.

– It’s like we are team together, Kapil says.

The students also help each other. Kapil, for instance, has earlier acted as a teacher of mathematics and economics, and now teaches mathematics to his fellow students needing help. In addition, this autumn, Kapil has been involved in presenting the school and telling groups of new international students about the studies and practical matters.

Internships help you find your own career paths

In Kapil's opinion, the best part about the nursing degree are the opportunities it provides to take different directions within the health care sector and to continue growing professionally throughout the career, be it in the direction of the care of the elderly, acute nursing or psychiatry, just to mention a few.

– Nurses do not need to do one and the same work all their lives, but there are different paths to follow on your career and in developing your professional skills, he says, – that’s the best part of nursing!

Kapil has had a chance to get acquainted with the versatility of the field through internship periods included in the studies. In his opinion, they are important moments to see the reality, to have an opportunity to put your own competence to practice and, on the other hand, to find your own areas of interest as well.

For Kapil, the internships have also been a great source of motivation. During these periods, you see concretely what kind of skills you need ‘on the field’ and where you need practice. This gives you guidance for both your studies and your future working career.

– Internships in different places during my studies have helped me to make my personal plan and clear my career goals, Kapil says.

“It’s important to find out where you want to go and how to get there”

Kapil's future plans include working as a paramedic, and he has already been able to plan his current nursing studies with this long-term goal in mind. 

– It’s important to find out where you want to go and how to get there, Kapil says.

He says that tutor teachers help students with study planning, course selection and timetables to make it possible for they to reach the goals.

What interests Kapil in working as a paramedic is the rapid action, and the meaningfulness and challenging nature of the work:

– I like challenges and being in situations where people really need help, he says, and continues, – In addition, movement appeals to me, and driving has also been one of my interests since childhood. 

Working in Emergency Medical Services requires work experience in health care. Therefore, after graduating as a nurse, Kapil plans to work at a hospital for a few years and, after that, seek further training to become a paramedic.  

Because Kapil wants to stay in the medical sector for a long time, he also has plans beyond that, which he will have time to realise during his long working career. At the moment, he feels that pedagogical studies, a master's degree and working as a teacher within the field could be an option at one stage of his career.