Class of 2024 Spotlight: Nursing
Leanne Bautista is from a long lineage of CSULB Nursing grads. Her grandmother, Osaida Medina, or ‘Lola’ as she is affectionately called by Leanne, was a graduate of the 1966 traditional BSN program at CSULB, which was the second-ever graduating class of new RNs in the school’s history.
“She was my inspiration,” Leanne says. “My Lola was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States when she was 11 years old. Once she graduated high school, she sought higher education, which was unconventional at the time as a woman of color and an immigrant.”
Despite this, Leanne’s grandmother dedicated herself to receiving an education in nursing. According to Leanne, she was kind, ambitious and intelligent.
“She led her life with a desire to help her patients, and that really warmed my heart. I wish to serve my community the same way my Lola did, by making an impact on its health and wellness. Just like my Lola, I want to become a nurse that is trusted by my community, and to uphold the reputation of nursing that was established by nurses who came before me.
Unfortunately, Leanne’s grandmother passed away in 2016 after undergoing cardiac bypass surgery.
“I was in shock and it shook my entire world,” Leanne says. “When I became a nursing student, I ended up doing one of my clinicals at that same hospital where she died. It was in that same rotation where I had experienced my first Code Blue. It was a difficult thing to witness, especially the sight of the family as they wailed with grief.”
Each time Leanne went to that unit, she had to confront that very same room where her grandmother had passed away. Leanne shares how one of her instructors helped her through that experience.
“I communicated with my clinical instructor about my past trauma, and he not only supported me, but he also helped me overcome it. In our post conference, my classmates and I would discuss any emotional distress that arose during our day of care. It was then that I realized that I was not alone, my classmates were experiencing similar pain as well.”
Finding solace in her classmates and instructors, as well as embracing her own personal strength, Leanne pressed forward and gradually throughout the semester was able to turn something that was a source of trauma for her into motivation.
“It was then that I found my purpose and what I strive for in my nursing career, as I began to ask myself, ‘How could I ensure the trust of my patients and their families? What can I do to instill faith that I am putting my utmost effort in providing care to my patients?”
Though Leanne’s journey to becoming a professional nurse has just begun, she vows to take the lessons she learned in school and apply them in her nursing career moving forward, and always keeping ‘Lola’ close at heart.
