Wildcat Nurse Spotlight: Eugenie Panafieu, Tucson BSN Student
Meet Eugenie Panafieu, hardworking international student in the University of Arizona College of Nursing’s Tucson Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. Eugenie is slated to graduate during spring convocation on May 11, empowered by a strong desire to help others and a passion for health science.
Hailing originally from France, Eugenie spent her childhood globetrotting with her family, learning at international schools in Singapore, Spain, and Shanghai. She’s fluent in Spanish, Chinese, French, and English, experience that will be an asset in her career. With an eye to a future in neonatal intensive care (NICU), and hopes for someday pursuing nurse practitioner education, Eugenie will enter the nursing workforce with enthusiasm and dedication.
“What it means to me to be a Wildcat Nurse is to be a culturally sensitive and truly empathetic nurse with very honed-in critical thinking skills. Those are the biggest attributes that I’m getting from this program and those are qualities I want to carry on in my practice. I’m proud to call myself a Wildcat Nurse because of these values that they stressed on us," ~ Eugenie Panafieu, Tucson BSN Student
What led you to pursue a career in nursing?
My whole life, I’ve loved helping people and I’ve tried my best to impact them in a positive way. Biology was my favorite subject early in college, and I had real interest in science and how the human body works, so it just made sense. I thought what better way than to combine the two than with nursing. It just clicked, it just made sense. And I’ve learned to love nursing even more as time goes on.
Did your international experience play a part in your interest in health care?
I really believe so. I got to see so many different types of health care systems, as well as so many different types of health preferences, remedies, and therapies. I got to build a better cultural understanding of what people prefer and what people might not prefer. I think that’s really going to play out in the way I care for my patients. That cultural sensitivity as well as humility is 100% because of how I experienced so many different cultures, and so many different walks of life. Even though there are so many differences between cultures, people just want to be cared for and treated with respect and like actual human beings.
Why did you choose UArizona Nursing To pursue your studies?
I’m so happy with the choice. I really wanted to pursue nursing, and I really wanted to pursue it in the U.S. I did a bunch of research and I learned that nurses in the U.S. have a lot more autonomy than in some other countries. It might not look that way, but the pay is better, there’s more room for growth, and they’re treated with more respect as well. In France, for example, nurse practitioners just started being a thing a year ago. I was looking at different colleges and I stumbled upon UArizona’s BSN program, which is one of the top in the nation.
What’s your biggest takeaway from time in BSN program?
This program really pushes critical thinking skills, especially in our simulations in the Steele Innovative Learning Center (SILC). They really want you to take risks. It’s a hard program, but you get so close with your cohort and the different faculty members. You literally can do anything you put your mind to if you’re motivated enough and if you have the right support systems. The BSN program is definitely a concoction of both, but it was doable because of the resources and support system we had.
Do you have any advice for students following in your footsteps?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I was a lot shyer coming into the program and a lot of the students in the program are A+ students so they’re used two doing things on their own, but you come in and realize that it’s nearly impossible to get through it by yourself. You need to ask for help from your different cohort students as well as faculty. Make study groups or go to office hours with the professors. I would also say that you should really prioritize self-care. The program can get very overwhelming at times. If you start slacking on sleep, exercise, and healthy eating it won’t pan out well in the end. The program flies by in a heartbeat, and you don’t want to miss any of it.
What are your post-graduation hopes and plans?
I ideally want to get a NICU position. I know those are hard for new grads, but that’s ideal, so if I don’t do it right away, then down the line I’d like to work in the NICU. I went into nursing wanting to become a nurse practitioner, so I think that’s where my head is still. So maybe neo-natal Nurse practitioner down the line. I love the critical setting, I love ICUs, and then I love my little babies, so the neonatal care unit is where my heart is at.
What does it mean to you to be a Wildcat Nurse?
What it means to me to be a Wildcat Nurse is to be a culturally sensitive and truly empathetic nurse with very honed-in critical thinking skills. Those are the biggest attributes that I’m getting from this program and those are qualities I want to carry on in my practice. I’m proud to call myself a Wildcat Nurse because of these values that they stressed on us.