So I decided to invite a student nurse to my interview session. Inviting this nurse wasn't by chance. I've read some of her posts, coupled with the fact that she's my student. Most of her posts give experiences on her school journey. Have you ever been in a situation whereby you're told to do something, and if you fail to do it well, what you own or years will be taken from you? Will you sleep on this?
This is a story of a young student midwife on the school of nursing campus. After waiting for 4 years to get the opportunity of studying her dream course, she didn't allow stress from school or anything to make her want to give up. She was determined to succeed, and she said it's difficult to go to a school of nursing without a sponsor.
Let's hear and learn from her experience.
Interviewing the Student Midwife |
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@bossj23: Hello @peacemike, You're highly welcome to the stage. It's a pleasure having you on this interview. I noticed you're an active member of the Steemit platform and also a student. Please, can you tell us more about yourself?
@peacemike: Thanks for acknowledging me as an active member. So I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Peace Michael Effiong. I'm a student midwife at the School of Midwifery, Oron Campus
@bossj23: Thanks. As an active member of the Steemit platform, from your introduction, I noticed that you're a student nurse, and from my intel, or from my observation, nursing is one hell of a profession that needs maximum attention, focus, consistent reading and the like to make it successful. So how are you active on Steemit and also performing well in school as a student midwife in nursing school? How do you balance both activities? You create content on Steemit and still perform well in school without allowing one to suffer at the expense of another. Most students in tertiary institutions feel Steemit is a distraction, and to be successful, they must forgo one and focus on the other. So how do you do that?
@peacemike: Okay, Boss. Thank you for this question. It's an amazing question, and I'm glad to answer it. So I'll take it step-by-step. First of all, my entering into the Steemit platform wasn't an easy task, though, especially when it comes to balancing school activities and writing on Steemit. I just felt it was going to be one hell of a stress. It wasn't easy for me at first, and the thing that always breaks my heart is when you write content and you don't get votes for it. I feel like killing myself. Sometimes I feel like giving up, but I don't give up easily because I'm not the kind of person who gives up. Steemit didn't come to me by luck. It came to me by the will of God. God has a purpose for everything.
@peacemike: God gave me Steemit in 2025 to bring back my old self. When I was much younger, I used to write a lot because I had a passion for this until I quit because I was distracted and I didn't really have time for writing and the likes. But when Steemit came into my life, that spirit came back. I really enjoy writing. It's not just about being active. Writing is a part of me, and I tend to express myself and emotions more in written words than verbally. So how was I able to balance up? The first thing I did was to create a schedule, like a plan for the day.
@peacemike: I'll write out the plans for the week, and one day I'll be very busy. I'll not write so that I'll be able to meet up that day. That's why I don't write every day on Steemit. If you check, sometimes I can write like 4-5 times weekly, all dependent on when I have free time. If I have a hectic day, I'll not write that day. I'll shift it to the next day or probably a day that'll be more favourable. But note, I can't lack one content weekly. When I write down the plans, I'm going to discipline myself to work according to what I planned. In the morning I may decide to vote and engage in people's posts.
@peacemike: Then after school around 4pm, I'll rest and eat and wake up to write. If I'm unable to post that day, maybe due to network issues, I'll wake up in the night to post again or probably shift to the next day. So that's how I did it. My consistency plan helped me a lot. I know that I'm not really that active, but I do try my best, as I don't give up easily. Sometimes if I post around 7-8pm, I'll use midnight to study. If I cannot because I'm not the type of person who loves reading at night, as I may fall asleep, I'd postpone it to class periods or probably my break time and weekends. On Sundays, I do read a lot because I have a lot of time. So I may use this day to cover up certain things so that I'll know that after reading, I'll start writing in preparation for Monday. I love posting on Mondays, and if you check very well, you'll notice.
@peacemike: Another thing is determination. You know when you're determined to get something, you'll get it no matter what. You know I'm determined to succeed academically and financially instead of depending on my parents. When your determination is high, you'll be pushed to make a lot of sacrifices just to maintain that reputation. When I started school, I was bright, which made everyone look up to me. So for me to bring down my reputation was difficult. I'd study even though it meant staying hungry. On Steemit, I'm also determined to succeed even though it means rejecting pleasure just to balance my activities. You'll need to forfeit certain things just to get what you want. I had to forfeit distractions, take risks and go the extra mile just to get what I wanted.
@bossj23: Wow. Like, you're a determined lady because for you to create a schedule, you're very calculative. That's a great move, and I think in the future, you'll do better. Third question. Do you have any sad experiences you've undergone or sad moments you've experienced since you started your school journey? Like an experience in school that made you feel emotional, cry or something like that.
@peacemike: This is what happened. It was a day of MCB exams; that's microbiology exams. I already prepared well for this exam; in fact, I covered the curriculum from the beginning of the semester to the end. I read everything. But there was this day this lecturer entered the class, which was the last week before the exam date. So that Thursday, which was revision week, I didn't think he would be serious with the attendance stuff. I didn't really take it to heart that he would do something very bad that day. Even though he was to mark me absent, it would be just for that day since it was a one-day class. This man had the mind to mark us absent 4 places, which means 4 weeks, and in nursing, if you don't have complete attendance, or even 50% attendance, you can't write their exams. It affected me in exams, and those were my promotional exams.
@peacemike: When the day came and I went to write the exam I was prepared for, behold, the papers were shared, and the examiner just came in and was calling people without complete questions out of the hall. See exam questions that were very simple, but she called my name. I cried. I went out as I was sent out of the exams hall. I thought that all was lost because I was just outside while most of my colleagues were writing. I wasn't the only person, sha. My colleagues that stayed with me in an apartment were also outside the hall. It was as if the lecturer planned us by giving us 4 absences in his class. We didn't even have anyone to speak for us. Like, I thought I would never write the exam that day. I was sitting down, crying my eyes out. I even went to the DOC office to explain myself to her, and she was like, "This thing is not my doing, oh." I'm not the provost, and I can't do anything about it. I begged her to speak for me, but she didn't. I had to go back and plead with the invigilator. Nobody answered me, leaving me all alone. I just sat down looking at the sky. The only person that answered me that day was God. I just sat down and asked God, "Why me?" After my sleepless nights, struggles, hunger and the like just to read throughout the night, I wasn't allowed to write the exams, and my absence was 4, as he marked. The exam was written for an hour, and that's how long I stood there. One thing about the exams is that there's no resit.
@peacemike: You'll have to carry over the course, something I didn't want to experience. Why? Because I didn't like the lecturer, and the stress of reading MCB bulky notes wasn't to be experienced twice. I told God to look for a way out for me. I was just praying to God. In fact, I wanted to go back home after an hour, as I lost hope. Before you knew it, I saw my DOC come out of the office with the information that the provost wanted to speak to the invigilator. She told the invigilator that she should allow only those that had 60 to write the exam, and behold, I had 60 on the dot. It was sorrowful and joyful at the same time. God always comes through for me even in the most difficult of days or situations.
@bossj23: School of nursing is challenging, right? What has helped you since your first year in school? At some point, did you feel you should just quit? I mean, the stress, reading, classes, bulky notes and the like. Do you think it's very possible for anyone to succeed in nursing school without having financial support?
@peacemike: No. I didn't feel like quitting. The School of Midwifery has always been my dream school, as I've always dreamt of doing nursing. That opportunity didn't come immediately until 2024. I finished my high school education in 2020 but didn't have that opportunity. So now that the opportunity came to me after waiting to gain admission, I didn't want to waste it. Nobody would want to. I didn't feel stressed or even signs of quitting because I wanted to pass, clear my papers and succeed. It was my mindset. I didn't mind whatever struggle, bulky notes and the likes that came in. I was very lean at some point but wasn't bothered because I just wanted to pass. I was determined to face anything that would come my way, as I had waited for this opportunity for years. So I couldn't just allow anything to make me flip that opportunity. I was just ready.
@peacemike: It's not that possible for anyone to succeed in nursing school without having financial support from someone else. You won't concentrate on your studies, and you'll always want to work to sponsor yourself. In my school, those that are self-sponsored have lots of carryovers because they don't attend classes and have no time to rest, read and the like. They don't really do well in school. So I feel it's difficult to combine this in nursing school. Why? Because side hustling and self-sponsoring are different. Nursing school needs concentration and enough study time so you'll be able to know what to do in clinicals. So sponsoring yourself in school may be challenging
@bossj23: I agree with you. Last question, if you were to advise students doing Steemit and pursuing academics, what would your advice be? Do you think Steemit would be a distraction?
@peacemike: My advice to those doing Steemit and pursuing Steemit is that they shouldn't make excuses that Steemit is distracting them. Why? Because Steemit is an academic update. On Steemit, you can share your knowledge in class and improve or broaden your knowledge and earn from it. So you get paid for learning. I don't see it as a distraction because it helps to improve your writing skills. My advice to them is that they should do what they know how to do best but shouldn't give the excuse that Steemit is a distraction to them in their academic pursuit
@bossj23: I really appreciate the time you spent in answering this. I've learnt from every word you shared. How do you feel about this interview?
@peacemike: I feel fulfilled as I've got to say something that has been inside of me for a long time
- Do you think it's possible for a student to be on a distinction with good grades while working, sponsoring themselves in school and also in the medical field at the same time?
- Do you feel Steemit is a distraction for many students today? Why,?
Honestly I'm super excited to share my experience and thoughts to the world I hope I was able to touch some lives and change some negative mindset through this interview. Thank you @bossbj23 for this privilege.
My pleasure
https://x.com/i/status/2008313159442952235
Nice explanation, I really liked the analysis, I am new, please support me, thank you
Join this challenge 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽
https://steemit.com/steem4nigeria/@bossj23/newcomer-challenge-2026-for-all-newcomers-below-3-years-or-or-apply-and-get-rewards-for-being-active-on-steemit
Alright boss
Done @bossj23 please check my entry
Upvoted! Thank you for supporting witness @jswit.