Waleed Lightbourne: “The World Is My Oyster”
“The world is my oyster,” is how new RN, Waleed Lightbourne describes his success as the first male graduate of Bermuda College’s Associate of Science [Nursing], ADN programme to earn the RN [Registered Nurse] designation.
Mr. Lightbourne now joins over 90-thousand RNs in North America who have obtained an ADN and wrote the NCLEX with success.
He is currently working as a Nurse’s Aide and security guard at the Bermuda Hospitals Board, but will apply to the Bermuda Nursing Council for permission to work as an RN, shortly. He will also join the BHB as a Nurse Resident – a programme for Bermudians who are newly designated RNs.
Mr. Lightbourne says he is interested in working with mental health patients in order to help break the stigma that can be sometimes associated with mental health.
“I find when working with mental health patients, some people can become a bit overwhelmed,” he said. “They don’t know what to do. But, really, once [the patients] are on treatment and stay with the treatment, you really wouldn’t know the difference. Mental health doesn’t have a face.”
Mr. Lightbourne’s mother was his first introduction to the healthcare profession. She worked as a Nurse’s Aide in the Continuing Care Unit of KEMH for over forty years.
“I basically grew up there,” he remembers. “She would devote a lot of time to them as if they were her family, and then, after a while when I experienced what she experienced, I realized you actually are their family. That’s where my heart is.”
He intends to pursue his undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing while he works as an RN.
Well done Mr. Lightbourne! You are a great example of perserverance.
Congrats Lightbourne!!
YO so proud of you man! Hope you still have time to hit the gym like you did back at the college.
Congratulations, Nurse Lightbourne:
Well done! Stick to your principles and values – they are sound. Bermuda, and, indeed, the world needs such perception. Your mother did a good job in raising such a caring and sensitive son. I hope you can influence some other young Bermudians, especially males, to follow in your career path!
Wishing you every success in the future.