Manpreet Kaur’s Journey: From Reluctance to Nursing, Honoring Her Mother’s Dream

At the age of 8, Manpreet Kaur’s parents decided – for the good of her sister, brother and herself – to move back to the state of Punjab, India to give them an understanding of the culture they were from. She learned to speak Hindi and Punjabi, to live in a very social and family-oriented culture. She attended boarding school there for three years until she was fifteen and her family returned to the States. The experience, she said, helped her to put herself in the shoes of others, to be more understanding of others’ points of view – a particular strength for someone who would eventually become a nurse.

“You know how Indian parents tell you you’re going to do a certain thing when you grow up?” she says. It started when she was a child; her mother selected a certain color for each of her daughters in anything she bought for them. For her sister Arshpreet, she bought pink; for Manpreet, she always bought purple. And when it eventually came to their careers, their mother had decided they should become nurses. At the time, Manpreet wanted to explore other paths before deciding what career to choose.

Manpreet spent two years in college classes at Fresno State while her sister – and her mother – went to school and graduated with Vocational Nursing degrees. Having never shown interest in the medical world, her father appealed to her to reconsider. “Just see what it’s like,” he said, and so she decided to enroll in a CNA program. Much to her surprise, Manpreet discovered she loved it.  What followed then was a Vocational Nursing program that eventually bridged to getting her RN.

Unfortunately, last August, just a few months shy of Manpreet and her sister’s graduation from Carrington College’s Registered Nursing – LVN to RN Bridge program, their mother suddenly passed away. In grief, both daughters were determined to honor their mother by completing their degree and living out her dream for them.

What a story.  Why do you think you weren’t interested in nursing at first?

Maybe I learned to be independent when I was at boarding school in my early teenage years. Now, I see that my mom understood me better than I realized.

How so?

When we were kids, she always bought pink for Arshpreet and purple for me. I didn’t like it; I thought pink was for girls – and I was a girl – and purple was kind of blue, and that was for boys. I didn’t get it. Now I realize she chose those colors because she thought they fit our personalities better. I thought she was forcing us into it, but she already knew me better than I did myself. I hate pink now! (she laughs) I didn’t know I would eventually love purple, but I do! Now all my cups at home are purple, my room is a pastel purple…I didn’t know I was going to love it, but she saw it in our personalities.

How did you pick SJVC as your school?

My sister and I looked at a lot of different schools. We applied to SJVC and we both were accepted. SJVC was great; the teachers, and the resources were all great. They stay on top of you. If you’re feeling behind, they make sure you keep up. They have a mentorship program where you’re paired with an instructor, but it’s not related to classes; it’s someone to reach out to when you need it.

What was challenging about the Registered Nursing – LVN to RN Bridge program?

We chose the Registered Nursing – LVN to RN Bridge program, which is very challenging because you complete the program in as few as 11 months. But everyone there was willing to help you. They even streamline the teaching process to help you prepare for the NCLEX exam.

Now that you are working as a full-time registered nurse, can you talk about the difference between what you thought nursing would be and what it really is? What surprised you about the career you finally chose?

I already had some exposure as an LVN to patient care so I knew what I was getting into, but it’s a lot. Thinking what we know from the book or in clinicals is way different as a nurse. As a student, you always seem to have everything you need. But in the real world, you may not have everything at hand, you may be short-staffed. There is always the need to apply your critical thinking, and you need to be willing to always reach out and express what you need. There’s no shame in telling someone you don’t know something. Be honest. It’s better to say it ahead of time. As new grads you’re not going to know everything. I had a great preceptor who insisted I let her know if I needed anything. It’s okay to get help instead of doing it yourself.

My condolences about your Mom. I’m sorry she passed away before you graduated.

Thank you. I was in the final semester, a few months before graduation. We even discussed having her pin me at the graduating ceremony. It was sudden. What got me and my sister through the program was that we knew how much she wanted us to become nurses.