Near-death experience inspires Cameroonian nursing student

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is highlighting the “above and beyond the call of duty” efforts of a nursing student as part of its observation of National Nurses Week.

Juliana Enoakpa Manyoh, a native of Cameroon, Africa, is pursuing a nursing degree after being inspired by her husband’s near-death experience.

At the time of her husband’s accident, Manyoh had a bachelor’s in management and a master’s in finance. But her goals in life were altered after watching nurses provide life-saving care to her husband during a three-week hospital stay.

Since then, Manyoh completed SIUE’s accelerated bachelor’s in nursing program and is currently enrolled in the doctor of nursing practice program’s family nurse practitioner specialization.

“Being on the other end of the spectrum is a completely different feeling,” Manyoh said. “I know the kind of quality care my husband’s nurses provided and what it meant to me, and I’m ready to give back.”

“Taking care of people is not an easy business,” she added. “Nursing is about critical thinking to make sure you catch situations before they happen. You have to be two steps ahead. As a nurse, people are depending on you to make decisions about their lives, which are a matter of life or death.”

Manyoh travels four hours each way, nearly every week, from her home in the Quad Cities to attend SIUE’s program.

“It’s all about quality,” she explained. “I drive here, because I had a wonderful experience pursuing my bachelor’s in nursing at SIUE. Looking at the curriculum and comparing SIUE to other universities, this is perfect. The faculty has been phenomenal and the (Nursing) School is flexible. The university is welcoming and diverse, and the program curriculum is rich.”

Manyoh calls nursing a dream come true. She aspires to utilize her education and experience to advocate and care for those in underserved populations.

“My classmates and I want to provide our patients, and their families, with the highest quality care, and make sure we’re emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion strategies,” Manyoh said. “At the same time, we want to be leaders. This is what the DNP is all about. It gives us the skills to be able to influence policy that has a significant impact on the lives of our patients and communities.”