Seneca College RED 2020 - 33

On the front line

PHOTO: IAN PATTERSON

Career change challenges Doris Benavides

FOUR YEARS AGO, Doris Benavides - mom of two with a
full-time job - accepted a challenge. She decided to
change her career, brushing aside naysayers who told
her she was too old.
Ms. Benavides turned to Seneca and joined the Practical Nursing diploma program to realize her dream
of becoming a nurse. Not only that, she fast-tracked the
two-year program to finish it in 18 months. Within
a year of graduation, she was selected for 12 weeks
of training through the Nursing Graduate Guarantee
program of Health Force Ontario. A six-month
internship at Trillium Health Partners followed, and
then came an offer from Credit Valley Hospital,
where she works as a permanent, part-time Registered
Practical Nurse.
" I faced a lot of challenges to begin a new career at
the age of 33, " she says. " Some said I was too old or
they'd say, 'There aren't enough nursing jobs.' I used
that as my motivation and literally said to myself in
that moment, 'Challenge Accepted!' "
Ms. Benavides credits Seneca's professors and course
planners for her success in meeting the challenge
she had set for herself. She says they make it easy for

students like her - with full-time jobs and family
responsibilities - to attend school through flexible
scheduling.
" There's a misconception that college is really difficult
because alongside their studies most students need
to work for their tuition and books, and it's not how I
found it, " she says. " I was a wife, a mother and a student.
I had to juggle all these roles and also work full time at
a clinic. I can't stress enough how well I was supported
by my course planners and professors. "
The outbreak of COVID-19 soon after she joined the
hospital tested all of the skills she gained in the nursing
program. Things at the hospital changed almost overnight and the nursing staff had to adapt just as quickly
to new procedures, government policies and protocols.
The team worked together as one, supporting each
other through the crisis while at the same time dealing
with the overriding fear of the pandemic itself. Ms.
Benavides sent her two daughters, now 17 and eight,
to their grandparents while she worked at the hospital,
often up to 60 hours a week.
" COVID was something I wasn't prepared for.
Who could have been prepared for it? But Seneca gave
me the tools to be able to cope. My professors were
incredible. They were passionate about the nursing profession and that also flowed onto me. They shared reallife anecdotes that prepared us for critical situations. "
She also treasures the friends she had made during
her Seneca days.
" I found so many good people and we are still friends.
I think that's what helped me get through college
and also through the critical situation of these past few
months: being able to rely on each other for support
and help. "

COVID was
something
I wasn't
prepared for.

RED

2020

Seneca College RED 2020

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