NEW YORK NURSE: May 2010
by Randi Hoffman
Bernadette Maliwat-Bandigan’s father was a doctor with a clinic in the Philippines. A sister and younger brother are both nurses, and now her daughter is in nursing school.
Michelle Bandigan said she was always interested in the work stories her mother brought home. “I wanted to experience what she is experiencing,” she said.
Bandigan won NYSNA’s Secor Scholarship last year, and is now attending Felician College in Lodi, NJ. She is sophomore class representative to the college’s Student Nurse Association.
Maliwat-Bandigan, an operating nurse at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn Heights, said, “Michelle was always interested in science. She joined all the science clubs and projects at school, and she asked me questions all the time.”
In high school, Bandigan took college courses in biology at Long Island College Hospital and also classes in developmental psychology and nutrition at St. Francis University. “My favorite subjects were always things that dealt with the human body, anatomy, and biology. My interest just grew over the years.”
Bandigan said nursing school has proved more challenging than she expected. “I had no idea until I started,” she said. “It’s definitely a lot of work. But I truly enjoy getting to learn the different skills and hospital equipment.”
Her mother said, “It’s a learning experience for both of us. Now when she asks me questions, I have to go back to the books. Clinical nursing is so different than OR nursing. I’ve also helped her with time management issues and setting priorities.”
Bandigan plans to take a different path in nursing than her mother. “I would love to work in maternity or neonatal,” she said. She is drawn to children and has worked in an afterschool program and as a teacher’s aide.
However, Bandigan doesn’t think her 11-year-old sister will follow in the family profession. “I think she’s the businesswoman of the family,” she said.
Maliwat-Bandigan is very grateful to NYSNA. “The Secor scholarship is really helping her a lot,” she said. “Thank you for giving her a chance.”