Anya Wu ’23 is among the "next generation” of nurses recognized in the 13th annual awards.
The Greater Cleveland Nurses Association (GCNA) and Cleveland Magazine recently honored nurses and “nurses of tomorrow” for the critical role they play in caring for Northeast Ohioans.
Among those recognized by the 13th annual "Faces of Care" awards was Baldwin Wallace University student Anya Wu ’23, who will graduate from BW’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program in December.
People are at the heart of Wu’s drive to practice healthcare. After she began volunteering at a hospital while she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Hawaii, she says she began to see nursing, rather than medical school as the right career pathway for her.
“The more I shadowed and the more I volunteered, I really saw the differences. It was the nurses who were at the bedside. It was the nurses who patients were asking for, and it was the patient-nurse relationship that I really desired,” Wu told Cleveland Magazine.
So, after earning her bachelor’s degree in molecular cell biology, she moved from Oahu, where she was born and raised, and enrolled in BW's 15-month ABSN program.
Following a clinical rotation in labor and delivery, Wu further refined her career goal. She recently started as a patient care assistant at Southwest General Hospital on the postpartum floor and plans to start work as a labor and delivery nurse as soon as she graduates in December.
“It’s such a special relationship that I haven’t seen in any other setting,” she says of labor and delivery. “The nurse really gets to know the mom and the family. That’s why I wanted to go into healthcare.”
Wu, who was also selected for the GCNA’s Graduating Senior Award, says she is "extremely honored" by the recognition and believes it signals that she is “in the right place doing the right thing.”
“Since starting my journey as a nursing student at Baldwin Wallace University, I have never been more sure of anything in my life: nursing was meant for me,” Wu says.
“Every interaction with a patient, regardless how simple, is a chance to improve their hospital stay. The patient-nurse relationships built on trust, compassion, and communication are unparalleled. I strive every single clinical day to make my patient’s hospital stay just a little better.”
Wu also noted the strong sense of community “like no other” that she has experienced within the nursing program at BW. “This is all thanks to the nursing faculty and my fellow classmates.”
