Jashae Allen-Lamontagne dreams of one day working as a nurse in orthopaedics and sports medicine in Bermuda.

First, though, the 25-year-old Bermudian has to pay for her last semester of an accelerated nursing programme at St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, in Nova Scotia, Canada.

“I have encountered unexpected financial challenges,” she said. “I am the youngest of five, and my family cannot pay for my final semester.”

Part of the problem is that her school does not put the whole tuition amount for the year on student accounts, but provides an estimate of fees prior and charges per semester.

“The charges and overall expense of studying abroad has been greater than expected,” she said.

Now, in between balancing her course work, and 12-hour clinical shifts, she is also having to figure out her financial situation.

“It is very stressful,” she said.

The programme she is in packs four years of nursing training into two years.

“We don’t get many breaks,” she said. “Two weeks is about the longest we have, and then it is right back into things.”

Ms Allen-Lamontagne received funds for her studies from the Bermuda Hospitals Board, the Bermuda Nursing Association and the Elliott Primary Alumni Association.

“That was mainly for my first year, and this last year has definitely been a struggle,” she said.

She had hoped to get more scholarships this year, but was unsuccessful.

In high school, she was a dual enrolment student at The Berkeley Institute and Bermuda College.

“I was really indecisive about what I wanted to do at that time, but I did know that I wanted to make a difference in my community,” she said.

After obtaining an associate degree in arts from Bermuda College, she decided to take some health science courses there.

“As a sports lover, I was always health-conscious,” she said. “At the Bermuda College I did anatomy and physiology, biology and chemistry classes and really liked them.”

Her mother, Jean Lamontagne, a nursing assistant, encouraged her to think about nursing.

“She said go for it, try some nursing classes,” Ms Allen-Lamontagne said.

She entered Bermuda College’s associate’s in nursing programme in its infancy.

“It was a good programme, but some skills were not taught, such as intravenous insertions,” she said. “However, it was a great introduction to the field.”

She graduated from Bermuda College in 2021.

“I was supposed to graduate in 2020, but it ended up being later, because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. “I have passed my boards and have my licence to practise nursing in Bermuda, but I have not practised as one.”

Instead of going straight to work, she went to Canada to further her education.

“The hardest thing has just been gaining confidence in my skills,” she said.

She finally learnt how to do intravenous insertions.

“The first time, was nerve-racking,” she said. “The first one that I did, I was unsuccessful putting it in. It was in my women and children’s rotation. I had to insert an IV into a pregnant woman.”

The woman was a “hard stick”, meaning her veins were difficult to find.

“My receptor was very patient with me,” Ms Allen-Lamontagne said. “She said the woman was probably not a good person to start on.”

She has put in several successful IVs since then.

At present, she is in the final clinical phase of her training, which involves shadowing a nurse and also doing more independent care of patients at St Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish.

“The people out here are very friendly,” Ms Allen-Lamontagne said. “It reminds me of home. It was an easy transition to working out here.”

She said it was a little unnerving to be in a hospital setting for the first time, but as she continued, she became more sure of herself.

“I have been able to have more confidence on the floor and help where I can and expand on my skills,” she said. “I have learnt a lot in such a short time. ”

Her plan is to work in medical and surgical medicine when she graduates.

“I want to get some experience and hands-on knowledge,” she said. “I want to work with patients and build that foundation.”

Farther down the road, she would like to go back to school and get her master’s. This will allow her to specialise and enter orthopaedics.

To relax, she turns to her lifelong passion for martial arts.

“I do martial arts at the Xavier Taekwondo Club three times a week, when I do not have a clinical shift,” she said.

She is an advanced kung fu practitioner and has a green belt in taekwondo.

“I would probably have a black belt, but I stopped doing it for a while and then went back to it,” she said. “It is very exhilarating, exciting and explosive.”

She has applied some of her martial arts training to her nursing training.

“You learn patience with martial arts,” she said. “You learn how to de-escalate situations. I have learnt how to find peace within myself.”

Taekwondo and kung fu have also taught her the importance of putting in the work, to get the reward.

Ms Allen-Lamontagne is also part of a campus emergency medical responder team.

“We attend different events and are able to network with other medical students to provide first aid,” she said.

She has raised $2,500 to finish her schooling, through crowdfunding.

If she cannot raise the rest of the money in this manner, all is not lost.

“If I cannot get the money, I will have to get a loan and pay it back later,” she said.