1. What inspired you to become a nurse?

As far back as I can remember I have always wanted to be a nurse. I loved children and taking care of babies. My mother started telling me at a very early age that I should be a nurse. She “brainwashed” me into the nursing field. I tell her frequently that “she is lucky I enjoy nursing”.  

"Actually, the goal I wrote in my high school yearbook says I want to be a successful Pediatric nurse."

 

2. What challenges have you gone through to become a nurse?

"My biggest challenge was working three jobs all through nursing school to pay for my tuition."

I could not take summer classes because I had to earn enough money to pay for the fall and spring sessions. Because of that, it took me three years to earn my associate degree. I returned to school for my bachelor degree after having my children.

 

3. Best day and worst day?

Best Day:

I have had many great days in my career. Some of the best feelings I have experience over the years are: being in the delivery room and having a healthy newborn handed to me; bonding with a family as their child is diagnosed with cancer, being there for them all through treatment, and then being present when they are told their child is cancer free; having the knowledge and strength gained through my nursing experiences to take care of my ill father and make him comfortable as he took his last breath.

 

Worst Day:

The day that I think of immediately is when a five year old child with a brain tumor died. I was very attached to this family and they depended on me. The child happened to pass away in the evening after I had visited them at their home. I received a phone call from the child’s hysterical mother late that night telling me “they took my Marilyn away and covered her face”. At the funeral, she picked the child up out of her casket, in her little white dress, and brought her to me saying “tell these people you saw her yesterday and she is OK”. That was the first and last funeral I attended for a patient.

 

4. Have you ever needed to use your nursing experience outside of the hospital? If so, has one stood out?

I have assisted in a few minor situations- an elderly women passing out in Kohl’s; performing the Heimlich on a choking person at a camp; etc. 

"But, I have used my nursing skills numerous times for family members." 

My sister insisted I was the nurse in the delivery room when she had her children- it was awesome being there for her but even better to be the first to meet my niece and nephew. 

"My father always referred to me as his nurse. He would not make any medical decisions without me."

Without my nursing experience and knowledge, I would not have been able to make the right decisions regarding his complex medical issues. When it was obvious that he was nearing the end of his life, my siblings deferred to me when there were decisions to make regarding life support. It was comforting to let my Dad die with dignity after having numerous discussions where he asked me “not to let him suffer”.

 

5. What sacrifices have you made?

"Time with my children."

This would have been with most full time jobs but, working twelve hour night shifts for seventeen years plus returning to school for my BSN while they were young took a toll on my role in raising my three children. Beside the work hours, there are certifications that are required yearly or every two years – i.e.: basic life support, pediatric advanced life support, advanced cardiac life support- they take time away from family on weekends.

"On a good note, my children had a very good role model for a work ethic."

All three of them had jobs at age sixteen, are all employed, and have great work ethics.

 

6. If you did get attached to a patient, how and why did you get attached?

"Working on a pediatric floor in an inner city hospital for my first seventeen years I was attached to many patients."

The first HIV positive child was diagnosed on the floor where I worked. After she was diagnosed, we had many HIV/AIDS children that “lived” in the hospital. Many of these children had parents who were unable to care for them because of their drug habits or their own failing health due to AIDS.

"The nurses cared for these children as if they were their own."

We bought them clothing, toys, their favorite foods and, when the hospital was near bankruptcy, formula and diapers.

"I have been a nurse for thirty two years and I still remember their names and faces."

 

7. What advice can you give me for my future as a nursing student?

"Nursing is a profession but, it is also a passion. Never lose the passion for the profession that you have now."

Also, remember, no matter what discipline in nursing you decide to pursue, you are treating families- NOT individual patients. Everyone family you care for has their own set of values and beliefs. You need to be aware of them and respect their differences.

 

EQ: How does a persons relationship and actions reflect the importance of an individuals needs? And how does that translate into guiding a nurses approach to a patient?