In nursing, most of my work was completed in a specialty care department, usually in an ICU or high risk, high stress environment. Because of that, I had to learn to think on my feet, moving quickly, responding decisively with confidence. At the same time, I needed to be very aware of what was happening around me, being prepared for the potential outcomes and need for change in directions depending on the patient response to the care. The type of nursing I was doing, whether at the bedside, in leadership, or mentoring and teaching, can best be compared to a sprint. Sometimes that sprint might last 12 hours, so it was important to stay engaged and sharp, with an awareness of what was critical to notice and shutting out the extra noise in the background that did not affect the incident at

When it comes to health, I’m passionate about family because I have worked in Maternal Child health for so many years. During that time, I have worked to make sure that the baby and mother during labor were safe and healthy. I have worked to keep a mom pregnant, for “a few more days” hoping for a little more maturity of those lungs so baby would be better able to make it without profound BPD and ROP. I have worked to be sure that the neonate, no matter how small, was ventilated as gently as possible, to save all the lung capacity that we could. I have fed that baby, paying attention to the baby’s lead, making sure I did not cause any aversion, always aware that I could be causing lifelong struggles with food if I was not following the baby’s cue