I’m a nurse. But I didn’t want to be.

 

That’s actually true. I wasn’t OPPOSED to it, it just wasn’t something I grew up wanting to do.

I had recently married my high school sweet heart and we were beginning to talk about kids. So, I needed to make more money.

My mother and grandmother were both nurses. In fact, we all graduated from the same nursing school. The local papers wrote great articles about the three generations of nurses. It was pretty cool. Anyway, they were nurses and I knew they made decent money.

I needed to make decent money as well and I wasn’t grossed out by the stories my mother told from her ER experiences, usually while we were eating dinner. So, I decided I would go to nursing school.

I became a nurse for money. I had no idea that I would end up loving it.

As I started working towards nursing school, I started working at a local hospital. I would spend the next 20 years working at that same hospital.

During those years I held a variety of jobs. I worked as a phlebotomist for that first year. Then I transfered to the ER as a tech. A year or two later I completed nursing school and became an RN.

As a nurse at the bedside I realized that I had great potential to make the healthcare experience great for every patient and visitor that came into my rooms. Even in a busy ER that was still just a few patients a day, or a few hundred a year.

I wanted more. 

After working at the bedside for a couple years I became the charge nurse. In this position I now had the potential to make the healthcare experience great for all patients and families that came into the ER during my shift. This meant thousands a year.

This also mean that I could work to make the healthcare experience great for members of the healthcare team in the ER and beyond… but, only during my shift.

I still wanted more.

I did the charge nurse thing for a couple years and then was given the chance to oversee the computerized documentation system that was coming to the ER.

I’m a GIANT NERD so this really excited me.

I spent the next four years as the Emergency Department Information Systems – Systems Analyst. I now had the opportunity to help make the healthcare experience great for EVERY patient and family that came into our ER. This was tens of thousands of patients a year.

It also meant I could help make the healthcare experience great for all members of the healthcare team, even when I wasn’t year.

That was awesome.

I wanted even more. 

Now, I’m back at the bedside taking care of cancer patients in an outpatient infusion center/oncology practice. There are few things more fulfilling than having a cancer patient look you in the eyes and tell you that you make this whole cancer thing easier.

Or, to hear the teenage daughter of a former patient, talk of how her mother used to talk about how that I made it easier. I tear up a little even now, thinking about it.

During all this, I’ve also been writing on ministry, church, and Christianity related topics. I’ve maintained my own blog in this area for several years and have written for a number of other ministry related publications. If you’re interested, you can find that blog HERE.

I still want more. 

THIS is why I write. I want to combine my healthcare and writing experience to help make the healthcare experience great for patients, families, and all members of the healthcare team.

I want more for you

My passion and experience in both healthcare and writing are a powerful combination that can help you make the healthcare experience great for YOUR patients, families, and all members of YOUR healthcare team.

I’d love to work with you to reach your goals. 

Contact me HERE. Let’s work together to make the healthcare experience great for YOUR patients, YOUR families, and all members of YOUR healthcare team.