from the November 2021 RNFa eNews
Credentials
ADN, RN, RNFA, CNOR
City & State
Florence, AL
Current Position (Outside NIFA Workshops)
RN Circulator/RNFA with my local hospital
What made you choose nursing in the first place?
I was always fascinated with all the guts and gore you used to see on TV, like on the ER show popular in the ‘90s. I loved that. I veered away from that path as I graduated high school and went into business, but after a year out of high school, I got sick with cancer. As a patient through St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, I found my love of the medical field again. I decided I would go into nursing school, but life and family happened—two little ones.
Eventually I got back into nursing school. I started out in whatever field I could get in, just to get a job, but my goal was always surgery. I got in it and I absolutely loved it and I thought, nope, I want to do more. I don’t want to be a doctor, but the next best thing to doing what they do is to be a first assist.
When did you first get involved with NIFA?
Through my SutureStar™ workshop when I went through it in Vegas. I kept in touch with my instructors and Dean contacted me later on down the road and asked me if I would be interested. I jumped on that opportunity because I enjoy teaching and I love what I do. I thought I could be a benefit to other people in the same boat that I was in, trying to navigate the waters of being a first assist and working in surgery.
I started teaching right before COVID hit, in February 2020, and have been teaching since then.
What do you enjoy about teaching the SutureStar™ Workshops?
When I go in and show somebody how to tie knots and sew and do all the things we do as first assists, I love seeing the look of fascination of, “Oh, I’ve got this.” This thing that they didn’t think that they could do or they were struggling with, and then it’s just like a light bulb goes off and they say, “Oh!” It makes me feel accomplished that I was able to help them get to that point.
What is one interest or ability you have outside of surgical skills that might surprise people?
I like to renovate my house. Not just painting but also the big stuff, like knocking down walls and doing major renovations. I enjoy that. I make a plan, stick to it, get help where I need it, but for the most part I try to all of it on my own. I really enjoy it.