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Are you a professional in the medical-surgical nursing field?
Hello! My name is Tammy and I am a current high school student. I'm conducting an interview with any professional in the Medical-Surgical Nursing field for a Foundations in Health Science Class project about careers! I have created a total of 13 questions. Comment on this post, answering all 13 questions to be a part of my assignment.
1. Why did you choose this profession?
2. How many years of college did you go through?
3. What jobs did you work on before you landed your present professional job?
4. How can I decide if I should earn a PH.D. in this field?
5. Were you in a college program?
6. Did you have to pivot and go back to school at a later date?
7. Did you shadow another professional in the field?
8. Did you join any school clubs related to your current profession?
9. Was there a particular subject you struggled with during your school years?
10. What skill sets did you learn or gain while pursuing your career?
11. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
12. What do you find the most rewarding about working in healthcare?
13. How do you stay organized with your personal and professional life?
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2 answers
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George’s Answer
Hi Tammy. I will try to answer your questions. I am a licensed Podiatrist/Foot and Ankle Surgeon.
1. I chose this career based on the recommendation of a Podiatrist I met while I had another job. He introduced me to the profession and the rest is history.
2. I attended a four-year State University.
3. I had only one job after College that I stayed with 3 years before being accepted to a Podiatric Medical School.
4. There are no PHD programs in Podiatry. There are Fellowships available.
5. Yes, I completed a College with a degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Inorganic Chemistry.
6.I am not sure what you mean by a "pivot" but I did work for three years before I continued my education.
7. I did shadow several Podiatrists before I was accepted to a program.
8. I was a busy athlete during High School and College. I did not join any clubs but I do recommend you do that if you have the time.
9. I would say classes like Calculus, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry were difficult and I had to put a lot of time into them.
10. Besides learning the Medicine, ability to diagnose fairly quickly and manual /surgical skills, I learned to be kind, empathetic and caring. I may have had some of those skills before but I really had to learn to apply them on a daily basis with every patient.
11. In general, I enjoyed just about everything about my profession. I try to practice with passion and am always opened to learning new things. Being my own boss during my career was also very satisfying and made me feel very independent.
12. Being able to alleviate suffering /pain and improve a patient's quality of life. It is difficult to tell you what this feels like unless you experience it and have been taught the skills to do it. This applies to any person that has the opportunity to help others. I have to add for practical reasons that a healthcare worker can do this and make a decent living at the same time.
13. Good question but you can do it. I found a balance between work and my personal life. My wife and I worked together for a signifcant amount of time. We made sure to search for that balance and raised two wonderful daughters and a son. It was not easy but it has been a great life.
Tammy, I wish for you a happy and fruitful future.
1. I chose this career based on the recommendation of a Podiatrist I met while I had another job. He introduced me to the profession and the rest is history.
2. I attended a four-year State University.
3. I had only one job after College that I stayed with 3 years before being accepted to a Podiatric Medical School.
4. There are no PHD programs in Podiatry. There are Fellowships available.
5. Yes, I completed a College with a degree in Biological Sciences and a minor in Inorganic Chemistry.
6.I am not sure what you mean by a "pivot" but I did work for three years before I continued my education.
7. I did shadow several Podiatrists before I was accepted to a program.
8. I was a busy athlete during High School and College. I did not join any clubs but I do recommend you do that if you have the time.
9. I would say classes like Calculus, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry were difficult and I had to put a lot of time into them.
10. Besides learning the Medicine, ability to diagnose fairly quickly and manual /surgical skills, I learned to be kind, empathetic and caring. I may have had some of those skills before but I really had to learn to apply them on a daily basis with every patient.
11. In general, I enjoyed just about everything about my profession. I try to practice with passion and am always opened to learning new things. Being my own boss during my career was also very satisfying and made me feel very independent.
12. Being able to alleviate suffering /pain and improve a patient's quality of life. It is difficult to tell you what this feels like unless you experience it and have been taught the skills to do it. This applies to any person that has the opportunity to help others. I have to add for practical reasons that a healthcare worker can do this and make a decent living at the same time.
13. Good question but you can do it. I found a balance between work and my personal life. My wife and I worked together for a signifcant amount of time. We made sure to search for that balance and raised two wonderful daughters and a son. It was not easy but it has been a great life.
Tammy, I wish for you a happy and fruitful future.
Thank you so much!
Tammy
Updated
Janine’s Answer
Hi, I'm not a nurse, but I did start my healthcare journey as a certified nursing assistant, and I worked on med Surg floors. I am now a medical laboratory scientist, testing patient samples to help determine diseases and provide critical information to doctors and nurses.
1. Why did you choose this profession?
I originally wanted to be a nurse, like my mom, so I obtained my CNA through a high school program. I worked as a CNA through college. I discovered quickly I didn't want to work in direct patient care, and decided to try out laboratory sciences. One of my favorite novelists writes about a medical examiner, and those books always had me hooked.
2. How many years of college did you go through?
A CNA can be achieved in 6-12 months through technical colleges. An MLS degree is usually a bachelor's, or you can get a bachelor's in any science and do a 1 year certificate program to become an MLS. About 4 - 5 years.
3. What jobs did you work on before you landed your present professional job?
See above!
4. How can I decide if I should earn a PH.D. in this field?
A PhD is typically needed for teaching in these areas, or for top research. Most people don't need a PhD.
5. Were you in a college program?
Yes, I attended Arizona State University for my MLS. I also have a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport.
6. Did you have to pivot and go back to school at a later date?
Yes, I worked as an MLS for about 12 years before going back to school to earn a Specialist in Blood Banking certificate. Then a year after achieving that I went back to get my masters. Both of these extra degrees helped my career path.
7. Did you shadow another professional in the field?
As part of each of my degrees/certifications, there is a clinical portion which requires you to observe/practice.
8. Did you join any school clubs related to your current profession?
No
9. Was there a particular subject you struggled with during your school years?
I always hated physics, but luckily I only had to take one class in undergrad.
10. What skill sets did you learn or gain while pursuing your career?
Having a diverse healthcare background has really helped me, so I would recommend learning all you can about everything. It's all connected!
11. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
Currently I supervise the blood bank at a large trauma hospital. I love my job, have a great team of people who work for me, and we get the pleasure of helping nurses and doctors directly save lives by providing the most appropriate blood products for patients. I get to personally have conversations with surgeons about a patients case, and we collaborate on how best to help the patient.
12. What do you find the most rewarding about working in healthcare?
See above.
13. How do you stay organized with your personal and professional life?
I am just an organized person in general, but lists and calendar appointments help keep me on track!
1. Why did you choose this profession?
I originally wanted to be a nurse, like my mom, so I obtained my CNA through a high school program. I worked as a CNA through college. I discovered quickly I didn't want to work in direct patient care, and decided to try out laboratory sciences. One of my favorite novelists writes about a medical examiner, and those books always had me hooked.
2. How many years of college did you go through?
A CNA can be achieved in 6-12 months through technical colleges. An MLS degree is usually a bachelor's, or you can get a bachelor's in any science and do a 1 year certificate program to become an MLS. About 4 - 5 years.
3. What jobs did you work on before you landed your present professional job?
See above!
4. How can I decide if I should earn a PH.D. in this field?
A PhD is typically needed for teaching in these areas, or for top research. Most people don't need a PhD.
5. Were you in a college program?
Yes, I attended Arizona State University for my MLS. I also have a Masters in Healthcare Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport.
6. Did you have to pivot and go back to school at a later date?
Yes, I worked as an MLS for about 12 years before going back to school to earn a Specialist in Blood Banking certificate. Then a year after achieving that I went back to get my masters. Both of these extra degrees helped my career path.
7. Did you shadow another professional in the field?
As part of each of my degrees/certifications, there is a clinical portion which requires you to observe/practice.
8. Did you join any school clubs related to your current profession?
No
9. Was there a particular subject you struggled with during your school years?
I always hated physics, but luckily I only had to take one class in undergrad.
10. What skill sets did you learn or gain while pursuing your career?
Having a diverse healthcare background has really helped me, so I would recommend learning all you can about everything. It's all connected!
11. What do you enjoy most about your profession?
Currently I supervise the blood bank at a large trauma hospital. I love my job, have a great team of people who work for me, and we get the pleasure of helping nurses and doctors directly save lives by providing the most appropriate blood products for patients. I get to personally have conversations with surgeons about a patients case, and we collaborate on how best to help the patient.
12. What do you find the most rewarding about working in healthcare?
See above.
13. How do you stay organized with your personal and professional life?
I am just an organized person in general, but lists and calendar appointments help keep me on track!