I'm writing my paper about what it mean to be a working mother. About how all day you take care of strangers and then you come home and take care of family and somehow find a way to balance it all.
In high school I aided for the school nurses for two years. Both, Mrs. Grizzle and Mrs. Waller, have been nurses for a long time and both are mothers so they're perfect for my topic.
1. What made you want to be nurses?
G: Well, for me I like the human body. I was interested in how the body works. I was always trying to figure out what was wrong. Just the curiosity. And taking care of people also.
W: I think it's really in my blood. My mother was a nurse and I have three sisters who are nurses, so my mom would come home and tell us all kinds of stories...and it was always just very interesting and intriguing. And it was just something I've always wanted to do even as a little girl, I never really though about doing anything else. And I love it.
2. How old were you in college and when you started your career?
G: Probably 22. I got my LPN first and then I went to JJC for my RN two years later. I had a job as a LPN and they paid for my school for RN.
W: I was 22, I was married, and had two kids. I went to a three year diploma program at St. Joes and then later I went and got my bachelors at USF.
3. What were set backs of being a new nurse?
G: Just the insecurities of not knowing. And you have to take the lead, looking back I probably needed to take the lead a little bit more. I relied too much on the nurses to tell me what to do and that wasn't the best thing to do. So taking the lead is a big thing and just being confident.
W:I think that's typical of a new nurse, there's so many insecurities. I started very few IVs in nursing school but when I worked in the ER I got a lot more experience. So I think it's just that, hands on experience.
4. What are some nursing fields you've done?
G: I started out in the nursing home and I got a lot of experience there. I tried home health care and private duty nursing, that's what good about nursing there's so many things you can do. And then here at the school.
W: When I first graduate I working at First River Side Hospital, I worked midnights because that was all that was available. And then I got a job at Silver Cross and I liked that more because it was better hours. Then I had a number of jobs. I worked for my pediatrician, then Ask-A-Nurse, I worked in the ER for a only a little because it wasn't for me but I'm glad I tried it.
5. Which one did you like the most? Which did you like the least?
G: Probably the nursing homes because I got a lot of experience there and I loved taking care of the little old ladies. My least favorite would be at Joliet in the hospital. I was on the second floor, the psych floor, and it was over a hundred patients per nurse. I was just constantly passing our meds and it was never fast enough and it was just a liability and I didn't like it.
W: I've done school nursing since 98' and I like all in all that's my favorite. It worked out really well for my family. My least favorite job was the ER, I hate to say it, I'm glad I tried it but it wasn't for me.
6. What are some of the biggest struggles of being a working mother?
G: It was hard at first when he was little because I was working a lot and we were going back between babysitters. But my husband was really supportive. And then I got the job here and that's been really good for my son growing up. This was the perfect job, I get summers off and holidays that's why I took this job.
W: I think the hardest thing was my husband had to take care of the kids while I was working so we was mister mom. I would get the kids in the day and he'd take care of them at night. But that way he saved money on babysitters.
7. What are some of your proudest achievements as a nurse?
G: Taking care of people in the nursing home, I really loved the old ladies. I grew so attached to them and I felt like 'I love these people'.
W: For me it was graduating because I had a lot of doubts. I wasn't a good student in high school so I didn't know if I was gonna make it but I ended up doing great because it's something I really wanted to do.
8. Looking back, is there anything you would change?
G: I would've done more schooling and applied myself more in high school.
W: I wish I would've gone for my master. I didn't really want it to until a few years ago but now it's really too late. Having more school can up your salary.
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