Informational Interview Report: Nurse

[Thanks to KR for sharing their informational interview with a nurse.]

My career current goal is to transfer from a community college to a school like San Jose State University. From there, I will continue working hard to graduate as well as gain experience through internships or other programs.

I initially planned to interview my neighbor, but I decided to go with my friend instead, who I met online and lives across the country. I FaceTimed her to conduct the interview. I chose her to interview because though she is younger than me, she is already working as a nurse. I wanted to know how she got where she is today despite not going through the usual steps a nursing major would take.

How did you become interested in this field?

I have other nurses in my family who encouraged me to pursue this career. When I was younger, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life, but I saw how much they enjoyed their jobs and wanted the same happiness from whatever I ended up doing. So I figured it couldn’t hurt to try nursing out.

I know you studied really hard to get where you are today at such a young age, and I was wondering what steps you took?

Two high schools in my state offer a college-level nursing course during junior and senior years, one of which was close enough to me. Starting in eighth grade, I made sure to stay focused academically to be accepted into that school. I ended up being valedictorian and later applied to the school, and I was accepted.

During my first two years of high school, I took introduction classes to prepare me to apply for the nursing program. I couldn’t fail any of my classes or state exams.

During my sophomore year, I applied to the program, took an entrance exam, and interviewed with the professors. I was accepted and during the next two years, I partook in college-level courses while still in high school.

I needed to maintain grades over 85%, complete clinical field hours at a nearby medical complex, all while taking my other regular classes.

After graduating high school, I prepared to take my NCLEX, the exam that would determine whether or not I’d get my license. I took it in September of 2018, passed, and became licensed as a nurse.




What is a typical day (or week) like for you?

I work in a clinic, and recent restrictions and mandates brought about by the coronavirus pandemic have changed the way I work. Typically, I start my day off with reading any supplies the physicians I work with will need. This includes PPE for those who will be seeing a small number of patients in person as well as preparing computers and tablets for those that will be seeing patients via telehealth.

When patients come in person, I ensure their vitals are taken promptly and they are roomed to not crowd the waiting area. Often we service patients with disabilities, such as deafness or quadriplegics in stretchers, and I aid in efforts to accommodate them.

While the doctor is conducting the visit, I examine the patient’s chest and ensure that yearly screenings such as mammograms and functional assessments are up to date. If not, I conduct these screenings or make arrangements for them to be done when the patient’s appointment is over. Any treatments, labs, or other tests ordered for the day are done after the appointment. I provide the patient with a summary of their visit and educate them on any adjustments to their treatment.

For televisits, I perform a short phone or video call to remind them to come in for any tests ordered prior to their next appointment, when their follow up is and answer any questions.

Whatever treatments were given or patient education was done needs to be documented, and I do so at the end of the visit.

For specialty clinics like gynecology, dermatology, podiatry, and more, I label any specimens that were taken during the appointment and clear the room of any instruments used so that they can be taken to another area of the medical complex to be sanitized.

I do this for every patient who has an appointment. My day ends with calling patients on the next day’s schedule and reminding them to either come into the clinic or make sure they are ready for their televisit. I also make sure we have the needed PPE for the next day.

What do you like most about your work?

What I like most about my work is the variety. Nursing, in general, is a job where you can learn much, but working in a clinic allows me to work with a wide range of specialists treating many different conditions.

If I was to work on a hospital floor, all my patients would have something in common. This may be age, the severity of the condition, or another factor.

However, being a clinic nurse exposes me to many different types of patients at once. I feel like I’m able to help them holistically, especially when they see several different specialists at our clinic. This allows me to develop good rapport as well.

What do you like least about your work?

At first, I would answer that there’s not anything, in particular, I dislike about my work. However, this pandemic has led me to realize that detaching yourself from your patients is something that sounds callous, but is necessary. This is only to spare yourself emotionally when sadly, they may pass away.

This is also true if they do not heed medical advice. For example, some of my patients do not believe in wearing masks and therefore have not been allowed back into our clinic. This may upset them personally but me as well as a healthcare worker, since it seems grossly irresponsible and disrespectful of others.

However, I do not need to view their choice as a personal attack nor let that affect the way I view them as people. This is something I have had to work on recently at my job.

What advice would you give someone who is considering this type of job or field?

You need to be prepared emotionally for the job. Jumping into nursing without consideration of the emotional and physical strain it may cause is irresponsible.

To care for others you need to be taking proper care of yourself. Therefore, everyone needs to be ready to pursue this career by considering their own strengths and working on building up compassion and empathy for others. Another thing to develop is stamina, to not burn yourself out. Doing these things beforehand will make things easier for you in the future.

Reflection

Overall I learned a lot more than I expected. Of course, I have heard and seen the medical stories from the news, but this time I got to hear all about the daily routine of a nurse from someone that I know.

My friend was completely honest with me and did not hold back her answers, so it felt more real. You can tell that my friend is very passionate about what she does and how hard she works every single day. The position of a nurse is critical, and there are a lot of responsibilities packed in one day.

The interview helped me a lot and made me think: Is this what I really want to do? My friend established her career at a very young age, and I find it hard to see myself working as hard as she did to get where she is today.

I would like to conduct more interviews in the future to learn more about different opinions and perspectives about the medical field. Next time, however, I would like to focus on the path of becoming a nurse rather than already being a nurse, since I’m still in college and have a long way to go. I want to know what studies, exams, and programs are like before I completely submerge myself into this field.

I did give my thanks to my friend. Not only did she help me with this project but with my future, too.