Interview with Labor and Delivery Director

My first interview, with Tricia, went great for the most part. I took good notes, and learned a lot about her career and journey. In the future, I would like to do some things differently. I will ask more follow up questions to make the interview feel more personal and to learn deeper about her experiences. Even though I could have asked more questions, I still learned a lot about what it is like to work in the medical field and her perspective of her career.

Tricia was a med-surg Nurse working 12 hour shifts and cared for about 5 to 7 patients a day. She worked with geriatric patients and was responsible for helping keep them clean, healthy, and happy. She also explained that nursing can involve working with many different types of patients and situations. After gaining experience as a geriatric nurse, she eventually shifted into working with kids, and is now the director of the Labor and Delivery department at her hospital. One thing she enjoys about her job is rounding on patients and getting to spend time with them. However, she also explained that one of the hardest parts of this field is working with difficult patient situations and knowing that not everyone has a happy ending.

One of the biggest things I learned from interviewing Tricia is that you do not have to know exactly what area of healthcare you want to work in right away. She shared a piece of advice about exploring different areas of the healthcare before choosing a specialty. She said, "see everything" and get experience in different fields before deciding. She also mentioned nurse residency programs as a way to gain experience in different aspects of healthcare. Tricia earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing and completed clinical experiences and certifications to become a registered nurse. Her advice showed me that exploring different opportunities can help you figure out what you enjoy and what career path is right for you.