| Q: Why did you decide to go into nursing?
I had an interest in science and medicine and wanted to do something that would include interaction with people, and I wanted a nonlaboratory job.
When I got my MBA, I knew I wasn’t going to work in a hospital and was interested in health care marketing. I saw there was going to be a change in the way health care was marketed, in that it was becoming more competitive and I wanted to combine that with my nursing.
Q: Tell me about losing your sight.
After I got my MBA, I went to work for Blue Cross in provider relations, but in 1986-87, I started to lose my vision due to diabetic retinopathy. I’d been a diabetic since I was 15. In 1987, I lost my sight and left my job.
First, I took a medical leave but it was too long a time for them to hold on to my job. ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) wasn’t around then, so there were no offers of accommodation. I was also physically ill with increased diabetic complications. My blood sugars were unstable plus I had gastric problems, along with a severe clinical depression. I was totally depressed and felt like I’d lost my grip on the world.
Eventually, with a lot of support, I got hooked up with the Department of Services for the Blind and Lighthouse for the Blind and moved into their training center for nine months.
They taught me coping and living skills like basic cooking, increasing my mobility, and how to use a cane. They gave me a complete orientation. I learned things like finding my way around buildings using the cane and using the tactile differences. I also had an instructor who oriented me to office spaces and different mobility challenges.
They also introduced me to computers with speech. I didn’t know how to type before the training but soon learned. Today, I use a computer screen reader called JAWS, or Job Access With Speech, along with a scanner for my everyday work.
One of the challenges I face is the ever-changing technology — keeping up with the changing technology. Once a week, I also have a person who reads for me.
When I completed my nine months, I was a changed person, even though I still had a ways to go. The training focus was concentrated on self-confidence, which was so necessary as I felt so lost.
Q: What was your first job after that training?
I knew I had to get back into the workforce and asked others and myself what I could do. There was a friend, Wayne Armstrong, of TRA Recruiting Associated, who had a small recruiting company for physicians and CRNAs. He said, “No reason this can’t work.”
I got a computer with speech from the Department of Services for the Blind and took WordPerfect classes. When there was a problem, this wonderful man said, “We’ll learn it together.”
Q: What are you doing now?
The last six years I’ve worked as a nurse and clinical recruiter, finding CRNAs, surgical technologists, LPNs, medical assistants, health unit coordinators, and nurse managers. I also do a smattering of recruiting and other clinical-type jobs.
Q: What special recruiting strategies do you have now that weren’t
present before?
Recruiting today, I know we have to use every tool available from print to the web to job fairs and résumé mining. We even have a special extended residency and orientation-training program for RNs and LPNs. It’s sort of a grow-your-own program.
It’s so important to obtain the right match. I talk with everyone one-on-one to find a fit in our organization.
There are always some who want to change their specialty and/or career focus. I’ve got a real knack for coaching people through change and can enthusiastically mentor them along the way.
I also have a lot of empathy for people in job-search mode.
Q: Is there anything that you would like to add?
Life can throw you a curveball and sometimes a person has to just take it and run with it. Today, I have such an active life that extends beyond work.
My hobbies include cooking, water aerobics, long-distance walking, and snowshoeing.
A person has got to be dedicated and wanting to work by doing whatever it takes to overcome life’s barriers. |
