|
Continued from Page 2
Clarke-Tasker agreed, adding that African Americans-particularly
women-have more options entering the workforce today.
"When I went to school, women could be a nun, a
teacher, a secretary, a housewife or a nurse,"
she said. "That was it. Now, you can do anything."
In addition, for those African Americans who do choose
nursing, the plum jobs-especially in the upper echelons-can
be tough to land, Davis-Lewis said. "We do not
always have the same opportunities other nurses have,"
she said. "We go to the same training, to the same
schools, have the same experience. The playing field
should be leveled.
"Everyone should have the same opportunity to
move in their career," Davis-Lewis added. "It
would certainly help with recruitment and retention.
Others can see that someone made it to the top, and
that they could do the same thing."
Although nursing can sometimes be a challenging career
choice for African Americans, the rewards can be significant.
Anderson said she was headed for a career as a trauma
surgeon when she decided to switch to nursing. Pregnant
with her second child, she did not want to sacrifice
family for medicine.
"I thought, 'How can I have my cake and eat it,
too? Nursing.' I can be in the medical field and have
the flexibility to be a full-time wife and mother."
One of Anderson's role models was her mother, who has
been a nurse for 20 years."She gets up, smiles
and puts on her scrubs every day," she said. "That's
what I want. That's why I went into nursing. Because
I can go home and say, 'I made a difference in somebody's
life today.' "
Giger called her 33 years in the profession a "wonderful
odyssey."
"It makes me shiver to think about what nurses
can actually do," she said. "I don't know
any other occupation where you either save someone or
let them die with dignity."
Contact Janet Wells at janetawells@hotmail.com
|
Reply
to Article
