As a Registered Nurse for more years than I can remember, I take pride in saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the opportunities that Nursing has offered me. I began my career as a medical-surgical floor nurse, and after one year was promoted to Assistant Head Nurse of the “Premi/Sick Baby” unit, now known as NICU. After having my own baby, I entered the world of geriatrics and loved it, much to my surprise. I eventually became a licensed Nursing Home Administrator and ran facilities in Virginia, Texas and Florida – such a fascinating and educational experience for many years. I retired from that career for 17 years or so and settled into becoming “Mom’s Taxi” juggling the responsibilities of car pool, homemaker, dog lover and traveler, seeing all of what the world had to offer…..fascinating and educational.
The call as a Geriatric Nurse came again and I enjoyed a wonderful experience as a certified Dementia Specific Community Nurse, educating and counseling families who became caregivers for loved ones of Alzheimer’s and others diagnosed with dementia specific diseases, such as Frontal Temporal Lobe dementia, Lewy Body dementia, and Huntington disease. An experience of a lifetime and one of my most favorite positions. I then decided to retire for good, traveled more and left Florida, my home of 36 years, moved to Martha’s Vineyard to live close to my daughter, her husband and grand-dogs. Lovely time there but the winters were too COLD, so I moved back to my birth City of Richmond to be near other family members and childhood friends. Six years ago, the voice of Nursing was heard again and I became a part-time RN for Home Care companies, visiting and assessing those choosing to stay in their homes, and developing Care Plans for them so they could stay in their own environment with care assistance.
I am happy to say this opportunity is rewarding, and allows me to share with families and clients my knowledge and experience gained over these many years as an RN. Some of life’s rewards cannot be given up.
