What is your role at Sovah Health– Martinsville?

I am a Clinical Educator in the Simulation Center

What was your inspiration for getting into healthcare? 

I remember being very young and giving my Barbie dolls their “shots”. When I first began looking at colleges, my intent was to obtain my RN and then work myself through medical school while working as a nurse. My thoughts were that I could gain experience while working on my next degree. However, I realized very quickly that nurses are the ones that get to spend the most time with the patients and are at the bedside. I knew then that I had taken the right path into medicine. I did eventually obtain my MSN/FNP but after completing that degree, and while I was completing the application to test, I realized that working everyday as an FNP was not what I wanted and that I still preferred to be at the bedside in a hospital.

What is a typical day like for you working in this field? 

This is a good question because no matter what area you work in there are no typical days. At present, I start my day preparing for the first scenario to be completed by the students. This involves ensuring that the mannequin is on and functioning as expected. Turning on the recording software and making sure that I can hear the audio both from the preprogrammed vocals and from the microphone. I ensure that I have copies of pretests, posttests, and patient charts to provide to the students. I give the students the topic for the first scenario and have them work up the patient including assessments, potential problems, and interventions. Following this we complete the prebrief, followed by the scenario which may run between 10-25 minutes depending on the requirements and the intensity of the scenario. Then we debrief and discuss ways that student actions may be improved. If we observe a particular skill that needs to be reviewed, we may alter the day to include a discussion and skill review. At present, we try to complete 3 scenarios. This works well when there is one group of students but does get a little tricky when we must repeat the scenarios for 2 groups as the most students we let in the room together is 3. If we do run two groups, the scenario is altered to allow for some differences in the actions required by the groups of students participating.

How long have you been employed here? Have you always been in the same position? 

The first time I was employed here was from 1/26/2003 – 12/14/2018 as Director of the Women’s Center . I have been employed here, this time, since 3/2/2020 in my current role.

What are some of your interests outside of work? What is your favorite local gem?

Family and family get togethers. I enjoy handcrafts of all types, especially crocheting which I have done since the age of 9. I also enjoy travelling, music, bingo, and movies.

I am from Fairystone Park area in Patrick County – so my favorite local gem would be Mabry Mill and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

What do you enjoy most about working at Sovah Health?

I enjoy my coworkers and the feeling that I am participating in the care of people from my area. It is hard to see people that I know in the hospital with their family, but I try to help them when I can and be a comfort to them as much as possible and when possible.

In this role, I enjoy the “lightbulb” and “ah-hah” moments when someone gets the “why” or makes that connection between the content of a discussion and direct patient care. I also enjoy the fact that it is not just the RN students but also the LPN students and the hospital staff that I get to work with in this role.