Caroline Henry

Jacob Tousignaut

Julianna Solomon

For my Interview a Health Professional assignment I chose to interview my friend’s sister Julianna Solomon. During my interview over the phone I learned much about what it is like to be a Pediatric Special Care Nurse. Julianna Solomon graduated from Old Dominion University in August 2018 with a Bachelor’s in nursing. She then immediately moved to Texas and now works at the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston Texas. Upon my question about what inspired her she immediately recalled when she was visiting her grandma in the hospital, she told me of how she saw a nurse painting a little girls nails, and she realized that nursing goes much further than what people see. Her path to becoming a nurse began there, and she hasn’t slowed down since. Her basic roles in the hospital include patient care, assessment of their condition and the decision making to plan their treatment for the day. She is also in charge of the medications and making sure each patient gets what they are supposed to. Some roles of hers I had not though of included the family aspect. She told me that much of what she does is explain what is happening to the families. Her exact words were “the doctor tells a patient what is wrong, but nurses make sure they understand.” I thought this was nice because I have had surgery before and sometimes the doctors just say what they say and leave without making sure I understood what they were saying. Julianna’s favorite aspect of her job is her love of kids, her passion for helping people, and her desire to be there for someone on their worst day ever. Something she found surprising is the fact that “you don’t get paid as much as you think you will” and also, she was surprised by how respected nurses are in society. When I asked her the most challenging aspect of her job, she didn’t hesitate to tell me that she has trouble separating her emotions from her work. She gave me the specific example of child abuse, which she does not like to witness but happens often. When I asked her for advice, she told me to start shadowing people as soon as I could, and to be confident in everything I do. After the required questions were all answered I personalized to interview slightly to fit my desired position. I asked her if she had ever considered travel nursing, because I have a desire to travel. She told me that she had almost become one but decided not to because she got engaged. I asked her if she would consider it in the future and she said she would love to if her family situation allowed for it. She recommended that I begin in Home Health to help pay off all my loans and get experience before I considered becoming a travel nurse.