Name: Aida M. Diaz
Position (job title), and where they are working: She is a Registered Nurse at Sentara Princess Ann. Hospital. She also works as an instructor at ECPI.
Education (what degrees or certifications they have): She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
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What inspired her to get into the field: What inspired her to go into this field was when her mom got pregnant and suffered from asthma. Her mother delivered her stillborn sibling. She wasn’t able to see her sweet smile, couldn’t carry her, or sing her a lullaby while hearing her first cry.
What was her path to her current job: She got her BSN and directly entered into the program. Her passion is still being a bedside nurse and a teacher to the young aspiring nurses.
Her basic roles and responsibilities: She is a staff nurse, so she is able to assess patients, diagnose, and plan. She also has to implement and give intervention to patients. As a clinical instructor, she is responsible for providing effective instruction and assessment during clinical practice, training undergraduates, and health science students in the community and facility.
Her favorite (most rewarding) aspect of the job: The most rewarding aspect of her job is “Making a difference in the lives of others”.
What is the most surprising aspect in your career: She said that Nurses have different routes like you can be a bedside nurse, an educator/instructor, become telehealth, home health nurse, manager, dialysis, or school nurse.
What is the most challenging aspect of your career: The most challenging aspect she has during this career is taking care of cancer patients, seeing them suffer, and slowly dying. But as nurses, she says, “We have to be strong and do our jobs”. Secondly, the worldwide pandemic that is going on right now has definably impacted everyone’s lives.
Advice he/she would give to someone getting into the health field: She said “In any field, you’re going to do, you have to love it. You just have to follow your passion and purpose and stay true to yourself.”
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS INTERVIEW:
I have learned so much about what some nurses go through on the job. It is a difficult job to do, but it also the best decision someone could ever make. Helping people is what I would love to do. I want to have the opportunity to help patients and be able to connect with them.