From Monarch Nation to Maternity Ward

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Ashley Cooley. She is currently a registered nurse in antepartum nursing at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. She is also an ODU alumni who graduated in spring 2023, where she graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing with a Minor in Psychology. She chose antepartum care because she was inspired by women’s health, specifically pregnancy and what amazing things a woman body can do. During her senior year at ODU, she did a preceptorship where she did labor and delivery in Norfolk General. This is when she found out about antepartum care and found that there was an opening in the hospital and so she used networking during the preceptorship which allowed her to get into the position she has right now.

Her typical 12-hour shift in Norfolk General includes getting reports, pass meds, fetal heart tones and patient assessments, the number of which depends on the patient and their diagnosis. During her early days in the hospital, she was surprised of the autonomy that was given to her as a nurse, because she said that there are some decisions you must make yourself as a nurse after a doctor gives out an order.

She found the aspect of patient education challenging because she had only been a nurse for 6 months and since there were only much she has learned in nursing school, especially with women’s health. She said that if a patient asks her a question, she is not entirely sure about the correct answer to give to the patient. In contrast, she finds the critical thinking aspect in nursing as her favorite part. She loves the need to decide for oneself on what they need to do in a specific situation. She gave an example of if a mother has high blood pressure, they have to decide if they should deliver the baby or add another blood pressure agent. She also enjoys interacting with the doctors and the hands-on experiences that she gets in the hospital.

During the interview, she gave me some advice on getting on the nursing program. Her biggest advice was to do my best in my pre-requisites, get a good GPA, and start preparing for nursing to meet the requirements. When I told her I was not sure what kind of nurse I wished to be just yet, she told me that some people don’t know the specific nurse they want to be until they apply to the job but there’s no need to worry since someone will find the specialties that may be of interest to them in nursing school.