An inside look at my journey

How It All Began

I first fell in love with nursing during my Maternal and Child Health course at the University of Maryland.

In this course, I learned how guest speaker, Vickye Hayter, lowered the infant mortality rate in Santa Clara, California through the implementation of various community and legislative interventions. This sparked my interest in a career as a Registered Nurse and opened my eyes to the diverse career opportunities within nursing. It also highlighted the importance of nurses becoming involved in policy making, health policy, and legislation to influence decisions that affect our profession and patients.

I have grown to love the legislative and leadership side of nursing…

As the 2017-2018 President of New Jersey Nursing Students, Inc. (NJNS), I had the opportunity to work with an amazing board and connect 1,587 students in NJ to networking opportunities while advocating for their needs on a state and national level. This position taught me much can be accomplished with teamwork and unity. It also opened my eyes to the importance of strong leadership in nursing and boosted my vigor to impact nursing on a larger scale.

I specialized as a cardiac catheterization laboratory nurse and spent many early mornings and late nights on the STEMI team unclogging arteries and saving lives.

I worked with my cardiac cath lab family to save patients who came into the hospital doors with heart attacks and assisted in the placement of stents, balloons, and pacemakers. Prior to my move to the catheterization lab, I began my nursing career in a cardiac observation unit where I was primarily responsible for the care of medical-surgical, stroke, observation, and post-operative cardiac catheterization patients.

I am now a PhD Candidate spending my time conducting research on nurse burnout specifically within safety-net hospitals that serve uninsured, underinsured, and Medicaid patient populations. 

I examine the nursing workforce’s influence on healthcare organizations, patient health outcomes, and health policy. My approach is rooted in the belief that a supported, empowered nursing workforce directly leads to improved nurse and patient outcomes, as well as organizational success.

I am intentional about participating in activities that bring me joy. 

I enjoy giving motivational presentations, birdwatching, sitting by beautiful ocean waters, engaging in Pilates, spending time with my family & friends, reading, and traveling.

Thank you for visiting my site and joining me on my amazing journey!