What’s my story?
I was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, graduating from Downers Grove North High School. I received my nursing degree from Illinois Wesleyan University (in Bloomington, IL), quickly decided that a change of scenery was in order, and moved to Arizona just 27 days after graduation. After moving, I was a nurse in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) in Mesa, Arizona. On the unit, I was a staff nurse, relief charge nurse, and preceptor – meaning that I took care of patients, supervised other nurses on the unit, and taught new nurses.
Near the end of 2010, I accepted a position in the cardiac catheterization lab (aka cath lab) at my hospital.
Since beginning my career, I have gained certifications in basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) as an instructor, open heart anesthesia recovery, the Datascope intra-aortic balloon pump, continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), the Aquadex aquaphoresis validation, sustained low-efficiency dialysis (SLED), lumbar drain care and monitoring.
What are all those letters after my name?
RN = I’m a registered nurse (licensed by the State of Arizona)
BSN = I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing
CCRN = I received certification through the AACN (American Association of Critical Care Nurses) in adult critical care nursing
CSC = I received certification through the AACN in cardiac surgery
CMC= I received certification through the AACN in cardiac medicine
What outside-of-work interests do I have?
Baseball (especially the Cubbies and all things spring training)
Hiking
Mountain biking
Microbreweries
Baking
Sarcasm
Quilting
Road trips
Smiling/laughing
Cleaning/organizing
Home improvement
Random Facts
- In the year I was born, McDonalds introduced the McNugget and Microsoft Word was released
- I can rap every lyric to “Baby Got Back” and “Gangsta’s Paradise”, but country music has my heart
- I am as sarcastic as they come… to a fault
- I love happy hour
- Im a Midwestern girl, born and raised
- I have a habit of taking on projects too big for me (i.e. backyard renovation or ripping out an entire wall in my house)
- I am afraid of crickets – they’re creepy little things
- I have never had a churro until I moved to Arizona and I think they’re quite tasty
- I really want to be a good cook, but have no experience. Taking little steps…
- I am obsessed with good grammar, even though I’m not perfect at it
- I got my first dog in 2010; her name is Jinx and she’s a 3 year old Boxer mix from the AZ Humane Society
- I just might have a moderate case of OCD
- I am a sucker for good cheddar broccoli soup, or spinach artichoke dip. Nom
