What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children?
I am a registered nurse in the Radiology department.
What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work?
My duties as a radiology nurse vary daily. Our Tuesday and Wednesday schedules are designated for MRIs that require general anesthesia. The radiology nurses prep the patient for anesthesia, assist the anesthesiologist with induction and then recover/discharge the patient. We also help with steroid injection procedures in a variety of modalities, provide sedation for non-anesthesia MRIs (for example, if a patient requires valium prior to the scan), and help with MRI and CT procedures that require contrast.
What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite? How long have you worked here?
My first job was working as a lifeguard in high school for a few summers. I heard about Scottish Rite from a friend who had a family member that worked here. They encouraged me to sign up to be a junior volunteer when they learned I was interested in the medical field. After graduating from nursing school, I worked on a general pediatrics unit for my first nursing job. I returned to Scottish Rite, and I have been working here for the past three years.
What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite?
I love the sense of community and that my co-workers feel like family! I appreciate the fact that I am encouraged to spend time with my patients while they are here and get to know them.
Tell us something about your job that others might not already know?
As a radiology nurse, I am not just involved in direct patient care. We also help schedule patients that require anesthesia for MRIs, review these patients’ charts and speak with the families. We set up the anesthesia machines for cases and assist in their daily maintenance. We are with our sedation patients from the very beginning to the very end of their appointment.
Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
Western Australian! The plane ride was 100% worth it.
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Thanksgiving dinner!
If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
Paris in the 1920s. This question made me automatically think of the movie “Midnight in Paris.”
What is your favorite thing about fall?
I love the overall feeling of fall. I enjoy spending more time outdoors when the weather is crisp. Although our “fall” is short in Texas, it is definitely my favorite time of the year.
What’s one fun fact about yourself?
Not only was I a junior volunteer at Scottish Rite for a few years, but I was also a nursing extern here while in nursing school. During any difficult days in nursing school, I would envision myself working here in the future.
