Personal Informational Interview: Maria Ramos

The subject of my informational interview was Maria Ramos. Maria is currently an Emergency room/ Trauma Nurse at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Previous to her current position, she was on the Registered Nurse Resource Team at UCLA Ronald Regan Medical Center Emergency Room. Some of Maria’s duties include working with a healthcare team to assess a patient’s needs and prioritize the care based on their condition. She will also monitor their condition, administer medications, plan for their long-term care, and explain this plan of action to the patient and their families. Sometimes, she is responsible for stabilizing a patient upon arrival. Maria prides herself in providing comfort to her patients and easing their worries and concerns.

Maria

began her education as a dental assistant student at Moorpark College, it was during this time that she had a change of heart and decided to pursue nursing. She received her Associates Degree in Nursing at Moorpark College. While working at Cigna Healthcare, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing through Cal State University. Maria also obtained a RN license through the California Board of Registered Nursing.
I asked Maria how did she conclude that she wanted to change majors and become a nurse.

Maria said that she has always been interested in the medical field. One of her favorite past times is to watch medical related programs or documentaries. She always found how the body functions very compelling and is intrigued by the scientific aspects of it. While taking classes she began to befriend some nursing students and learned of the job security and stability that a nursing career can provide. At this point, she contacted on of her aunts who is a nurse and through conversations with her, she came to the realization that nursing was now the career that she wanted to

pursue.
Another question that I asked Maria was what the most frustrating part of her job was. She had to pause to think about this and told me that being an emergency room nurse is a very frustrating job but it is equally as rewarding. One of her biggest frustrations is having too many patients and not enough staff. Working in a busy emergency room, there is little time between patients and at times the patient load is difficult to manage. She further explained that mistakes that can endanger her patients can happen if she rushes, balancing the workload while giving a patient top care is very frustrating. Maria also explained that many of her patients and their family are under a high amount of stress from whatever trauma that brought them to the ER. She is often faced with irrational and inappropriate behavior. While she understands how stressful the situations are, she feels that there are times that the behavior of her patients or their families can hinder her ability to best care for the patient.
The final question that I would like to share came from Maria’s previous answer, she said that although frustrating being an emergency room nurse is very rewarding.

I asked her to tell me more about the rewarding parts of being a nurse. She said that she finds it very exciting and challenging at the same time. Rising to the challenges every day and overcoming them makes her feel pride. She feels like her work has a lot of meaning and she is able to have a positive influence on those that she cares for. And finally, she gets to be an advocate for the patients ensuring that they get the proper care, comfort, and information that they need to get

better.
I learned a lot during this interview, I got a better perspective of a day in the life of a nurse. This really reinforced my desire to get into the nursing field. Seeing the pride and excitement that Maria displayed when talking about the rewarding parts of nursing gave me butterflies. Many of the things that she spoke about correlate with the reasons I want to become a nurse. Being an emergency room nurse seems very stressful and challenging, this is a job that I feel I would need to work up to. It seems very exciting and rewarding but also very intimidating for someone who is just starting out in the field. From this point on, I am going to have to dig deep and find the strength to carry on despite my initial disappointment of not making into the first round of Nursing students at COC. I need to get ready to apply to different schools, reapply to COC, and not stop until I find my place.
Initially, I was getting frustrated with this assignment because it was difficult to get the time to meet with Maria. Being a mom and an ER nurse does not leave a lot of free time. We ended up doing the interview via skype. I really feel that it was meant to be that I experience this right at this particular time. The stresses that I have faced clouded the initial excitement of beginning this career. This interview reinforced my drive to get into this profession and made me really imagine how it would be to have a career in nursing.