My name is Amy Jackson. I work at University Hospital. Nursing is my second career, my first degree is in management. I managed numerous small business' for many years and was very unhappy with my career. I signed up for nursing school on my 30th birthday and it was the best thing I ever did. I got pregnant with my first child as a teenager and did not believe had the ability or skill to pursue nursing right out of high school and regretted that decision ever since. When I went back to school I had three children of my own (ages 1, 3, and 12) in addition to custody of my 14 year old nephew. I was not only able to get my BSN but I graduated with a 3.95 GPA with highest distinction, Alpha Chi honors, a member of Sigma Theta Tau, and honors. I was voted Mistress of Ceremonies by my class for our pinning ceremony. I was only one of two honors students and was the anatomy lab tutor for my junior year. Nursing school was one of the hardest things I had ever done but the pride I felt walking across the stage was and still is priceless.
I have been at University Hospital since I graduated from Indiana University- Kokomo in 2008. I only wanted to work in the transplant unit and was lucky enough to get hired into the transplant ICU upon graduation. I received my CCRN certification in 2010, which made NCLEX look easy. I worked in the transplant ICU for four years as charge nurse and a member of numerous committees. In 2012, I accepted a position as a liver transplant coordinator. The experience I received as a coordinator was great. I saw the transplant process from referral through post transplant. As an ICU nurse, I never got to see how well patients did, once they were transferred to the Organ Transplant Unit I lost contact with them. However, as a transplant coordinator I got to work with patients who had successful transplants for many years. I felt like what I did made a difference in many lives, some of the patients even remembered me from the ICU and were so grateful for my care.
As of Monday January 13th, I am now the Clinical Nurse Educator for the Transplant ICU and Organ Transplant Unit. This is my dream job. This position was fate. I pray that I can continue to make a difference in not only the patient's and families lives but to all the nurses on my units as well. I have so much to learn. This position is what I am going to school for but just started to learn about. I must focus on learning techniques. As an educator there is not a lot of time to spend with each nurse and I need to learn how to effectively educate in a short amount of time. Technology will play a huge role in the education process. I have learned a new phrase this week, "teaching at the elbow", I will round with my nurses and help them with their patients to be able to assess their strengths and weaknesses and to understand their education needs.
I need to focus on teaching methods for both small and large groups. The objectives would need to be: identify teaching methods available for the correct audience; explain how to assess the learning from each member of the audience; identify appropriate technology for information that needs to be taught.
In the last two weeks I have learned that there are so many different types of technology that can be utilized for teaching. I have started to expand my knowledge base regarding numerous technology methods and have also started to use them. For example, this is my first blog ever. I'm a work in progress. I hope to be fluent in the use of at least three new technologies and to know how to access others by the end of the semester. I will work hard to meet my personal goals.
