01/11 Assignment

Primary Research for project:
You will be interviewing someone who has knowledge regarding the topic you will be researching for your project. This person can be your mentor or someone else in the field who has the knowledge you are seeking for the interview. You will post, on your blog, the following 3 items for each question you ask the person you interview. 
1. The Question. 
2. The Answer given by the person being interviewed. 
3. Your Reflection and Response to the answer given during the interview (to be done after the interview is complete). 
You will need to generate a list of 10 questions minimum before you conduct the interview. 

1. What do you believe the general public fails to understand about a nurse's duties?
- Answer: The general public does not consider that nurses are constantly consulting with doctors. When a patient asks the nurse for something to eat or tells the nurse that his or her stomach hurts, the nurse has to get directions or confirmation from the doctor before he or she can do anything about it.
- Reflection: This is true from what I can tell. While I am shadowing, Mr. Julio continuously has to ask the doctor whether he can or cannot give a patient something to eat or drink, for example.

2. As a nurse, what were the things that you had to do for each patient?
- Answer: Each patient required recording vital signs.
- Reflection: This is true; this is one of the first things we do when we get new patients and one of the last things we do before the patient leaves.

3. Would you say that nursing is a difficult profession to maintain?
- Answer: Yes. It takes a certain breed to be able to be a good nurse.
- Reflection: I agree with this, too, because seeing the things that nurses see and having to deal with and clean up after people for a living is difficult, but it is worth it.

4. What did you have to do as a nurse that you did not expect to have to do?
- Answer: I did not expect to have to lift patients so often. It really took a toll on my back.
- Reflection: Mr. Julio does not have to lift people very often, but he does have to roll some patients on their sides to clean them sometimes. Or, we might have to bend their legs and hold them there when inserting urinary catheters.

5. Do you think that the general public respects nurses as much as it should?
- Answer: No, I think that the general public does not respect nurses to the extent that it respects doctors even though it should. Yes, doctors decide which medicines are put into the body, but the nurse is the one who physically administers the medicine and keeps track of what is going on with each patient while managing to report these things to the doctors.
- Reflection: I fully agree with this statement. Being a nurse if hard work, and they do not get enough credit.

6. What percentage of the general public would you say truly understands what nurses actually do on a day to day on the job basis?
- Answer: Maybe 10% of the general public truly understand a nurse's daily tasks.
- Reflection:I think that this number may be somewhat higher, maybe around 30%, because of the numerous people who work in the healthcare field.

7. Is there a certain experience you remember from when you were a nurse that you were not prepared for?
- Answer: A few things come to mind, but I'll tell you about the time I was the nurse assisting a doctor during surgery for a patient from a car accident. It was traumatic for me because I was so nervous and inexperienced at the time. I didn't feel ready to take on such a large responsibility, but I did and it turned out fine.
- Reflection: People do not realize what a large responsibility nurses uphold.

8. Why did you decide to become a nurse?
- Answer: I became a nurse because my mother was a nurse and I needed a job. I was older than most people in nursing school when I went, but I did it.
- Reflection: Women often become nurses because of the idea that lots of women do it, but it is not that simple.

9. If you could do it all over again, would you still chose to become a nurse?
- Answer: Yes, 100%. I loved my job and I still miss it today.
- Reflection: Wow, I hope that I love my job that much one day.

10. Is there anything else you would like to share about nursing for the purpose of this interview?
- Answer: Sure, remember this: There will always be jobs available in the healthcare field. Get a job that you can count on for the rest of your life.
- Reflection: That's the plan!