Month: September 2021

My freshman year of college I joined the women’s rugby team. They were lacking numbers in the freshman class and only had one freshman prior to recruiting myself and a few others. This one freshman’s name was Smitty. When I first met Smitty I thought to myself, “how can this girl who’s barely over 5’ play rugby?”. Once I saw her play though I understood. Right from the beginning she’s been the leader of 2020 rugby girls and a force to be reckoned with. She went on with another teammate and myself to be captains our senior year. Prior to selecting captains our coach asked us to vote for who I wanted to see as captain. I immediately said Smitty and then she asked me why. 

When telling someone about this individual, leadership is the first quality that comes to mind. I’ve never seen someone be able to move a group of people and motivate them with just their words. She also was always leading by example by always giving it her all on the field. She’s that teammate who will finish her conditioning drill then go back and run more with those who are struggling to finish. Off the field she was the first one that anyone would call. No matter the hours of the night she would answer, and she would listen. 

I think what made her such a great leader is her ability to adapt and come to an even ground that everyone will listen to her on. She makes people want to be a better player on the field and a better person off. Now after college she’s working in an emergency department down in Pittsburg. I have full confidence that she will succeed in emergency medicine. She’s someone who’s willing to put in the long hard hours in order to reach an outcome she’s working for. Although being captain of the rugby team was a former position, she is still a leader in her ER department. Now I don’t work with her but from year of friendship and watching her work ethic, I know she will be an informal leader in her department. Even though she doesn’t have a designated role, like nurse manager, she still has an opportunity to lead others. During my interview I’m excited to dive into her time working in the ER for the past 14 months. I’m curious as to what leadership qualities she’s brought over to her job and which ones she’s decided to hold back on. 

We often think we have no control of our life. Now that being true in many ways, we do have the power of autonomy. No one can choose where they are born, what genitalia they have, how rich their parents are or if they even have present parents. Someone might look at a homeless person and blame them for their choice. They may have decided to do things that put them in a bad situation but there are also things that may have no control over. If an individual was born into a home that was in a neighborhood with lots of crime, poor education system, no good access to healthy foods or medical care, they might live a life poorer health than someone with the opposite. The things and people around us influence one’s likelihood to live a long healthy life. Environmental factors such as air quality, access to fresh foods, and transportation can negatively affect vulnerable populations. If someone is working a job with no health insurance and just got diagnosed with diabetes, that will greatly influence their life and health. Societal factors like growing up around drug users and crime can influence someone to also grow up to live a life like that. The environment and community we grow up molds and shapes our values and outlook at a very young age. This then moves on to affect us for the rest of our lives. 

Over the years we’ve seen a push to help these populations. More and more people are recognizing that certain populations are facing problems in which they have no control over. Unfortunately, a lot of people lack the education regarding social determinates of health. A lot of politicians use this misunderstanding that people have and turn it into hate to drive elections. Lack of momentum within our government has continued to put these populations on the back burner. Programs such as MaineCare, WIC, English language learners (ELL), and public transportation are just some examples of ways the government is helping the public. There still is much more to be done though. To help these populations we need to further educate others and continue to voice to government officials the needs of one’s community. In Maine we have high rates of heroin use. This is just one example of a public health crisis occurring here in Maine. It’s a public health issue as it causes addiction, transmission of blood born diseases, and death. Safe and clean needle use is a public health intervention that would better the health of many. Education regarding safe needle use and knowledge of where to get access won’t stop their addiction, but it can save their life. 

In my first undergraduate degree I took some sociology classes that talked about the social determinants of health. I never looked at the world the same after that. After that I learned about nursing and determined that was what I wanted to peruse. Not only did what I’ve learn help drive me to further my education, but it will help me be a better provider to my patients. It will help me to start the conversation of how I can help them. It’ll make me want to peel back a few layers to really determine what is driving their issue. I think it’s also taught me to be a much more understanding human being.