This interview was extremely eye-opening to the hardships that nurses face everyday and the challenges they must overcome to provide the best care possible. I learned so many different things that I never knew about my mother until this interview, as we never really connected on a nursing level until this year as I am preparing to graduate. I learned that in her role, she is her own type of leader as she is the main nurse for a surgeon and has a lot of autonomy in her position, which sets her apart from many other aspects of nursing. She seemed to face several different challenges within her day-to-day life, such as advocating for her patient’s best wishes when something goes wrong during a surgery, or minor setbacks that throw a wrench into her original daily plans to where she needs to make adjustments and plan her time accordingly. I was surprised by the fact that my mother has a office type of setting where she works M-F for 8 hours/day, rather than a normal nurse’s 7-7 12 hour type of schedule. I was also surprised by the fact that due to her willingness, compassionate care, and eager to learn that she was selected by a surgeon to be his primary nurse in the OR and office setting, which is a perfect description of a leader in my mind.
This interview influences my feelings about my mother, as I have never interviewed her like this before or had a connection about a topic that we are both so passionate about. After this interview and reflecting on it, I have a heightened sense of respect for her, as she really works very hard and I am impressed that she is a primary nurse in her office. I will be able to apply her ideas of managing conflicts such as keeping a level head, finding the facts on a situation, hearing all sides, and delegating tasks that can be delegated in order to keep to a schedule and have focused tasks. Throughout this interview process, I have learned that she is adjustable, flexible, timely, eager to learn, strong, and compassionate, which I believe every nurse should be.
