Nurse of The Month: Woodeline Pierre

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to collaborate with a fellow blogger and was featured on her blog, you can check out my feature here. She is also in the healthcare industry so it was only right that for us to collaborate again. I’m always in awe at the amazing people I’ve been able to meet from my little corner on the internet; hey the internet does has its perks. Allow me to introduce Woodeline Pierre, this month’s Nurse of The Month feature.

Tell me a little about yourself.

I am originally from the historical and beautiful island of Haiti. Born and raised. I grew up in a family of six with two brothers and a sister. I am a grateful survivor of Haiti’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 160,000 and displaced close to 1.5 million people in 2010.

What made you choose nursing as a career?

The pleasure that one seeks by helping others can never be replaced. I have chosen this path because I want to leave people better than I found them. I believe when you provide care to a patient, you do it to the family members that need some rest and the community that needs to welcome back a member with hugs, songs and love.

Where did you start your career, what specialty and where are you working now?

I graduated High School in Haiti and my parents decided to let me stay in South Florida shortly after. I attended Broward College for my Associate in Art and later transferred to one of the nation’s top HBCUs Florida A&M University to get my Bachelor in Nursing (Rattler Pride). I am now based in Philadelphia practicing as a pediatric nurse.

What experience do you have in the nursing field?

I still consider myself a newbie in the nursing world. I graduated a little over a year ago and been licensed for eleven months. For me, nursing is a learning process that never ends. Either it is your first or fifteenth year; you cannot know everything. Over the course of my career job, I have learned a lot about tracheostomy, colostomy, different types and functions of ventilators and much more. One thing for sure, I’ve become more confident compared to my first day.

What shift do you work and what Is a typical day/night like?

My schedule is quite interesting. I work both days and nights and I am also on call. During the holidays, people tend to travel a lot and that creates a shortage. Therefore, I can be called at any moment to cover a shift. Additionally, I tend to be more active during the day shift compared to night shift.

What was your biggest obstacle in nursing/ nursing school?

My biggest obstacle in nursing school was in my second semester. As a student, you may not master every subject in school and it was a very challenging moment for me even after spending very long hours, empty nights to master the contents. Thankfully, I had an amazing group of friends and classmates that told me “We will get through this Woody”. We wrote our goals every time before studying, challenged ourselves and tried different learning strategies to be successful.

What are some suggestions you would give to a new nurse or aspiring nurse?

Find your purpose; find a mentor and a group of friends with the same goals. Being a student nurse can be exhausting at some point and requires physical, emotional, and spiritual strengths. Therefore, you have to balance school, work and personal life; either by taking small breaks, practice time management or know how to prioritize.

Would you stay in this profession or would you like to transition into another field?

A teacher once told me that being a nurse is a life-long profession and quite diverse too. I tend to try oncology because one of my future goals is to create an Art Therapy Program for pediatric cancer patients.

Any professional tips for the Novice Nurse?

My professionals tips are: Prepare to learn, be punctual, ask plenty of questions and believe in yourself. You can do all this, but if you are not confident you will not get the job done.

You can check out Woodeline’s blog as well as follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

If you want to be featured or know of any Nurse or Nursing students who you would like to see featured as part of my Nurse of The Month series; leave a comment or shoot me an email. I would love to shine the spotlight on you!