Able Spotlight: Women in Health Care

My name is Kathy Carrion,  and I am a nurse faculty here at Skagit Valley College.  I’m working in this industry in healthcare  because I absolutely love it.  It’s been a dream of mine since I was five years old.  When I got one of those little kits  that has a little stethoscope  and a syringe, and a blood pressure cuff.  And as I went through school and to middle school  high school  I focused all my courses to sciences math’s. 

Loma Linda

And I think that was directed towards healthcare.  And graduated, and went right into  a four-year degree at Loma Linda University.  At first I thought I wanted to be  a pediatric nurse practitioner I thought.  But then I actually got into nursing school,  and did my rotation through pediatrics.  And I knew it wasn’t for me.  With nursing programs  that’s what it’s about.  You discover all these different areas.  You see med surge, you see critical care  you work with geriatric patients.

Career

I was able to really explore, just like I would have done  if I were in high school, trying to figure it out.  So even after you get your degree,  you still explore, and you can always  go in different directions.  – [Kathy] I always feel that in your career,  you should love what you do because then it’s-  you’re really not working.  And so that’s really how I feel about being a nurse,  is if you love what you do, it’s really not work.  And it’s not about the money.  It’s about being able to give back to our communities.