Karla Conlin
Registered Nurse
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO USA
“People are the same everywhere, no matter what you do. You may think one group is higher up or better than you, but they aren’t.”
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I started out living in Boulder, CO , but then moved to New Mexico.
I’ve had many careers, a lot having to do with bookkeeping and numbers.
Some of my favorite work was as a vet tech, but I struggled making a living in it. I was sad to leave it.
I had young kids and was living in rural New Mexico in one of the country’s poorest counties. Job opportunities were few and far between.
I did temp work for the post office, grant writing, and bookkeeping work for people in the city. Without the technology for remote work, the drive became too much for me.
I got into nursing because there was a hospital and a community college within an hour of where I lived.
I didn’t graduate from nursing school until I was 40. I worked nights during the time I was in school and I later worked nights at the hospital in Boulder, CO.
Once my kids were grown up, I went to work as a nurse at Colorado University in Boulder.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Registered Nurse
I'm an registered nurse for medical services at University of Colorado Boulder.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Medicine
Science
Helping People
Day to Day
I do direct care with patients for the medical clinic, travel clinic, allergy clinic and sexual / reproductive health clinic for students. We do wound care, in person and phone triage, IV fluids, take blood, and do a lot of teaching about self care. Students come to us as 17 year olds up to PHD students, and they’re all seeking healthcare for the first time by themselves. The majority of what RNs do is teaching about the medical part of their lives, how to access care and caring for themselves.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for professionals
If you’re not sure about what you want to do, go to trade school. Go to different trade schools. If it’s working on cars or cutting hair, those skills can get you jobs that get you a little more income and benefits earlier on in your life. I’m happy with what I did because it got me to where I am, so I’d tell my younger self to pay more attention to the bottom line financially.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"You're less than, you're not worthy, you should doubt your career choice altogether."
Challenges I Overcame
Work Stress
