Claudia Lee
Nurse
UCI HEALTH
Irvine, CA USA
“I've dealt with discouragement by understanding who I am and what I stand for.”
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Deciding on a career. I sought out an internship opportunity at my local hospital, and that is where I decided that nursing was for me.
After finally completing all my prerequisites for nursing school, I was rejected from a nursing school.
I pivoted and decided that I wanted to obtain my bachelor's in psychology.
After I graduated, I applied for nursing school again, and got in!
I survived nursing school and began my career straight away in the emergency department.
Education
High School
Career
Nurse
I am a registered nurse at UCI Health in the Emergency Room Department.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Science
Medicine
Helping People
Day to Day
I assess, treat, carry out, and manage orders for patients experiencing medical emergencies. After I have completed a thorough head to toe assessment of a patient, I draw labs, perform electrocardiograms, monitor vital signs, and administer medications. Once labs are back, the patient's care team with reassessing and treat accordingly. The patient either gets admitted, goes to surgery, or goes home. As a nurse, you are constantly managing every aspect of care and are constantly monitoring them.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Look for volunteer opportunities at your local hospital. This is where I truly got to see how the entire patient care team played a vital part in the patient's stay at the hospital. There are SO many avenues that you can take, nursing is not the only career you could choose from: registration staff, occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, pharmacy, the list goes on. Also, if nursing is for you, study hard, and commit to the process, and it's worth it.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Family:
"The noise I heard was that nursing could be difficult and competitive, and my family didn't have a history with healthcare workers, so it was unfamiliar to me. "
Challenges I Overcame
First-Generation College Student
Q&A
What life-advice would you give to future leaders in the next generation?
Asked by Anonymous Student"Find what you love, find your niche because there are many departments, so many paths you can take, there are so many things you can do."
How is your current life different compared to how you imagine it to be when you were in college?
Asked by Anonymous StudentWhen I was in college, my future expectation was very different from how it is currently. As I grew up and as my life started to change, so did my passions, You shouldn't set rules and limits on how you think the future will be.
What is your greatest personal/professional achievement?
Asked by Anonymous Student"I think just being in this position. I graduated from nursing school about 3 years ago, and I got a job in my dream department, the Emergency Department. So once I was able to achieve my bachelor's degree, I started at UCI, which I wanted."
What was your favorite interning experience?
Asked by Anonymous StudentAround the time I had graduated high school, I interned for 15 months, 4 hours a week, rotating through departments, and getting experience. I always knew I wanted to be in healthcare and here I learned that nursing was for me.
Do you have any tips for future registered nurse beside working hard?
Asked by Anonymous StudentIf you know that’s what you want, then there are so many avenues nowadays to get into nursing, and it doesn’t have to be completely linear... You have to keep trying. If you know that’s what you want, do it because it’ll be worth it.
Interviewed By
Anonymous Student
Student at CSUF
