I interviewed my mother, Denise Sybula. She grew up in Chicago and moved to Park Ridge while in high school. She attended Maine South her senior year and went to a Chicago public school before that. I interviewed her on her life during and after college. She attended many schools for college, that are listed below. She got married before finishing college and was a stay at home mom for a while. After she got divorced she had to find a job quickly so, she decided on nursing. The main topic in this interview is about her time as a nurse and how it has affected her life.

Where have you gone to school?
Oh that’s a long question because I think I have actually been to four or five different schools. I started at Oakton Community College and then I went to Triton Community College. After that I attended Johnson State College and it wasn't until later that I went to Clarion University and received my associates degree in nursing. Then, I went to Elmhurst Community College to get my bachelors degree years later.

What made you first decide to do nursing?
I decided to do nursing because I found myself in a little bit of a predicament. I was going to become a single mom rather quickly and I needed a career that was going to make a lot of money very fast.

If you were faced with the same situation now, do you think you would still have become a nurse?
Definitely.

Why do you say that?
The other career option I looked for was computer or the IT field and I just don't see myself sitting behind a computer every day. I don’t know, computers cant talk they don't have emotion they can't feel. Basically it would just be going to a job working with numbers and you know I've just formed too many memories from what it is I do that I will cherish forever. Some of them sad some of them happy some of them in between.

When did you officially  become a nurse?
I officially graduated with my associates degree in May of 2006 and started nursing then, I graduated with my bachelors degree in May of 2014.

What kind of nurse did you become?
I initially became what's referred to as a med surge nurse and a med surge nurse is responsible for taking care of people that are admitted to the hospital either with an illness or post surgery.

Was it hard to first start out as a nurse?
Initially it was hard because I didn't know what I was doing but I became very good at being a med surge nurse so then I decided to become a float nurse.

Are you still a float nurse now?
No I left, I did the float nurse for a while which opened up new doors, new challenges, and new diseases. Now,  just finished training to be a critical care nurse in the ICU.

How do you like that so far?
Well, I just finished my training. I've only been done for a week and right now I float to the medical intensive care, unit surgical intensive care unit, and they will be training me for the ER soon.

Does having all that responsibility for your patients scare you?
No, that does not scare me.

Did you have to do more training after graduating?
Yes, during school you do whats called clinicals but they don’t allow the nurses to really do much because of the liability. So, once you get hired as a nurse you get trained. For eight weeks, you are assigned with an experienced nurse who trains you to actually perform the role safely.

Was the training hard?
Yes, some of the studies are consisted of anatomy and physiology and anyone that survives anatomy and physiology is considered a warrior [Laughs]. Then, we were constantly tested in school. Our grade point average had to be higher than other studies so if we got below an 80% in even one class we were automatically failed from the nursing program and wouldn't be able to restart again until the following year.

What about the testing for nursing, was that challenging as well?
When you graduate with your nursing degree you have to take a test that’s 75 - 275 questions long and you're not sure which test you're going to get, when the test is going to stop or, when your going to get out.

Did you ever consider quitting because of the training and the testing?
No, quitting wasn't an option because I had two little girls that I had to support.

How has this job changed you?
Over the past, oh my gosh, 10 years, some of the patients that I have seen have been very tragic situations. I work at a level one trauma center so people from any range of 18 years and up. We see a lot of tragedy that is unexpected like car accidents, motorcycle accidents, falls, suicides, so I've seen a broad spectrum of things that has changed me drastically. I learned not to take life for granted. These people certainly did not expect to end up in the hospital on there way to work or, after a night out at dinner. I consider it an honor to be able to comfort a family or patient in there time of need. It’s very hard to disconnect emotionally so I can perform mentally but the upside, getting back to the question, is that there are times where I see patients come in and we think they are not going to make it at all and they end up walking out of the hospital. On several occasions they come back to visit us and they don't remember a thing that's happened even though they might have been at the hospital for three or four months. They are just very, very grateful for what we have done and it makes our job so much better. Also, when I’m working with the older population a lot of people tend to take them for granted because they have lived out their lives. To treat the older generation with respect is such a rewarding experience. I have had the honor of taking care of a world war II vet that was at Normandy Beach. I have had the honor of taking care of a paratrooper.I believe he was in the Korean War. They all have incredible stories, you know, to pass on to future generations and I just think it’s important that we don’t forget about them.

After being there, and hearing all those stories has it changed your perspective on life?
Oh, definitely I don’t- I can’t walk through the store and see people the same. When people are crabby or rude I think maybe they are dealing with something bigger than what it appears on their faces. You know maybe they have a sick one or loved one at home or maybe themselves have just gotten a bad diagnosis even though they look healthy because that happens a lot. We see 21 year old women come in with breast cancer, we see young women who have lost their children so, you never know what someone's dealing with.

Do you have any regrets about nursing?
Absolutely none. I went in to it as a career that would, that I knew would be a stable job market but I found out that is a career that I absolutely love and is well suited for me. Its fast paced, its challenging, its emotional. The nurses I work with, there is a lot of camaraderie because of what we deal with on a daily basis, we are very very close. We lean on each other and that means a lot to me.

So, you can’t imagine yourself in any other profession?
Not right now, I don’t know there is a high burnout rate in my field because of how challenging it could be at times, so many people leave and there are so many different options, management, quality control, care management, and administration. For right now I like being on the front lines and I think  I will probably stay there until my bones can’t take it any more. [Laughs]

When that time comes, do you think you will consider another job that still relates to nursing?
Oh, I will definitely stay in nursing. I just don't know where in nursing. There's so many different areas to go into that regardless of what area it is. I have learned so much doing what i'm doing and I think to completely leave would be a waste of knowledge and helping people.

Do you think it would be the same if you went to another similar profession or would you miss being a nurse?
[Laughs] I don't know the people that left say they don't miss it but a lot of people that have been in nursing for 20 years say that anyway. But I think that, yeah, there is always an aspect that would be missed. 

What advice would you give to people going into the medical field?
It’s many years after I got my first degree, and when I got it nurses were in great demand. Not many people were going into the nursing field just because of what we call the blood and guts of what you have to deal with. Right now the nursing field is exploding after the downturn in the economy and everyone seems to be going after nursing degrees. What I would recommend for anyone going into it is to spend a day with a nurse or get a job somewhere in the medical field so that you know what you would be faced with on a daily basis. Nursing is definitely not for everybody and, you know, it just takes- it becomes a part of you. It’s not just a job you go to, it becomes a part of you and it shapes who you are.

Okay, that's all thank you for your time.