Nursing Profiles

MaryJane H.

San Jose, CA
RNC,CNS,MSN,PHN,NCCDN

My father was an orthopedic technician, and I remember, at age three, when he took me to the nursing office in the local hospital. I was struck by the beauty of nurse's caps in a credenza as sunlight lit them with sparkles. From then on, I used to play nurse, riding on my father’s cart in a nurse's uniform and red-lined cape. I became a candy striper at 14, and I volunteered every day, earning my cap in record time—I was even voted “Volunteer of the Year!” I was so proud that I wore my candy striper uniform in my high school graduation picture. After nursing school graduation, I worked for 10 years in orthopedics, and for 15 years in psychiatry, until my hospital closed. I was riding my bicycle though the parking lot at Kaiser Hospital one day, contemplating my next career move, when suddenly a sliding door opened and someone asked, “Did you come for an interview?” By chance, I had a wrinkled resume in my backpack, and I handed it over. I was promptly hired as a telephone advice RN. Starting as a temp in the flu queue, I quickly learned the art of telephone triage. I now proudly call myself a certified Telehealth Nurse, and am proud to be present at the dawn of a new nursing specialty.