Her Story
About Ashley
My career in healthcare began as a medical assistant, and I have a love for learning that kept me going back to school. I became a licensed practical nurse in 2020, right at the start of COVID, which was a bit challenging. After that, I decided to complete my degree to become an RN. I've been working as an infusion nurse since October 2000 and became certified the following year. Before my current role, I worked in management where I opened up a brand new infusion center for a hospital. I recently transitioned to home infusion nursing in the last two years. Now I travel to patients' homes and give them their infusions in a comfortable setting, monitoring patients, starting IVs, and administering medications as prescribed. There's a need for it because there are patients who can't get into the clinic to get their infusion, so I am bringing it to them. I was diagnosed with lupus just after I became a certified infusion nurse, which was challenging, but I feel like it also helped me in my career because I'm able to really connect with my patients on a deeper level and understand exactly what they're going through. Living in a rural area, there are not a lot of places to go with this specialty, so right now I'm having to travel quite a distance because people don't know about home infusion companies yet in my area.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ashley
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say that I want to make a difference, and I have a love for learning. So I would say that my success comes from that. I don't give up. I just keep pushing forward. Whatever comes my way, I've always just kept going.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Do what makes you happy. I feel like at the end of the day, that's what really matters most. Not what makes others happy, but what truly makes you happy. It doesn't matter where you came from - that doesn't determine where you will end up. You can do it. You are capable. There was a point in time where I thought I can't go to college, that's not something that my family and background can do, but you can keep going. When you get a diagnosis like lupus, you can still do big things, you just have to pace yourself. You have to learn what your limitations are.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think some of the biggest challenges are living in a rural area. There are not a lot of places to go with this specialty. There are only two hospitals in the area with infusion rooms or infusion centers, so there's just not a lot of opportunity in this specialty. A lot of people don't know that there are home infusion companies, so that's also kind of a challenge. Right now, I'm having to travel quite a distance because there aren't a lot of patients in my area, because I'm in a rural area and people don't know about it yet. Eventually, I'll be seeing patients in my area, but as of right now, it's not very well known. And then, of course, the challenge of having an autoimmune condition and managing that along with everything else.
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