Paula Terry

I think, first of all, my parents. I was very fortunate, and as I deal with a lot of my patients now and see things, I realize more and more every day how lucky I was. I had very supportive, strong, patient parents that encouraged me and encouraged anything I wanted to do, even though they may have knew already it wasn't a good idea. But they let me fail, but yet they also encouraged me to succeed and to get up and continue. I think I've been lucky enough through the years to have good bosses. Now, I've had some bad ones too, but I've had good bosses who have educated me and taught me things. And I think, you know, most of all, God. God has blessed me every day and continues to bless me.

Many years ago, there was a lady that was a chief nursing officer above me, and I worked for her, and she told me that as you advance in your career and as you get into management and leadership, always remember when you go home at night and you lay down, if you feel like that you did the right and fair thing for your patients and for your staff, you're fine. It may not have been exactly what you liked, or something that you really enjoy doing, because many things you're not going to enjoy doing, but if it's fair and it was right. But when you can stop, when you lay down at night and you do not feel that way any longer, it's time to move on to some other type career, another position, another job. It stuck in my head, it really did.

I think to set a goal, and do not be scared, and do not think because you're a woman that you can't exceed, because some of the most successful people in the world are females. And to keep trying, and don't think of failure as a blockage. Consider it a learning, a learning and a stepping stone, and you need to learn from it, and then figure it out, back up, take a breath, figure it out, step on over it.

I think some of the biggest challenges now is there's been a lot of changes with student loans and money that people can get and can't get, and I think I'm afraid that's gonna affect the nursing career, and a lot of people may not choose the nursing career, because it's not cheap, as we all know. Nothing with college is cheap anymore. But I think sometimes they may not be able to get the loans they need, and they'll sway away from it. I think that's going to be a big challenge, because a lot of the population of nurses will be retiring before long and moving on, and there is going to be a shortage of nurses. It is, and I think it's gonna get worse, I really do.

I think I've learned to try to help other people, because you do not have any idea what battles someone else is fighting, because we all wear some type of mask, and we hide some of the battles that we fight. And I think we should always try to help others, and try to remember you have no idea what they're fighting, silently or openly. Also, just to try to treat people, try to be fair and consistent, and I think if you're fair and consistent with people, then you can't feel guilty about what you do. If you do the same for everyone, but when you start trying to play favorites, and do for some and not for the others, and start judging people, that's when it comes back to hurt you more than anybody.