Her Story
About Renee
Renee Begay serves as the nurse educator for the entire building at Princeton Health and Rehab in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she also oversees the restorative nursing program. With a career in healthcare beginning in 2004, she progressed through roles including CNA, med tech, dialysis tech, and PCT before becoming an RN in 2023 upon completing her Associates Degree in Nursing from Carrington College. She now focuses on staff education, new hire orientation, competencies, and resilience training to improve retention amid nursing shortages. Begay sits on the Medication Advisory Committee for the Board of New Mexico and owns CPR2U by Renee RN, a BLS instruction business. She is currently pursuing her MSN at Grand Canyon University online with the goal of remaining in education as a nurse instructor. Begay attributes her success to amazing mentors who guided her leadership skills and her deep passion for teaching, which she discovered while selling study notes in nursing school. She values honesty, integrity, and the principle of being a blessing to receive blessings, advice she received from her grandmother. Her advice to young women entering nursing is to dream big, avoid limiting themselves, and recognize the multitude of opportunities within the field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Renee
01What do you attribute your success to?
My amazing mentors who guided me to be a great leader, and my passion for teaching and education. I love waking up every day for work. It's my passion. It's what I was made to do.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't stop, keep on going. The only person that can say no is you. From my grandma: you have to be a blessing to receive blessings. Honesty and integrity go hand in hand.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Dream big. Don't limit yourself. Nursing really is a multitude of things that you can do. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. When people tell me no, it's like a motivation.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Nursing shortages make it hard to educate and retain staff. Building the correct team that follows the vision and implements it consistently is key. Having agency staff or not your own team adds challenges, but a supportive team makes it work.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and integrity. Be a blessing to receive blessings. Show willingness to help others and never ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself. Always be honest, even if you don't know the answer.
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