Daytonite: Provides expert advice to students and those considering nursing career

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Community Spotlight: Daytonite

Since joining the website in 2005, she had over well over 14,000 posts. With thirty years of broad nursing experience, Daytonite had the expertise to help polish our future nurses and launch new grads with successful nursing careers.

Current Practice Setting

I am not currently working because of medical problems that have physically sidelined me. I am in career transition working toward earning a degree in health information management and medical coding because this work is less physically demanding.

Bio/Nursing Background

I have primarily worked in acute hospitals on a variety of medical units, stepdown and as an iv therapist. I started out working in a nursing home and often worked a part-time job in LTC to earn extra money. As soon as I earned my BSN I started getting promoted into supervision and management positions although my first love has always been working directly with patients.

Most Memorable Nursing Event

The evening I was invited to a special awards dinner and then presented with an engraved plaque award for stopping to help a hospital visitor several months earlier who I had seen get injured. My picture was in the facility newsletter, then mounted and displayed along with the award in our department office for some time. It was a moment of pride, but I was also embarrassed since I had to wear a special name badge that identified me as an awardee, so was recognized and congratulated by everyone I interacted with. I felt I was just doing something that was part of my job as a good citizen and employee at the time. I think my manager and the other people in my department enjoyed the honor more than I did!

Answer the question. Nursing is...?

Giving of yourself to support others through their process of illness and healing.

Favorite allnurses Forum

Nursing student assistance forum and the nursing student discussion forum. I usually only venture out to the other forums after I've felt I've been able to answer student questions first. I will also focus in on the posts of people who are new to nursing or looking to get started in nursing.

allnurses Members Who's Advice You Follow

Ha! Ha! I don't even follow all the advice that I give most of the time! If I did I probably wouldn't find myself in half the situations I get into!

How have you influenced the practice of nursing?

I always thought about how my behavior and performance was being watched and perceived by others. I was always concerned that I was being seen as a good role model. I worry a lot about how new nurses coming into the profession are oriented into nursing and treated because of the horrid treatment I received at the hands of charge nurses in a nursing home as a new grad. I've spent my career doing what I can to help new grads and new employees acclimate to this profession. I've served as a committee member and officer on a number of groups in most of the places I've worked. I am very proud to say that I was part of a group that worked to trial and help perfect one of the sheathing iv systems in use today. Somewhere out there in America, I am preserved on celluloid and a very large group of nurses have seen me on a video that I made with several other nurses demonstrating how to start, maintain and troubleshoot problems with IVs.

Advice For Members

Be helpful to each other. Haven't most of us experienced enough backbiting and negativity at work? And please don't use the phrase "eating our young". People that "eat their young" are just nasty people who are difficult to get along with. They are in every profession, every walk of life, and not just nursing.

Update 3/7/19

We lost Daytonite April 8, 2010 . She was loved by all and will always be a steadfast presence at allnurses.com.

Bless you and may you rest at last.