Interview With The Most Influential Nurse Of Our Time -

Published

Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio RN, PhD

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Hey Everyone,

My name is David and I'm a long time lurker/first-time poster.

I wanted to reach out to you guys to get some input/feedback. I've been in contact with Laura and we have decided to do an interview (Me interviewing her obviously).

If you're not familiar with her, let me give you a quick rundown of SOME of her accomplishments:

  1. She was the leader of the grassroots movement advocating safe nurse-to-patient ratios that brought 35,000 nurses to DC over 2 decades ago.
  2. Holds a Ph.D. in Education AND Nursing.
  3. Has been a nurse since 1975 (What is that like 42-43 years?)
  4. Has written literally a dozen books about nursing.
  5. Owner of a magazine called "revolution" for almost a decade, which was about nurse empowerment.
  6. Currently conducts seminars across the country teaching CCRN certification.
  7. Recently topped the list "Top 5 Best CCRN resources on the planet". She also holds the number 4 spot on that list.

Needless to say, she's an amazing nurse. Arguably the most influential nurse of our time.

My question is:

What do you guys want to know about her?

We have an interview coming up in the next couple of weeks. I'll post it here when we are done.

Kind Regards,

- David Becker, RN, CCRN

---------- Questions asked so far ----------

1. How do you honestly see nursing looking in the future, with the impending retirement of the baby boomers, and the huge amount of overseas recruitment that we all have to do even now?

2. What are some of the changes you have seen over the years that have had the biggest positive or negative impact on the nursing profession?

3. What was the most challenging aspect of being a bedside ICU Nurse for you?

4. You have had a long and illustrious nursing career - what was your proudest moment?

5. Dr. Gasparis as a long-time educator what advice would you give to someone considering nursing as a career?

6. I remember that magazine "REVOLUTION" I used to love it! I admit I haven't looked for it or seen it in a LONG time. Does it still exist?

7. What can a new nurse expect to experience during the first 6 months in ICU?

Specializes in Critical Care.

Caroline Allison from My Critical Care Nursing Facebook group asks:

How do you honestly see nursing looking in the future, with the impending retirement of the baby boomers, and the huge amount of overseas recruitment that we all have to do even now?
Specializes in Critical Care.

Robert Miller from Facebook asks:

What can a new nurse expect to experience during the first 6 months in ICU?
Hi Richard, I am confused by your question...do you want to know more about me or David? And by the way....neither one of us has a kitten....

In your CCRN CRAM DVD set, you talk about an incident where you had an allergic reaction to a kitten. From there you tell a hilarious story about your experience.

Oh Richard, I forgot about my anaphylactic reaction to cats! How funny.....I thought you were calling me a "kitten" in your initial post! lol

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

Dr. Laura Gasparis- I am so looking forward to this article. I have been a fan of Dr. Laura since I earned my CCRN with her help decades ago :). I am going to D.C. in April to support what she started years ago. Dr. Laura Gasparis- my muse.

Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself as a brand new nurse, a nurse of 10 years, a nurse of 20 years etc?

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