Introduction

As I mentioned in the side bar, I am a Registered Nurse with 23 years of practice. I have served in various roles ranging from being a staff nurse in Intensive Care and in the Emergency Department. My most recent hospital position was as the Nursing Supervisor. I worked during Hurricane Katrina and was in a New Orleans area hospital for days after the storm. For some time I had wanted to teach nursing, and Katrina was my mid-life epiphany. I now teach full-time in an Associate Degree program at Charity School of Nursing/Delgado Community College and part-time at Loyola University New Orleans. I love teaching!

I am especially interested in the use of technology in the delivery of nursing content. At our nursing campus we have a human patient simulator that is Mac/OS based. He is so life-like we can make him perspire! Carefully planned learning experiences with the simulator man are, I think, almost as effective as real patient contact. Our students are technologically savvy, and I feel a need to keep up with them!

From a personal perspective, I believe my readers can see my love for cats and dogs. I am involved with animal rescue in Louisiana, and also foster cats to prepare them for adoption. (The cats in the pictures are permanent residents in my home.) To demonstrate that hope springs eternal, I have been a season ticket holder for the New Orleans Saints for many years. This year I fell in love with the New Orleans Hornets, and have season tickets for the Hornets as well. Odds are, if my studies are complete, you'll see me at a ball game in New Orleans!