SWAS: What are three essential things that teens/tweens should keep in mind if they want to become a nurse?
Olga Savage RN: First they should figure out why they want to do nursing. You have to love your job and not do it for the money. Second, they should concentrate on the requirements such as the science subjects they need to take in college. And lastly, learn about the history of nurses and how they came about, they should learn about how nurses changed the way we look at the care part of healthcare.
SWAS: Are you a registered nurse or a nurse practitioner?
Olga Savage RN: I am a retired Registered nurse
SWAS: Why did you choose nursing as a career path?
Olga Savage RN: Nursing was not my first career choice. I wanted to be a teacher originally. When I went to college I got sick and I ended up taking the course requirements for nursing. While taking those courses I found that nursing was where I was truly meant to be.
SWAS: How does it feel to be an underrepresented minority in the medical field, and what challenges did you have to overcome along the way?
Olga Savage RN: As a minority, you have to over qualify than the majority. When I worked in a hospital in Manhattan I was the only black nurse in that unit. There was a doctor in that unit every day that asked me for my name and wrote it in a black book. One day they had a special procedure that needed to be performed, I had experience with that procedure in a previous hospital. That same doctor came and asked me to teach him how to perform that specialized invasive procedure and from that day if he ever needed help he came to me and always remembered my name. I learned that by being a minority you have to prove yourself and not be mediocre. You have to work extra hard with everything just to prove that you belong in your position.
SWAS: What did you like most about being a nurse?
Olga Savage RN: I like knowing that my work impacts people. I'm not just doing it for the money, I'm directly helping people who are in a vulnerable state. Taking care of patients, and seeing them improve, and get better keeps you going.
SWAS: What does a day-to-day schedule look like for You
Olga Savage RN: You would take the previous report from the nurse, assess a patient from head to toe, have a plan of care, what medication needs to be taken and when to give them their medicine. Their hygiene schedule and taking notes on how a patient is doing. If you plan your day at work the day goes a lot smoother and the patients will benefit in turn.
Sisters with a stethoscope would like to thank Olga Savage for taking time out of her day to speak with us. We hope this was helpful to our fellow “sisters” looking to become registered nurses!
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