Meet the
nurses who won the NurseZone and Allscripts Healthcare Solutions hand-held
computer and bonus clinical software giveaway in July.
When Judith
Melnyk, RN, BSN, answered the phone to learn she had won one of the four
hand-held computers from NurseZone, she was surprised, and asked, "Really?
Are you serious? What do I gotta pay?"
Melnyk, who is an operating instructor at Mercy Medical Center (Main) in Canton, Ohio, admits she has never used a hand-held device, but said she's looking forward to applying it in her everyday work.
"As an instructor, I'm hoping it will help me out a lot, [and] help the students, employees and colleagues I work with," she said.
Growing up, Melnyk knew as a child that she wanted to be a nurse. She even took the role of nurse when she and her friends played hospital. It was at the age of 28 that she pursued her dream.
For 10 years, she has continued her dream of being a nurse-even taking her skills to the Ukraine as part of a missionary medical/surgical team through her church.
"I love being a nurse," she said.
Joseph Dennis, LPN, couldn't have been more surprised when he found out he had won a hand-held computer. "I'm usually not that lucky," he said.
Dennis, who has been an LPN for two years, is studying for his RN at Union County College in Elizabeth, New Jersey, while also serving in the U.S. Coast Guard as a chief service food specialist on Staten Island in New York.
Since he'll be returning to school in the fall, he said he'll be using the new hand-held computer in his studies and at work. "I'll likely use it for looking up medications, for patient education and I'll be exploring the Web for more downloads."
Dennis, who has several family members in the medical profession, was further exposed to nursing when his three children were born and when visiting his father in the hospital. Encouraged by the actions of the nurses, Dennis said, "I was really looking at doing some good for people in the trenches and really doing something hands-on. Nursing is a whole other level of helping people and doing something."
To those thinking about going into nursing, Dennis said, "Don't listen to the negative. Do your own exploring. Talk to a lot of nurses and get a feel for the field and the positives of nursing."
Barbara Long, RN, BSN, who found out about the hand-held giveaway while visiting the NurseZone Web site, was surprised to find out she had been chosen as one of the winners. "It was kind of hard to believe because I never win anything," she said.
Long, who is a an oncology nurse at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, chose to become a nurse after her own medical experiences in the hospital, but said that those considering a job in nursing, today, should keep in mind that being a nurse means job security.
Deb Karnes, RN, couldn't believe it when she received the phone call that she had won a hand-held computer from NurseZone.
"Oh my gosh, I was thrilled," said Karnes, who currently works in the oncology unit at Yale-New Haven in New Haven, Connecticut. "Being a traveling nurse you don't have a whole lot of room to take a lot of stuff, especially heavy books. When I saw the giveaway online and saw all the options available on it I just thought it would be perfect."
She added, "With so many new drugs on the market there's no way to keep track of all of them so the hand-held will definitely help."
Karnes, who has traveled up and down the East Coast as a traveling nurse, became interested in the nursing profession at age 19 when a friend of hers decided to apply for a nurses aid position.
"My friend asked me if I would go with her to drop off her application," said Karnes, who also filled out an application for the same position. "I ended up getting the job. I fell in love with nursing and I'm 47-years-old now and through all of these years I've always had a job in nursing that I've enjoyed going to."
August 17, 2001© 2001 NurseZone.com. All Rights Reserved.