First Post and off we go......

Welcome!  My name is Bonnie.  I am a nursing student at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.  This blog was created as part of a class assignment in an effort to inform others on my honors nursing project.  I am currently a Registered Nurse that has gone back to school for more education.  My goals and dreams with in the nursing profession have expanded as my vision of what nursing can and should be.  Nurses often introduce themselves to their patient as, "the nurse".  What does that mean to the patient and to the nurse?  What part does nursing play in the management of an individuals health and wellness?  Do nurses have any effect on improving the health status of a patient?  How do Nurses see themselves with in their profession?  These are questions that I would like to explore as well as to inform others about my honors service learning project.

My service learning project is with the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  I have partnered with a researcher Mrs. Susan Davies to study Maternal Depression.  This project entails not only research but initiating a proven intervention to solve the problem.  As I have studied issues with in nursing I have come to several opinions that have altered my perspective and beliefs.  One of those opinions is that change is possible and does not require a new tax or new funds.  I believe that we are all connected by our simply living the human conduction of life.  We all have needs that are basic, psychological and enuring through out our life.  No matter where we live on planet Earth, there are physical needs to be met.  I often have often asked the question as to whether I am my "brothers keeper".  Do I play a part in supporting those around me or do I have the right to be an island by myself.  The conclusion that I came up with is that I want to be the difference in someone's life.  Not for ego but for humanity sake.  Several years ago I lived a very different life that was full of difficulties and struggle.  After my little one was born I suffered from maternal depression.  I had all the social factors in my favor for depression.  I was young, low income, low social support, low education, low in most areas.  I did not realize that I was depressed and to this day I know that I was blessed to get through that difficult time.  The affect of that depression on my daughter is a factor that I never thought about until recently.  My negative emotional state affected her at a very early age.   She struggles with self image issues and has trouble with her emotions.  My emotional state effects her as she mimics or parrots me.  Now I am not haunted by depression but the effect is real.  My service learning project is aimed at helping others just like me.  Many professions use the word "empower" as the greatest outcome of any new thought or theory. We want to empower people to be themselves and to be active in their organizations.  We say that empowered individuals are productive and lift others up with them.  Millions if not billions of dollars are spent each year by organizations in an effort to empower their employees and management teams.  It is my belief that empowerment is personal to each individual that chooses to rise above difficulties and perverse to the end.  Those that do rise have a unique perspective and the capability to understand others in similar situations.  This allows them to be mentors in empowering others.  That is my goal.  To use the difficult circumstances of my life to help others through their difficult rainy days.  Will I be successful?  Not sure, but I am willing to try. 

Over the course of the next few weeks I will post on my project and the thoughts and insights that I have gained.  I also want to talk nursing and ask questions about nurses in general and their impressions about their profession.  With permission I will post other nurses thoughts and lets see if we can't get a conversation going. 

Lastly, I know I am long winded but I want to thank you for checking my blog out.  If you have a any comments please feel free to post them.  I look forward to hearing back from you and learning from you.