To my students:
It is a pleasure being your clinical nursing instructor!
I bring over 40 years experience in the medical field, having started as a CNA, after which I received my LPN license and worked a year in med/surg before earning my RN.
After graduation, I worked in critical care for 25 years, 10 as a bedside nurse, 3 years as a manager, 1 year as a care coordinator developing care maps for cardiac patients, and over ten years as a clinical educator for critical care nurses in 2 hospitals in Miami, Florida. 
During my time as a clinical educator for critical care, step down and dialysis, I had the honor of being chosen by AACN to be involved in the development of a white paper which recognized step down or intermediate care as a unique entitiy. Our goal was to develop education to equip nurses with a skill set needed to provide exceptional care for this patient population. This led to the creation of the PCCN exam, and again, I was honored to be chosen by AACN to be an item writer.
In 2005, I graduated from Saint Louis University with a MSN as an Acute Care Nurse practitioner. Upon graduation, I took a position as a NP for a large general surgery group in Miami and worked with 17 surgeons to start a service line to provide 24/7 coverage for ER call and patient care in a 600 bed hospital.
In 2018, in addition to clinical responsibilities, I became the supervisor, as our service had grown from myself as a solo NP to 18 mid-level providers within 3 hospitals, also providing nocturnalist coverage. 
Since 2006, I have held adjunct faculty positions in nursing programs for University of Miami, Barry University, Miami-Dade College and Nova Southeastern University.
In response to the opioid crisis and our prescribing patterns, I became involved in the development of the ERAS (enhanced recovery after surgery) program at Baptist Hospital in Miami. I also had the opportunity to speak for Mallinkrodt Pharmaceuticals in the area of Multimodal Pain Management, educating nurses, PAs, NPs, and MDs on alternatives to traditional pain management.
I moved to the St. Petersburg area in 2020 and have been teaching as an adjunct for St. Petersburg College Nursing Program since August of 2021.
As a trauma survivor, I was inspired to become involved in creating a scholarship fund for underpriviledged adolescents with mental illness. To learn more about this, you may access Wellspringmiami.org. In addition to being involved with planting 2 churches, I became a part of an amazing medical mission team, providing surgery and medical care for the campesino population in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
I have 2 children and 6 granchildren. I am very proud of my son who graduated with his BSN in 2016 and works as a critical care nurse and my daughter who is a pharmaceutical rep for Oncology products.
My personal interests are ballroom dancing, yoga, reading, cooking, current events and spending time with family and friends.
My educational philospohy is simple: I believe in setting an example and strive to be a good role model for my students. I have high expectations, and see myself as a coach. I have had personal trainers and have had a love/hate relationship with them because they have pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of. And that is the best way to get results!
My goal with my students is for them to allow me to be their coach. Empathy, exceptional bedside manner and development of critical thinking skills are my expectations for you. I also bellieve that in addition to the serious nature of hospital nursing, we can also have fun while learning.