Why did you choose your specific health professional career?
My present job chose me. I worked at Williams Co. for 25 years as a safety officer for a group of staff members but was laid off. Since that time, I was hired by the Indian Health Service as a safety officer; I have been here for 5 years now. My job as a safety officer encompasses safety in so many areas within the health care environment.
What experiences did you have to make sure this profession was right for you?
My previous occupation dealt with safety in the work environment for staff. In this job, I’ve learned more about environmental safety as it relates to staff as well as patients. Environmental safety with relation to the healthcare field requires that I follow guidelines that require me to be more proficient and professional from a safety stand point. This means that in addition to working with staff and patients, safety is involved in the facility structures, the grounds, and the equipment people work with, the ergonomics while on the job, and dealing with hazardous materials, etc.
Describe any obstacles or barriers to success that you encountered along your health professional career path and how did you overcome them?
I understood about general safety from my previous jobs; however the healthcare field was new to me. There are more people with individual safety needs and appropriately meeting those needs is probably the biggest challenge I can think of so far. Since I work well with people in general and I am a selfmotivated learner, I learned the ropes of running the safety program for the healthcare center. It was a sharp, steep learning curve for me. So I just had to plunge into it and just learn it. I made myself learn it.
What do you do in your current job?
Again, it encompasses so many things. I deal with emergency preparedness, safety issues, security issues, the handling and storage of hazardous materials, and the disposing of chemicals. My job is to make sure the “Right to Know” rule is in place for everyone. In addition, I am responsible for making sure the safety policy for each department is followed, from a staff point of view with the national patient safety goals in mind.
What advice do you have for American Indian/Alaska Native students who are interested in health careers?
I believe that if they are very interested at the high school level that is the time to really apply themselves in reading, writing, and in scientific classes. For the young ones who want to go into the health care field, doing well in high school is very important. In addition, I also think it’s important to be a people person.