Interviewer: Samiyah G. 

Interviewee: Kimberly Dean 

Purpose of interview: 

The purpose of this interview is to get insight into what it feels and looks like to work in healthcare. It gives you an idea of what working in healthcare is like if you’re interested in becoming a nurse assistant, nurse, or doctor. 

Date of interview:

November 21, 2021, at 5:30 pm 

Today I am interviewing my mom for her job. I chose my mom to interview because she has one of the important jobs that the world needs. By asking the following questions, I only hope that this encourages all of you to want to become a nurse, or maybe even a doctor. 

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Hi good afternoon, you may start with your name and your position at Pacific Medical centers/ Swedish providence? 

My name is Kim Dean and I am a certified medical assistant and I work in the surgery department here at Pacific Medical centers/ Swedish providence. 

How long have you been working in healthcare? 

12 years and 4 months 

How do you feel about working at Valley Medical Center? 

I feel like I want to own my own time and not help build someone else’s generational wealth. 

Why did you choose to work in health care?

I chose to work in healthcare because of my niece Camille who started out as a healthy baby girl and before she turned 1 everything went downhill. We were told she was not going to live past the age of 3 years old. I was a teenager at the time and I helped my sister care for her up until her last few days of life at age 16. 

What were some obstacles you had to go through to get to the position you are at now? 

Starting from the bottom, doing the job nobody wanted. I had to learn to be accountable, learn to be flexible with working with multiple providers, and in turn, those obstacles became my strengths. 

What would you tell someone who wants to work in healthcare? 

If you were sick or your loved ones were, would you want that person who cares for you or them to be you or someone else. Would you want them to care for you like you would your family? If yes, then you’re in the right place. If not, do not go into healthcare with no heart, no ambition to make someone’s life better. 

What is something you’d wish someone would have told you when you started working in healthcare?

Take your certification exam right after school and not after you have started working in the field. What you do in the field is not equivalent to what is taught in the book. 

Ok, now we are going into some questions about you. How does working in healthcare affect you? 

Working in healthcare for me is liberating. I enjoy helping others and at the same time; I gain and continue to obtain knowledge from prestigious people. 

Surgeons, physicians, anesthesiologists, nurses in the operating room, clinics, and outside of both. It helped me become a better person, mother, friend, sibling, advocate for everyone I know and I don’t know. In summary, I am nothing but positive and enlightened.

Alrighty last question of the day is, 

How does working in healthcare make you feel? Like how does working in healthcare make you feel personally? Do you feel safe money-wise, and if you get sick or your family, are they going to have your back? 

Um… it’s tiring at times and I spend more time there than with my own kids. I like what I do. But what I feel personally is that it’s a platform that allows me to gain the proper knowledge about the human body and all its content that I can take with me to help my children and loved ones. I’m grateful for it in that aspect. And yes, I would totally recommend working in healthcare if only you have the heart to want to care for others, become their advocate, and want to do the work and be good at it. I do feel safe knowing that I have a career that will always be in demand and experience that allows me to be unique regardless of any place I chose to live. Healthcare facilities have one mission in mind and that is to serve and help the community period. As far as having my back, I am expendable, like in any segment or work. At the very least, companies will replace me if my work performance is not up to their standards. They have a business to run and if I am their employee, not helping them achieve their goals will be replaced. So now they won’t have your back but will support you to a limit. In addition to what I just said, we are given PTO-paid off time off that allows us to gain hours per our FTE or contracted work hours. We occur each pay period and allow employees to take time off work when we’re sick, on holidays, vacation, etc. 

Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you and giving inspiration to others to become a nurse assistant, or maybe even a nurse. I appreciate the time you have taken to add your opinion about being in your position.