Interview with Laraleigh Windom,  LPN at One Family Pediatrics.  

 

How long have you been working at One Family?

Laraleigh has been at the office for 2 years as of January 11, but helped the make plans and renovations for the office before it was open.

Laraleigh has had extreme dedication to One Family before it was even open. She helped get it started for about a year before it even opened. I think it must be amazing to watch the practice grow to what it is today along side of Dr. Lavania.

 

How long have you been working as a nurse?

Laraleigh has been working as an LPN for around 3 years.

I think it is amazing that she has only been a nurse for three years. She seems extremely confident in her work and I would have thought she had been working in the field for years.

 

What inspired you to become a nurse?

Laraleigh said it was because of a divorced with her former husband. She had no college degree, and needed a job to support her kids. She had a lot of medical knowledge because of her kids and then fell in love with anatomy, so decided to take an LPN course.

The way she decided to get a job herself after a divorce is really neat. It almost seems she found her passion through a darker time in her life. I admire that tremendously.

 

Did you ever want to take another career path?

Laraleigh originally wanted to go into journalism because of her love of writing.

I think it is interesting that she could love writing, but then find an even bigger love for nursing and medicine. It really shows how people's minds change as they grow as people.

 

What’s your favorite part of the job?

Laraleigh's favorite part of the job is educating parents on why things are going on and giving them advice and opinions.

Laraleigh seemed very passionate about giving advice to parents and kids, and helping them learn things they didn't know before. She seemed excited about helping people understand what was happening to their child, and I personally believe that is just as important as the treatments for sickness.

 

What has your been the most challenging part of being a nurse?

Laraleigh's most challenging part of the job is emotionally separating herself from families and different cases.

I can understand what Laraleigh means with the emotional separation. It seems hard to separate yourself from a child's problems or illness, especially if it's a tough family situation. I think this may be the hardest thing for me in the future as well.

 

If you had to choose a lesson learned in the office, what would it be?

Laraleigh said that being aware of washing your hands and not touching your face is an important lesson everyone should know.

I agree with the answer. Our hands carry the most germs on our bodies, and not washing them makes it significantly worse. Our eyes, nose, and mouths are areas that are suspected to carry more germs if you have a habit of touching them. Germs are spread from person to person in a fraction of a second. The less germs spread, the better.

 

What school did you attend?

Laraleigh attended the LPN program at Lanier Technical College.

Lanier Tech seems to have a great LPN program. Laraleigh seemed to have loved it.

 

How do your studies compare to the real working field?

Laraleigh said that school set her up for time flexibility and disease control, but not with patient care and all the different types of nursing.

The amount of different nursing jobs in the world is massive. Every nursing program can provide the content, but it is extremely hard to prepare students for every nursing position. Each job is at first a learning experience until you find what suits your personality, mind, and heart best.

 

What do/ would you do if you were dealing with opposite opinions than those in the office?

Laraleigh origionally had said, “It’s my opinion and then everything is okay." She later said the key is to injection humor into the situation and have talks or meetings with the people involved.

The office always seems to be filled with humor. I like the idea of talking out problems and not letting them travel far. The people that work at One Family pediatrics seem to have an amazing relationship, as well as have a lot of fun in and out of the office.