Month: December 2019
RCL #9
When we first had to decide on a topic for this assignment, I thought of the shift from WWI to WWII immediately because I had learned a lot about it in former history courses. It was a very dark topic with war and the ethical debate surrounding it, but I wanted to research something substantial in history. There was much research online and I read an entire book in one day on chemical warfare from WWI to modern day. This book was a considerable amount of my research and citations, especially for my speech. While research took a long time, after I had it organized out, the speech came together quickly, as did my powerpoint.
Since the research took a considerable amount of time, I was rushed to rehearse my speech beforehand. I was able to rehearse it multiply times, but I had not rehearsed in the One Button Studio, so I was anxious to see how I did in that setting. Luckily though, only my group was the audience, whereas in previous speeches there was the entire class, which made me very anxious. I also volunteered to go first so I could just be done with it and to be able to enjoy the other presentations without thinking about mine.
During my speech, I thought overall I did well. Rehearsing helped my confidence a lot and since I knew the information well, I felt that it went pretty smooth. I felt that my introduction could’ve been better, especially my delivery. Throughout the speech, I should’ve added more pauses and slowed down. I accidentally forgot part of my conclusion at the end, so it ended abruptly which I ended up fixing on my second recording. More so at the beginning, I stuttered through a couple of slides, but it was more nervousness than not knowing the information. Additionally, I forgot sometimes to move the powerpoint further after I had finish a certain point.
Some things I liked about my speech was the visual component. I put a lot of work into my slides and I felt that they accompanied the speech well. Additionally, I think that I was confident while speaking, which was not the case in previous speeches of mine. Overall, I was very happy with my paradigm speech and it taught me even more about a topic I was interested in.
The Importance of Nursing in Society
Of all the nurses I’ve previously written about, I found that researching and learning about Brigadier General Hazel Johnson-Brown has been the most profound and fascinating. She encapsulates what I strive to be as, not only a nurse, but a leader. As a pioneer for African American women in the Army, she had many outstanding accomplishments which took much perseverance, passion, and dedication to achieve.
Hazel Johnson-Brown was born in 1927 and wanted to study nursing from a young age. She was declined entrance into the West Chester School of Nursing because she was African American. She deciding then to go to Harlem Hospital School of Nursing, where she graduated in 1950. Starting her career off with prejudice only made her more dedicated to graduating and becoming a nurse.
She then became intrigued by the Army and the numerous pathways within the military. She enlisted in 1955 and served on the first female medical surgical unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Also, during her first tour of duty she had the opportunity to serve in Japan. She decided to not reenlist after her tour ended, therefore working at a civilian hospital once more. She once again enlisted while attaining her bachelor’s degree in Nursing and after her Master’s in Nursing Education.
During Vietnam, she was involved in the special assignment MUST, which focused on mobile hospitals that were usable during the war. Additionally, Johnson served as the first nurse on staff at the Medical Research and Development Command and she was also the director of the Field Sterilization Equipment Development Project at Valley Forge General Hospital. She eventually got her PhD from the Catholic University of America. After, Johnson served as the chief nurse of the 121st Evacuation Hospital in Seoul, Korea. In 1979, she became the 16th chief of the Army Nurse Corps and was promoted to brigadier general. She became the first African American woman to become a brig. general, which is a major accomplishment in the Army.
Her work has influenced my life massively, as I want to eventually join the Army as a nurse. She also implemented ROTC guidelines for nursing students, which has affected me during my time in ROTC. Her dedication towards the field of nursing not only affected me, but also my aunt, who served around the same time as her as a Army Nurse during the Vietnam War.
While the other pioneers: Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Mary Breckinridge, Mary Mahoney, and Luther Christman maybe had more overall contributions to nursing, I wanted to end my blog posts with a pioneer who meant a lot to me and my past relatives. As I continue my career into nursing, I want to bring an awareness to these pioneers and past nurses to display the massive history of the nursing field and how it has molded into present day. These figures are not only huge in the nursing field, but universally as they taught basic morality and basic characteristics necessary to a stable and strong society. Thank you for reading all my blogs and hopefully you have learned more about the history of nursing pioneers!
“Brig. Gen. Hazel Johnson Brown.” Army Women’s Foundation, https://www.awfdn.org/trailblazers/brig-gen-hazel-johnson-brown/.