Deborah's professional specialties include healthcare and associated sciences with an emphasis on Nursing, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Psychology, and Critical Thinking. Her personal passions are rooted in family (she is a wife, mother, and grandmother), Christian ethics, English Bulldogs, Viking lore and pop culture (especially the 1960s). She is also an avid consumer of Kindle Books, Netflix, and Prime Video (all genres). If she had to pick a literary avatar it would be Alice in Wonderland. In short, she has a penchant for exploring rabbit holes that lead to fantastical worlds where the bizarre is ordinary, and the ordinary bizarre.
Deborah's interests include healthy living (briefly, proper diet, rest, & exercise), holistic healthcare (integration of mind, body, spirit), information technology (all things Google), mythology (especially Greek, Roman and Norse), pop culture (emphasis on the 1960s) credible science fiction (ala Michael Crichton), and horror (as in Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe). These topics may seem incongruous, but Deborah believes that good science can only come from an active (if not wild) imagination. With the aid of YouTube videos and WordPress for Beginners, she built a personal website just for the experience, and the joy of creating something unique. It features stories, opinion pieces, and poems on topical issues. Her unique style incorporates graphic art, entertaining YouTube links, and external links for readers who wish to fact-check - all related to the individual themes. Her goal is to discuss complex and controversial issues in a manner that is respectful and compassionate.
Program's first valedictorian , graduating with a 4.0 GPA and winner of curriculum achievement award. Primary coursework included Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Calculus, and Fortran
Deborah completed a bridge program for working RNs and graduated with a 3.9 GPA. Coursework included Advanced Practice Nursing, Physical Assessment, Disease States, Critical Thinking, and Ethics.
It would be difficult to quantify the number of patients that Deborah cared for in her 24 years of nursing. In that time, she worked in an acute care setting including, oncology/bone marrow transplantation, hospice, orthopedics, and medical/surgical units. In the outpatient or subacute setting, she was a case manager for hospice, rehabilitation, and workers' compensation (where she was also the pharmacy benefit manager). Her most recent position was as a (largely) remote clinical documentation improvement specialist which required close coordination with medical coders, practitioners, and hospital administration.
Deborah was a vocational teacher for high school students seeking a career in healthcare or medicine. In this role, she completed lesson plans for Anatomy and Physiology, First Responder, and Clinical Skills (assessment, vital signs, infection control) courses. Deborah was also the lead nurse for a pharmacy program at a call center; and was responsible for onboarding nurses. She provided disease management and communication instruction to her nursing team and interfaced closely with operations, information technology, and project management.
As a hospice and rehabilitation nurse case manager, it was essential that Deborah communicate clearly and effectively with her patients and their families or extended families. Skills integral to this role included cultural and gender sensitivity, understanding the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, and respect for attitudes on death, dying, and chronic illness. Her case manager role also required specific, clinical documentation, in the form of care plans, for every patient.
Two of Deborah's nursing positions involved significant knowledge of information/computer technology. As lead nurse at a call center, her duties involved working on computers, and a close association with the information technology department. This experience prompted her to become certified in health information technology through a government-sponsored, remote program. She expanded on this skill when she obtained a contracted position as a clinical documentation specialist for an acute care hospital system. In her duties at the hospital, and in remote settings, she became expert at navigating health information software systems, and troubleshooting remote systems problems. In her private life, she created a website solely with the help of WordPress tutorials which enhanced her technological knowledge. Currently, Deborah is working as an online ad evaluator for a company that is involved with artificial learning systems.
Deborah has completed three projects related to amateur rockhounding and mountain towns where outdoor recreation is an integral part of the local lifestyle. For mountain towns throughout the U.S., she researched multiple websites including chambers of commerce, real estate, and city statistics. For the two rockhounding pieces, she researched the local geology and with the client's permission provided helpful external links.
Deborah's preferred sources of entertainment include reading, writing, and creating content for her website. From her experience in education and healthcare, she has found that people learn and retain information more effectively if their instructor is entertaining, and/or tells them a story. Subsequently, she created a website aimed at entertaining and informing visitors with stories, essays, and poems. She is also an active member of a local writers' alliance where she gives and receives feedback on fictional stories.
Deborah exceeded expectations for an article about choosing end table lamps. She completed extensive research into the subject of table lamps, interior design, and lighting as well as created subheadings that would maximize keyword searches. At the client's request, she also provided links to stock photos and quotes on interior design. The project earned her a place on the client's love list.
She has been a user and advocate for the legalization of marijuana since the 1960s. Before it was legalized in the U.S, she visited Amsterdam on several occasions to gain a better understanding of how their cannabis industry worked, from inhalation to edibles. Of course, she enjoyed sampling the products as well. As an RN, she has a keen interest in the therapeutic effects of marijuana, going back to when Marinol was first prescribed for nausea and vomiting. When it was first legalized for medical use in Florida, she helped her husband obtain a card by researching and identifying a doctor who would prescribe it for him (he is a multiple myeloma survivor). She continues to follow NORML and advocate for the medical and recreational use of cannabis in all states.
Deborah contributed a personal essay to a collection of true nursing stories. The anthology book was authored by a Professor of Nursing Research and a Professor of Occupational Therapy and was designed to inspire and inform nurses about their practice. Deborah's story was chosen from hundreds of applicants and relates her experience with a particularly difficult patient who impacted her nursing practice in a way she could never have anticipated.
Deborah has created a personal website related to random thoughts on pop culture, past and present. It is in a blog format and includes three categories: Food for Thought; Poems to Ponder; and Stories to Share. All the content, including the digital art, was created by Deborah using WordPress and various plugins such as search engine optimization and graphics software.
Deborah's horror story about genetic memory and a family curse was published in a monthly ezine anthology series of horror and science fiction. The editor was particularly impressed by her intensive research into the Crimean War, genetic memory, and computer logic to create a credible background for her tale of a family curse.