I Know How I Got Here: You, Me, Us

We often had psychiatric patients for whom there was no information or medical history available. There was the hostile, combative, schizophrenic patient; the paranoid and hallucinating methamphetamine user; or alcoholics found wandering around outside with nowhere to go because their families wouldn’t allow them back in the house. All were brought to the hospital, and we would admit them. These situations kept things very challenging. Was I frightened in these situations? Of course, I was, but I, like many others, learned early on how to effectively manage those fears. I grew up in the fifties and sixties, when Nikita Khrushchev threatened to annihilate the United States with an atomic bomb. In school we were shown movies about how to survive in a fallout shelter. There were three designated shelters in our town. We also were aware of the concern that UFOs (unidentified flying objects) and space aliens would invade us. I had started reading On the Beach by Nevil Shute, which is about a global disaster caused by an atomic war. I couldn’t finish it because it was too relevant at the time. So yes, I grew up during a time of many human crises. As do other populations throughout the world, we learned how to prepare for these disasters. Vonnie Johnson looks back at how she gained the confidence to start a health center as a nurse practitioner in this book that will inspire and empower those with an entreprenuerial bent. She highlights how she teamed up with a colleague that was twenty-three years younger to make the center a success. The two women shared a powerful connection, having known each other their entire life as ciitizens of the same rural community. In looking back at her career, she shares lessons such as how to: - navigate staffing challenges as a business owner; - truly connect with whomever it is you are serving; - make decisions in the best interest of patients and enhance a positive patient outcome; - find a balance between family and work. The author also reveals how she took a team approach to working with other health professionals, leveraging mutual trust, respect, and communication to build a business poised to succeed.