Dusty Brinson – UIC Student

Dusty Brinson is a Masters student at University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) Online Health Informatics Program. Dusty is also a registered nurse, working full time as a Manager of Patient Care Operations of the Emergency Care Center at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

What was your first job?Dusty Brinson

My first real job was when I was 14 years old. Although my parents did not feel that I was ready to enter the workforce, I was allowed to take a job at a local restaurant in my hometown of Dale, Indiana.  For $1.98 an hour, not only would I wait tables, but I would also cook, bus tables, and run the cash register.  This restaurant was a small place, with not a lot of business.  Often I would be the only person working on my shifts.  All it took was a party of 16, a mean man yelling about my lack of cooking skills, and a creepy boss for me to decide that I had better things to do on a Saturday night.  My parents never said “I told you so,” but 27 years later, I finally admit that mom and dad was right, I was not ready for the workforce.

What was your worst job?

When thinking back about what I would consider as the worst job I ever had, I have to laugh at myself.  My entire resume is an example of the tautology ‘never say never.’  With the exception of the first job I had after graduating from nursing school, every listing on my resume is something that I had once said I would never do. This is including my present position and my attending grad school. I have been lucky enough over the last 20 years of my career to have had a wide variety of experiences.  Some jobs I would leave because it was horrible job, others I would leave for reason of professional growth.  Regardless, every position or job I have ever had has had a significant impact on the creating the person and professional I am today.  Valuable life and professional experience can be gained from even the worse of situations.  I would much rather consider my worst job as lessons learned.

What are you going to blog about?

Two years ago I began transitioning my professional focus away from being a direct bedside provider.  I entered grad school with the intention of leaving the nursing profession, but only after a few classes, I have realized I simply needed to just open my eyes to see the possibilities I had yet to notice. I plan to blog about my career transition, and my experiences as an online graduate student, and how to juggle both while still living life.

I invite you to:

Connect on LinkedIn

   

Categories