Nursing grad finds
pediatrics a passion
Kelly Spooner was intrigued to find that the sick infants who visited
the pediatrician's office in which she worked one summer were formula-fed,
while those making "well-baby" visits were breast-fed.
"I am passionate about the importance of breast-feeding," said
Spooner, a graduate of the School of Nursing. She transferred that passion,
along with fellow nursing school students Kate Bown and Emily Young, into
her Senior Innovative Project. The three created interactive information
sessions for expectant and new adolescent mothers at Atlanta's Booker T.
Washington High School, where they armed themselves with posters, nutritional
charts, skits and healthy snacks for their participants. "What is lacking
in a lot of moms is education about breast-feeding-enough information to
make an educated decision," Spooner said. Many of the moms-to-be who
attended one or both sessions eventually changed their minds about breast-feeding,
Spooner reported.
Spooner, who plans to work for a year before returning to school to become
a nurse practioner, has long been interested in pediatrics. Her tiny hometown
of Sneads, Fla., is 50 miles from Tallahassee, the location of the the nearest
pediatric hospital. "My goal is to go back home and provide care we
don't now have," Spooner said. "Doctors and nurse practioners
come but don't seem to stay." Spooner herself remembers having to travel
miles to see a pediatrician.
The Washington High project is not the only one in which Spooner, a nursing
honor society member and scholarship recipient, has been part. After finishing
a psychiatric rotation at Phoenix House, a residence for the homeless mentally
ill, she decided to assist in sprucing the place up a bit. Coordinating
with local merchants, she helped secure and plant azaleas, annual and perennials
that made the building look a little less institutional. She also has been
active in giving respite to child care workers at her church, Peachtree
Baptist.
Spooner once planned to become a doctor but was prodded into nursing
by a friend, who thought the profession better suited Spooner's disposition.
She soon agreed. "Nursing felt at home," she said. "It's
giving the type of care I'd always been interested in-preventive care."
-Stacey Jones
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