Friday Nov. 14, Pediatric Nurse Julia Krause visited DGN’s College and Career Center to speak to an audience of students during the first, second, and third periods. As both a DGN and AVID alum, Krause discussed various topics, ranging from staying on top of homework to what life as a pediatric nurse consists of.
Krause attributed her interest in this specific medical field to the monumental hardship that she faced in high school. After experiencing the loss of her ex-boyfriend, who passed from brain death, she found herself falling behind in school.
“She was very real about the process and her struggles with it,” freshman Harper Brock said. “Even though I don’t want to be a doctor, her experience was just extremely inspiring in general.”
It wasn’t until at the hospital where her late ex-boyfriend was treated, a pediatric nurse explained to her and her friends what brain death actually was. She said she found the topic intriguing, and made her better understand what had happened in the incident. This is what she believed sparked her interest in pediatric nursing in the first place. Krause said that once the realization of her grades hit, however, she strove from that day forward to get them back up, stay on task, and be on track to do at least some type of work in the medical field.
“I think it was really cool to see the challenges she went through in high school,” freshman Gavin Julius said. “It was nice to see how she grew and overcame that.”
With the help of her teachers and her own perseverance, Krause explained how she went on to graduate from high school, and soon after, North Central College. She then moved on to grad school to receive her master’s of nursing through Rush University. Since graduation, she has been working as a pediatric nurse for children in ICU, where she treats patients who are experiencing critical injury or illness.
“The kids are my favorite part of nursing. It’s a lot of happy, but also a lot of sad,” Krause said. “I’ve been there for some of their biggest moments, and it’s all worth it when the parents thank you for getting their child where they are now.”
