A critical care travel RN and entrepreneur from the southeastern United States. Elisa Garcia MSN, AGNP-C firmly believed that  nursing professions are limitless, with a diverse field and numerous specialties to explore everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.

Q: TRUE or FALSE: “Nurses eat their young.”

A: I would say SOME nurses eat their young, unfortunately -- and I think nurses who do this are projecting their own insecurities onto new graduates. Not okay!

Q: What is your specialty and where are you based?

A: I have experience in 6 nursing specialties, but I am currently a critical care travel RN, entrepreneur, and have recently graduated as a nurse practitioner. I am based in the southeastern part of the U.S.

Elisa Garcia, MSN, AGNP-C

Q: What does cultural competence mean for healthcare providers? 

A: Cultural competence is a MUST as a healthcare provider. As nurses, we have to be impartial to all who are in need of our care, even if we do not agree with the person. It is also important for us to be conscious and respectful of traditions and practices that are different from our own.

As a bi-cultural woman, I understand what it means to be looked at or treated differently because of the language I speak, the food I eat, the way I look, my views, and the practices I partake in -- so I will always go out of my way to make my colleagues and patients feel that they are being treated equally and justly.

Q: What is your experience with nurse unions?

A: The state in which I practice does not currently have a union.

Q: Before working in your current role, what was your nursing career path? 

A: As a new graduate RN, I started off on a busy medical-surgical floor, and then I transferred to CVICU. After this, I decided to take a break from the hospital, and trained as an OR nurse in outpatient surgery. Later on, I decided to jump into critical care travel nursing, where I worked in other ICUs as well. Throughout my travel assignments, I was able to pick up skills in Pre-Op, PACU, conscious sedation, and train in aesthetics as well.

Fortunately, I was able to keep up with travel nursing while I went through NP school, and I started an Instagram page (@thecurlynp) to inspire and educate nursing students, new graduates, and experienced nurses.

Now that I've graduated, I am still traveling while I wait for my NP license to come through, and I plan on opening a medical spa this year. My career path is proof that nursing is such a diverse field, and you have ENDLESS specialties to explore. You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to!