Norma Hernandez-Ramirez is the recipient of the UCI Latino Excellence and Achievement Award in recognition of Graduate Student Excellence.
A national confusion reined In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and California’s stay-at-home order. Do masks help? How do we disinfect? How serious is COVID-19, really?
When the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) contacted Norma Hernandez-Ramirez about doing an interview, she stepped up to be a part of the solution and provide answers to a nervous public in her role as an emergency room nurse.
That interview was with the national Spanish-language television network Univision.
Hernandez-Ramirez spoke directly to her experience as an emergency room nurse working on the front lines of a global crisis.
She’s also a student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice with Family Nurse Practitioner Concentration (DNP-FNP) program at the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing.
“I confirmed that the danger is real, that people need to stay at home, not steal masks and come to the ER if they have sudden new symptoms,” she says.
Winning a prestigious award
For stepping up to educate her community in its time of need, Hernandez-Ramirez was honored with UCI’s Latino Excellence and Achievement Award in recognition of Graduate Student Excellence.
However, in her mind, she was just doing what she has always loved to do: educate others.
As a premed student living in San Francisco, she volunteered at San Francisco General Hospital and clerked for a neurologist.
“I noticed how the nurses were working with patients, how they were approaching them about their care. It felt empathetic and compassionate.”
Witnessing the nurses take their time with patients and understand their story made an impression on her.
She ultimately shifted from premed into nursing, and the rest is history.
Opportunities for patient education
As an emergency room nurse today, she sees a huge opportunity to provide more education to patients in her future role as a family nurse practitioner.
“There is a connection between public health and the emergency room. I want to work to close that gap.”
Ultimately, Hernandez-Ramirez wants to use Spanish to connect with her patients, understand them more deeply, and offer plans of care that they will be more likely to accept.
“Nursing is so fulfilling. No patient is the same. It catches you by surprise.”
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