Loretta Rojo

Orange Coast Memorial Hospital

Fountain Valley, CA USA

"Go for it. Don't let the numbers scare you."

Career Roadmap

Loretta's work combines: Medicine, Education, and Helping People

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Acute Care Nurse

I review patients’ medical history to ensure their safety during surgery.

Vocational: Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse

My path in life has been direct

1.
Originally I wanted to be a dental hygienist, but my college application got in the wrong pile and I got accepted into the Cerritos College nursing program instead.
2.
At first I was devastated, but I didn’t have the choice to take a year off, so I stuck with nursing.
3.
After getting my associate’s degree in nursing, I was employed at Rio Hondo Hospital for eight years.
4.
I worked on the surgical floor, in critical care, operating rooms, and the emergency room.
5.
Moved to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital where I became a critical care night nurse and then an open heart nurse.
6.
After working at Fountain Valley Regional for 14 years, I got promoted to supervisor.
7.
For the last 18 years, I’ve been at Orange Coast Memorial doing recovery, critical care, and now pre-op, post-op, and pre admissions.

THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
You don’t have your priorities straight.
How I responded:
I had one teacher who thought I didn't have good priorities because I would space my work out and get it done within the time frame, but she wanted everything done within the first two hours. There’s an old saying in nursing that nurses eat their young, and that made me want to be an advocate to teach the new nurses everything that I know and how I know it. I learned through my experience if you keep basic patient safety in mind the whole time you will be ok.

Experiences and challenges that shaped me

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I grew up poor and didn’t have the option to go to a four year university. The ability to go to a community college and get my 2 year degree in nursing was life changing.
Nursing has a very specific culture and I had to learn to adapt while still being true to myself.

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