VNHC Inspires Diabetes Educator to Become Nurse

An interview with Oralia Madera, by Lauren McElroy Herrera

I was five years old when my family had the good fortune of being visited for the first time by Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care. I was raised in Goleta, and my parents were immigrant farm workers from Mexico. As the oldest, I would go out to the fields with my mother and help her take care of my little brothers.

Nurse Brown was tall and slender, with dark brown hair gathered in a neat bun. What fascinated me most was the way she entered our home wearing her nurse’s cap and navy blue uniform, carrying a little case with her instruments. I was especially impressed by the way she took care of her instruments, spreading out a piece of newspaper on the table and then carefully placing the instruments on top of it.

From that very first visit I decided that I, too, was going to be a nurse someday. I saw Nurse Brown as a heroine, someone who was from outside my culture but who understood us. She would always compliment my mother on how well my brothers and I looked, and for years she helped us take good care of our health.

She was also the school nurse, another program started by the Visiting Nurses. She knew all the kids at school by name because she’d known us all since birth. She would come to school and check us for things like whether we had nutritional deficiencies. And she always encouraged us to continue our education.

Over the years Nurse Brown’s hair turned to silver, and I kept my desire to become a registered nurse. When I was 16 I heard about a scholarship for a 3-year RN program, but I didn’t know how to apply. My parents didn’t know, either, so I asked the counselor at my school.

Without even looking at my grades or the courses I’d taken, he told me I couldn’t enroll in an RN program, and that I had to enroll in an LVN program instead. I found out later that what he told me was wrong, but I believed him and entered the LVN program at SBCC. My first nursing job was at Goleta Valley Community Hospital. I finally did become an RN, but three years after I would have through the other program.

I then got a job with the public health department and started working at a free clinic on Milpas Street. It was one of the highlights of my life when my heroine, Nurse Brown, came and visited me there and told me how proud she was of me.

I loved working in public health, but decided to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. At Cal State Long Beach one of my teachers, another nurse, encouraged me to keep studying, and I eventually earned my Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration from Cal State Los Angeles. For many years I worked with the Visiting Nurse Service of Los Angeles. Now I was the one who went into families’ homes to provide health care and teach them how to live a healthier life.

I always wanted to go back to Santa Barbara, though, and eventually I returned to work with the county public health department. Over time I saw problems related to obesity and diabetes develop in the Latino population, and I decided to get my Diabetes Education Certificate. A few years later VNHC asked me to join the team to educate Spanish-speaking diabetics. Working here, where my heroine used to work, I feel like I’ve come full circle.

There’s a big need for bilingual nurses and diabetes educators. I’m happy to know that because of my cultural heritage and my education I’m better able to help the people of my roots, the people of my heart.

Nonprofit since 1908, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care provides high quality, comprehensive home health, hospice and related services necessary to promote the health and well-being of all community residents, including those unable to pay. Serving all of Santa Barbara including Santa Ynez and Lompoc Valleys. For more information, call (805) 965-5555 or visit www.vnhcsb.org.