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Clear Horizons Early College High School

Mentor Interview

Nadia Siddiqi
Senior ISM-A4
Mrs. Andrea Zehetner
26 October 2023
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Summary and Analysis

The interview I conducted with Ashley Fleming, nurse manager at East Houston Medical

Center (EHMCT), proved to be insightful and informative to the field of nursing, the steps it

takes to make it to the level of nurse manager, and the journey Ms. Ashley experienced to realize

that nursing from the administrative side was the right fit for her. I learned that the most

important characteristic that I should have to pursue nursing in the future is to be self-forgiving.

Nursing is a job where making mistakes could negatively affect the care of a patient, so there is a

tremendous amount of pressure to be perfect and to never make a mistake. However, it is

essential to remember that every nurse is a human being, and that instead of wasting time

wallowing in the errors of the past, nurses (or future nurses) should look into the future and focus

on improving upon their inevitable mistakes. Ms. Ashley herself has made mistakes, but focusing

on delegation, flexibility, and improvement have limited those errors.

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Picture of Me and Mentor

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Interview Essay

There is a mile-high stack of patient paperwork that needs to be filled out, five patients in

the waiting room waiting to get triaged, three patients who need aid from a nurse, and another

three patients who need to be processed through discharge. It is loud and chaotic, and it hard to

keep everything organized and to maximize the efficiency of patient treatment and care. How

would you manage an E.R. like that? It is a good thing that East Houston Medical Center has

Ashley Fleming as its nurse manager. Nurse Manager Fleming manages the E.R. by keeping the

nurses on track, delegating tasks effectively, and ensuring patient care is always the top priority.

With her monthly nurse station check-ins, the E.R. at EHMCT is always kept in top shape.

With the skill that Nurse Manager Fleming displays at the hospital, it is imperative to

understand the journey she undertook to achieve that level of accomplishment. Fleming

expresses the first time she felt interest in the healthcare industry with an anecdote from fourth

grade, “...Every single student and the bus driver were sick. They were nauseous and vomiting. I

wasn’t extremely sick, so I followed my instinct to take care of everyone else. From that day, I

knew that I wanted my career to be one where I could help people.” Fleming’s innate nature is to

care for others, which is reflected in her day-to-day work with her phenomenal patient care and

even kind management of the nurses.

To dream about entering the healthcare industry so young indicates the presence of

dreams or goals to accomplish in the future. Fleming is a goal-driven person who constantly

seeks improvement. When she first realized she wanted to be a nurse, her goals were to be “live a
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comfortable life.” Along with that, Fleming expressed that she “craved the independence that the

medical field can give.” Today, she achieved her initial goals of being comfortable and

independent, and she learned new skills that she needed to know to achieve that. Fleming

explains, “My schedule changes constantly, and I have learned to be flexible along with it.”

Flexibility and adaptability to change are the highlights of Fleming’s life. She started out

as an emergency room nurse but realized she would be better suited to a different nursing field.

Fleming said, “I could have stayed an emergency room nurse, but I realized that I was good at

the administrative side of things, so I decided to go into management.” Along with that, as a

practicing Christian, prayer has always been a big part of Fleming’s life. She exclaimed, “Prayer

also helped me a lot to guide me in the right direction.”

While Fleming was naturally fit for the job as nurse manager, there were still new skills she had

to learn as she became more integrated into the workforce. When asked about the skills she had

to learn, Fleming explained, “I had to learn how to control the chaos and come up with on-the-

spot solutions to spontaneous problems. Everything is always rapidly changing, both in the E.R.

and in the healthcare industry, so the only way to manage is to change along with it.” Change is a

part of life, and it is a great skill to know how to effectively manage that change towards an

organized future. With change also comes progress and learning, which Fleming knows and

emphasizes the importance of. Fleming says, “The learning and hard work never stops, and I

never want it to.”

Along with that, Fleming has had to practice her delegation skills in her day-to-day life. It

is not feasible for her to do everything, and to be a more effective leader, delegated tasks are a

huge part of it. Fleming learned to swallow her perfectionist instincts and explained, “No matter
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how much I may want to, I know I cannot do all the work myself, so I have always known when

and how to delegate.”

Lastly, when asked what advice she would give to anyone interested in her field of work,

Fleming pondered for a minute and said, “Be more forgiving of yourself. You are human and

you are going to make mistakes, and instead of wasting time beating yourself up about your

mistakes, focus on how you are going to do better next time.” Remembering that every person in

the hospital is human—the leadership, the nurses, and the patients—is the key to maintaining a

healthy outlook at work and focusing on the future, instead of getting bogged down by the past.

Fleming knows this, which is why her management is so effective—she may make mistakes, but

she learns from them, and ensures that everyone else learns from their own mistakes too by

giving them a safe space to slip up.

Ashley Fleming has worked her way up the ranks and has worked extremely hard to get

where she is, making her the best person to understand the skills and work it takes to succeed in

this field. Anyone interested in nursing or nurse management can take Fleming’s advice and

apply it to their own journey—by being flexible, constantly improving, and focusing on how to

improve mistakes instead of getting weighed down by failures.

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Work Cited

Fleming, Ashley. Personal Interview. 1 October 2023.

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Transcription

I recorded the interview, but when I looked back on the recording, I realized that I recorded

without audio. Since I only have the notes I took of her response, this transcription is not word-

for-word, only an approximation.

1. QUESTION: What was your initial perception of healthcare that drew you to working as

a nurse?

ANSWER: “When I was in 4th grade, on the school bus on the way home, every single student

and the bus driver were sick. They were nauseous and vomiting. I wasn’t extremely sick, so I

followed my instinct to take care of everyone else. From that day, I knew that I wanted my career

to be one where I could help people.”

2. QUESTION: What were your initial goals before you entered the workspace?

ANSWER: “I wanted to live a comfortable life, and I craved the independence that the medical

field can give, specifically from a financial standpoint.”

3. QUESTION: What were the steps you took to become a nurse manager?

ANSWER: “I had to determine what I wanted to do, specifically in my future. I could have

stayed an emergency room nurse, but I realized that I was good at the administrative side of

things, so I decided to go into management. Prayer also helped me a lot to guide me in the right

direction.”
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4. QUESTION: What helped you the most to prepare you for being a nurse manager?

ANSWER: “The E.R. can get chaotic very quickly, so to manage that I had to learn how to

control the chaos and come up with on-the-spot solutions to spontaneous problems. Everything is

always rapidly changing, both in the E.R. and in the healthcare industry, so the only way to

manage is to change along with it.”

5. QUESTION: After entering the workforce, did you have to change your goals to make

them achievable?

ANSWER: “No, not really. I mean this job is not a Monday-Friday, 9-5 job. My schedule

changes constantly, and I have learned to be flexible along with it, and I honestly wouldn’t have

it any other way. I am satisfied with my quality of life, and I have attained my goals of comfort

(without stagnancy) and independence.”

6. QUESTION: What personality trait has helped you the most in this field?

ANSWER: “As a manager, delegation is a huge part of the job. No matter how much I may want

to, I know I cannot do all the work myself, so I have always known when and how to delegate.”

7. QUESTION: What keeps you motivated to give your work your all every day?

ANSWER: “Definitely making progress. The learning and hard work never stops, and I never

want it to.”

8. QUESTION: Do you have any advice you would give to a person entering a career in

this field?
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ANSWER: “Be more forgiving of yourself. You are human and you are going to make mistakes,

and instead of wasting time beating yourself up about your mistakes, focus on how you are going

to do better next time.”