Journey to RN: Annapolis woman recalls heartbreak, struggles that guided path to success
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (7News) — 7News continues to salute our healthcare heroes during National Nurses Week and is highlighting a nurse from Annapolis, Maryland.
There are nearly 4.2 million registered nurses across the country and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 44,000 work in the DMV.
Shauna Johnson is one of the newest nurses at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. She is celebrating her one-year anniversary after graduating from the University of Maryland in May 2022. Johnson is a familiar face at the hospital after working as a tech for 10 years before going back to school.
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7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez spoke to Johnson via Zoom, but her kindness and empathy radiated through the computer screen. When Johnson was just 19 years old, her mother died of breast cancer and she was left to raise her two younger teenage brothers. So, she went to work as a hospital tech.
She said it was with the guidance and empathy from her supervisor Christine Frost, a nurse at Anne Arundel Medical Center, she was able to make it through.
“I could never understand like when my mom passed away and having my brothers, everything was cloudy. Didn’t understand why things happen the way it do, but when you think about it, everything just kind of falls into place and you kind of get to a point where you get to appreciate and enjoy what life has given you and I think that’s kind of where I am right now,” she told Sanchez.
Johnson is enjoying being a nurse, being a new mom and being a big sister once again after being the mother figure for her younger brothers who are now both in their 20s.
“This is an impressive journey!” Sanchez said.
“Sounds like a lot, right?” laughed Johnson. “Sometimes I have to sit back and really realize how much I did.”
