Pre-med to L&D: A Nurse's True Calling

A decision to take her nursing skills on the road led to the adventure of a lifetime

Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses for nurses. This week, we feature a Travel Nurse who was on track to become a neonatologist but found her true calling in nursing. We also share the latest job opportunities and talk about the risk to SNAP benefits, RFK Jr.'s plans for new dietary guidelines, and a recall on cholesterol drugs.

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Nurse Spotlight: Alicia Clarke, RN MSN, C-EFM

What I do for work

I’m a labor and delivery nurse in North Miami Beach, Florida. I care for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth. Labor and delivery is a unique specialty because it encompasses all areas of nursing. We act as an emergency room when patients come in for triage. We are a surgical suite when performing C-sections. At times, we serve as an ICU when caring for very sick moms, and we function as a med-surg unit when we care for antepartum patients who stay with us longer. There is so much to do, learn, and experience.

Additionally, I am a travel nurse, working in different labor and delivery departments across various states. I usually take short-term assignments, such as crisis or rapid response roles, which require me to travel frequently. Although my home base is in Miami, I have worked everywhere from Hawaii, New York, California, Washington, Oregon, and Kansas. I also volunteer with the NCSBN, the regulatory board that develops the NCLEX and practical exams. In this role, I contribute items to the NCLEX exam by reviewing test questions to ensure they are valid, practical, and reflect real-life nursing at the bedside.

How I got here

I began college planning to become a neonatologist, volunteering in a NICU as part of my pre-med program. After more than a year there, I realized my heart was in nursing—the nurses spent the most time with patients and families. I completed my bachelor’s in Microbiology and Cell Science, then entered Miami Dade’s accelerated nursing program.

My obstetrical nursing professor made the field come alive and became a lifelong mentor. During my leadership rotation in Labor and Delivery, the nurse manager recognized my skills and later hired me at Jackson North, where I’ve worked since 2012, advancing from new nurse to associate manager.

Leading through the height of COVID from 2019–2021 was both challenging and transformative. Later, a travel assignment in New York reignited my passion for nursing, broadened my experience, and reminded me why I chose this profession in the first place.

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More on Alicia Clarke, RN MSN, C-EFM

The most rewarding aspect of my job

I work with travel nursing agencies. I’ll accept a contract from California, for example. I’ll show up for a shift. The assignments are usually made by the charge nurse. I will take the shift report as usual using SBAR, and conduct a bedside report. Next, I assess the patient. For instance, if my patient is receiving multiple drips, such as Pitocin, maintenance fluids, and magnesium sulfate, I go through and properly trace all the lines. Also, if I’m in a new working environment, I always try to familiarize myself with their protocols. If the patient has an epidural, we will check vitals q15 minutes. Although each of us has our own patient assignments, we truly function as a team in Labor and Delivery. If a colleague needs to rush her patient in for an emergency C-section, everyone jumps in to help make it happen.

The part of my job that I find most rewarding

One of the most emotional parts of my job is that you sometimes meet people on the worst day of their lives. For example, a mother experiencing a stillbirth or a perinatal loss. The majority of the time, it's a great experience when welcoming a new life into the world. But we also have a percentage of patients for whom this is the worst day of their lives, so it’s important to compassionately care for these patients and help them through what is easily one of the most difficult experiences they’ve had. It's very rewarding, and it's a job that I take seriously. I'd be remiss not to mention the terrible maternal mortality rate in the US; we are among the worst at caring for pregnant women. If you've seen a chart comparing the US to other developed nations, we're at the bottom regarding maternal mortality. Pregnant women are dying at increasing rates. I take my job as a labor and delivery nurse very seriously because what I do, or fail to do, can mean life or death for a pregnant woman and her baby.

My self-care routine (or what I do for fun, or to relax)

Hawaii is one of my favorite places in the world because of its beauty, culture, and the people. Just being there is therapeutic. Nursing can be challenging at times. It can affect you emotionally and physically. So we need to replenish our cups regularly. I recommend that nurses, on a day-to-day basis, have some activity, whether it's exercise, Zumba, spinning, or some kind of physical activity that you do that helps to replenish yourself. I know a lot of the night nurses who love to go out for brunch after a shift, and I think that's so great. I've gone with them. They will go out for brunch after work, and they get to relax and unwind before they go home to their families, and they feel good about themselves. Also, I'm a traveler. Any opportunity I have to travel, I'm there, so that's what I like, having a trip set up and ready to go.

Share your story & be entered to win

As part of our effort to spotlight nurses, we’d love to feature you in an upcoming issue of Nurse Ascent! Share your story by filling out our quick interview form, and you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a $50 gift card.

Headlines in Healthcare

SNAP funding cliff

Millions of Americans could lose access to food assistance next month, some as soon as this Saturday, as the federal shutdown halts funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), CNN reports. The USDA says it lacks the $8 billion needed for November benefits and cannot use its $6 billion contingency fund, a claim Democrats and advocates dispute. The lapse would mark the first time in history that SNAP payments are paused, affecting roughly 42 million people—many of them children, seniors, or people with disabilities. With states unable to cover the shortfall and food banks already strained, families may be forced to choose between groceries, rent, and medication. The crisis unfolds as new Republican-backed work requirements take effect, intensifying the pressure on vulnerable households and underscoring the shutdown’s far-reaching human and political costs.

RFK JR's new guidelines on saturated fats

Khon2 Hawaii reports that Kennedy plans new dietary guidelines urging Americans to eat more saturated fats (like those in dairy, meat, and whole milk) and may update federal programs such as school meals to reflect this. This would reverse long-standing advice to limit saturated fat to under 10% of calories due to cardiovascular risk. Nutrition groups warn that raising saturated fat intake could harm heart health, especially if not replaced with healthier fats. The proposed guidelines also bypass the established review process and could affect federal meal programs before a committee review. Current program limits are 10% of calories from saturated fat; Kennedy's proposal could raise this to 18–19%.

Nationwide recall of cholesterol drug

According to an article by Health, the FDA has recalled over 141,984 bottles of atorvastatin calcium tablets (generic Lipitor) made by Ascend Laboratories, New Jersey. Multiple dosages (10, 20, 40, 80 mg) and bottle sizes (90, 500, 1000-count) are affected. The tablets failed dissolution tests, meaning they may not work as intended. The Class II recall signals a low risk of serious harm, with only temporary or reversible health effects possible.

Meet the author:
Renee DLamini
(RN, BSN, Writer)

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