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| Virginia Rauer, MSN, RN, COHN-S |
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Virginia Rauer,
MSN, RN, COHN-S
Remember receiving your first mailing from the
State Board of Nursing after taking your licensing exam? Not knowing what it
would say. Suffering fear, angst,
heart-pounding terror. Mustering your
emotional strength, opening the envelope, and reading the word “Passed.” Experiencing the sheer exhilaration; the
tears of joy; the overflowing happiness? Virginia Rauer says, “Being a nurse can be a real adrenalin rush. Nursing is interesting, challenging, and the
real deal.” For more than thirty years, nursing has given her an energized
demeanor which she displays in a spirited, engaging, stream of talk and action.
Her nursing experiences have been multidimensional and she has many stories. Virginia subscribes to
and lives out the notion that nurses must perform their work with humanity,
intelligence, and heart. She grew up in
northern Pennsylvania
in a large family. After graduating from nursing school, she worked three years
in pediatrics. Even though she was a patriotic person her whole life, Virginia never
envisioned herself taking a military journey for 20 years in the U. S. Army.
Yet, that is exactly where life carried her. To exciting assignments in Hawaii, California, Texas, Georgia,
Landstuhl West Germany, New Jersey, Virginia, graduate school in DC and back to Frankfurt, Germany.
“In the military, you see a wide variety of
patients from pediatrics, neonatal intensive care unit to neurosurgery, all
requiring quick thinking and decisive action. I started in pediatrics, which
included neurosurgery and oncology kids.
And, worked in med surg wards, neonatal ICU, adolescents, infection
control and in a variety of administration jobs.” After retiring from the Army, Virginia took a year off
to adjust and decompress from a high-wire job to spend more time with her son
and husband. While the respite after Army duty was enervating, Virginia realized she was
not the type to stay home. She liked to interact, counsel, and talk to people
and knew that nursing fulfills that need while helping others at the same time.
Virginia needed a new challenge. She took on the demanding role of nursing supervision
at Alexandria (Virginia) Hospital. She moved from there to
the invigorating field of occupational health with Federal Occupational Health,
part of the U.S. Public Health Service. Currently,
Virginia
supervises 21 government health clinics in the Washington Metropolitan area. Her office is at the Government Accountability
Office.
“I am proud of the loyal nurses I work with and I
am empathetic to the demands of the working nurses. Occupational health is the way of the future. Employers realize it is important for
employees to stay healthy and make lifestyle changes. Occupational health
nurses make a difference.” One of Virginia’s proudest
occupational health nursing moments was counseling a diabetic patient to lose
75 pounds. The patient was ultimately able to go off all diabetic medication.
The greater result – one many occupational health nurses produce quietly and persistently?
A life changed, a family kept together longer, a productive worker that the
organization can depend on for many more healthy years.
Virginia is currently President of the Metropolitan
Washington Association of Occupational Health Nurses leading a diverse, high-performing
group of Washington, D.C. occupational health nurses.
Away from nursing, she enjoys reading, creative
crafts, and traveling. She participates
as a chaperone for her husband’s students who participate in Model United
Nations conferences in various locations in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware
and Virginia. She especially delights in educational
trips to Europe with her husband who is a
popular educator at a private school. They try to make two trips per year. Virginia
is persistent and flexible. She focuses
on the positive which gives her energy to thrive. She attributes her personal
happiness to the love of her family and friends and her good health.
Contact Virginia Rauer
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