The ones that you're calling wild are going to be the leaders in a little while. - Johnny Cash, What Is Truth

For a short history of BUMED, check out this page.
I have not been able to get pictures to post on this blog, so for now, you can view these photos from my facebook album.

Today was a special day in my Navy nursing career. Our director of nursing services had bid on a tour of BUMED (Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery) and lunch with the Navy Surgeon General, Admiral Robinson. Also included was a sit down discussion with the Admiral of the Nurse Corps, Admiral Bruzek-Kohler. She picked six junior nurses from Bethesda to attend the tour, lunch and discussion. I happened to be one of the lucky ones! We were told by her that it was because of our contributions that we have done for the hospital over the past year. I almost wish I did more. I wish there were more hours in the day!

After I worked for a few hours trying to discharge some patients that stayed overnight, I met the five other nurses downstairs in the lobby. We had a van drive us and our Director, another Captain and another woman to BUMED down in the Foggy Bottom area of DC. It's right up the street from the Lincoln memorial. (About 2 blocks away)

Our first stop was the main building, which was the originial Naval Observatory. We got a personal tour by Jan Herman. He is a naval historian with an office at BUMED. It was so interesting! He showed us where the first telescope used to be and described a story in which President Lincoln stoped by one night, one and a half month after Gettysburg, to have some quiet time and view the stars. During this story, Mr. Herman told us that we have now talked to a man, who talked to a man, who talked to a man, who talked to a man, who talked to a man, who talked to a man, who talked to Abraham Lincoln. This was a story in which Mr. Herman spoke with the great great grandchild of Asaph Hall, who was an astronomer who was the man working when Lincoln stopped by that night.

After our tour, we went over and met ADM Robinson, the US Navy Surgeon General. He was our Commanding Officer when I got to Bethesda, but has since been promoted. He is a great inspiration. Loves the Navy, loves the Navy people and loves medicine. We were all ready to ask him questions and he surprised all of us when he asked us what we would change about nursing in the navy, if we could. This spurred up lots of discussion amongst us all and we all enjoyed the time. It was wonderful food, wonderful talk and something I will remember for a long time.

Then, we went over to meet Admiral Bruzek-Kohler. We all liked her because she was very to the point. We could ask questions and discuss items about nursing and our careers and she would give us a straight answer. I think we all walked away with a lot more knowledge.

I hope some day I can be in a position to mentor and lead younger Navy Nurses. I don't know if I would ever get to that position, but I hope that at the end of my career, I can look back and see contributions and leave my mark in the Nurse Corps.

I can't imagine if I had not joined the Navy and had never done any of the things I've been able to do in just a little over two years!