A native of North County (born and raised in Oceanside), I have lived in Escondido since 2014. I have been a registered nurse for more than 15 years and have worked in healthcare for over 25 years. I have worked as a nurse in a variety of departments and types of nursing — telemetry/inpatient, critical care, emergency/trauma, pediatric emergency, procedural sedation and pediatric triage/clinic. My “COVID years” were spent in both the emergency department and as a rapid response nurse for Palomar UC San Diego Health (primarily at the Poway and former Downtown Campus locations). I hold a master’s degree in nursing (with an emphasis on quality and patient safety) from Northern Arizona University.