Nurse Mona Clayton started with a dream and a plan to enhance the lives of 100,000 future nurses living primarily in underserved communities, and in particular, single mothers, she told the Sentinel in a recent interview.
That dream started in 2008 with the development of Nurses Roc 2, a company designed to provide seminars and inspirational tools for nursing students.
So far, her efforts have been successful in cities like Carson, Torrance and Cerritos, and now she is reaching out to her old neighbors in South L.A., asking for a venue where she can hold seminars and workshops. The seminars are a way for Clayton to provide inspirational tools to nursing students and to those who are considering nursing as a profession.
I’m sure I’ll reach my (100,000) because not only have I been reaching prospective nurses nationally, I’ve been reaching them globally in places like Ghana, Nigeria and China…
Since introducing the (The Nurses Pub).™ on social media, over 1,000 students from across the nation became followers within days, Clayton said.
“From Africa, Asia, the Philippines, and the U.S., nursing is a part of every culture,” states Ms. Clayton.
“I want to take nursing to another level of thinking outside of the box— the box that society has placed the nursing profession. And I want to demonstrate that nurses are not just bed makers, but we are an intricate part of the medical profession, not only in the U.S., but across the nation,” said Clayton.
And, she has a special drive to recruit nurses from her home, to let those with aspiration realize that being successful in nursing is a very real possibility.
“I was drawn to nursing because my cousin was a nurse and she inspired me to start my career as a registered nurse,” Clayton recalled.
“That’s why I started the nurses’ hub because I was a single parent and I had a nine-year-old at the time.
“I wanted to really show her what it was like to be successful. I reached back into the community and saw that there were a lot of young people who were nursing assistants and were interested in becoming registered nurses but felt they could not do it. As a single parent, I knew the struggle of going to school and studying without support …”
(Some of them felt that too, she said). Other factors included them feeling they weren’t smart enough, they couldn’t pass certain classes like math for instance.
“A lot of them were coming to me asking me how I was successful in doing this,” Clayton said.
For that reason, she also wrote the book, “Surviving the Journey—As Painlessly as Possible.”
Clayton recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Phoenix. for utilizing her education and degree, from the school to inspire and serve future nurses.
The award gave her the momentum and drive to continue her mission, she said.
To aspiring nurses from all over and especially underserved communities, Clayton had this to say.
“You have the authority to live a successful and great life not only for yourself but for your children, if you’re a parent. You have the autonomy to choose over 100 specialties in one profession and you have the opportunity to give to others …”
