Profile:FINAL
5/29/09
12:22 PM
Page 16
The Accidental Teacher
Cathy Kennedy went into nursing instead of education, not realizing that
she'd be doing both as an RN leader. By Lucia Hwang
G
rowing up, Cathy Kennedy always wanted to go into teaching or nursing. She
chose to become a registered nurse, perhaps not realizing until later that, as an RN
and leader, she teaches every day.
Today, Kennedy continues to do both:
teaching her patients, mentoring new
graduates, helping educate fellow CNA/
NNOC members in her position on the
organization's board of directors since 2006, and still working as an
RN. Kennedy currently works half time in the neonatal intensive care
unit at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville, and the other half of the time
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REGISTERED NURSE
as project director of the RN mentor program run by the California
Nurses Foundation.
"I think more education of the nurses, especially in California and
Northern California, is key," said Kennedy. "We need to get nurses to
understand the bigger picture. And now because of the economy,
more nurses are getting it."
Kennedy's personal background has prepared her well for the
challenges of educating others, for her work as an activist in fighting
for justice, and for her practice as a registered nurse. The daughter of
an African-American father and a Japanese mother, Kennedy grew
up in Japan where her father, who served in the U.S. Air Force, was
stationed. "I had my own challenges and had to figure out who I am,"
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