Martina Lauterbach, Transcript Section 12

Community Health Aide Program Project Jukebox

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KAREN: When you were hired, did you start the job --

MARTINA: Before I --

KAREN: -- before the training?

MARTINA: Before the training. And the health aides that were there are the ones that kind of showed me, you know, what to look for, what to report, and/or -- you know. So I was not trained for a good six months.

KAREN: Wow.

MARTINA: Yeah. And they were the ones that taught me how to give IM shots. And, you know, other stuff that I needed to learn.

KAREN: And that wasn't scary or --

MARTINA: It was. I mean, you know, when I first started, it was kind of scary because you know, I was, like, didn't know, you know, anything from anything. And they would, you know, make sure that I did it right, you know, before they left me alone.

And one day I was left alone all by myself and I had -- oh, my gosh, I guess I have to do it, because they both went out hunting, the guys, you know, did. So...

KAREN: Do you remember what that first patient that was that you did by yourself?

MARTINA: It was a pediatric patient I had to give IM penicillin to. Yeah. But they had showed me, you know, like where I have to give it and that kind of stuff.

KAREN: So it worked out all right?

MARTINA: It worked out really great. It worked out well. Yeah.

KAREN: That's good.

MARTINA: Those little things, you know, you learn because, you know, like warming up the penicillin before you gave it because it's in the refrigerator, cold. And very, you know, thick. You know, if you've seen penicillin shots. IMs.

KAREN: I probably had penicillin shot, but that -- I don't know that I remember the liquid.

MARTINA: Yeah.

KAREN: Because I was probably a child.

MARTINA: Yeah, it's white and thick and, you know.

KAREN: I was probably -- if I ever had it when I was -- when I was a child, then I don't remember.

And then once -- you had mentioned, you know, meeting your husband and nursing school and then raising a family, so you were raising a family and working as a nurse here in Anchorage?

MARTINA: Yes, I was.

KAREN: And how many children did you have?

MARTINA: I have three, they are all adults. Yeah. I was -- you know, my husband and I had to -- he was going to school at the time, I was, you know, working as a nurse. And we had our first child here. And decide to -- I work nights and he went to school during the day, so I'd go home in the morning, stay up with, you know, my baby, put her down for a nap, so I'd take a nap with her. And then my husband would be home, you know, early afternoon from his classes, so I'd go to sleep, get up, go to work. So it was pretty hard.

KAREN: Yeah.

MARTINA: And that went on for a couple of years. And then I had my second child, and I was working days at the time, so that worked out, you know, it worked out well.

KAREN: Uh-hum.

MARTINA: You know, take them to day care. And my third child, I was working days also. So it worked out well. You know.

KAREN: So yeah, that the clinic and research jobs that you did allowed you more time to be with your family?

MARTINA: Uh-hum (affirmative). Uh-hum. Yeah.

KAREN: Yeah.

MARTINA: And both my girls are graduated from college, and my oldest is a nurse also.

KAREN: Oh.

MARTINA: Yeah.

KAREN: Great.

MARTINA: She started off -- I mean, she got her biology degree first and then went into nursing.

KAREN: Hmm.

MARTINA: Working as a nurse now.

KAREN: Here in Anchorage?

MARTINA: No, in Minnesota.

KAREN: Oh.

MARTINA: Yeah. She's married to a guy from Minnesota, so she's, you know, living there.

KAREN: You know, that's why -- you know, it's interesting to see, you know, when someone becomes a health aide, if -- if somebody before them in their family was a health aide, in some cases, you know, their mother was a health aide or midwife or something, and then how it carries through the generations, and how many of them, like you, where one of their children has gone on in the medical field.

MARTINA: Uh-hum (affirmative). And you know, my great-great grandfather was a shaman.

KAREN: Oh. So you had a family history.

MARTINA: I had a family history of, you know, medical in my family.

KAREN: Uh-hum.

MARTINA: So...

And that's probably why I wanted to go into nursing so bad. Some medical field.

KAREN: Yeah.

MARTINA: So.

KAREN: That influence there.