Page 22 - Johns Hopkins Nursing Magazine Spring 2023 - Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

WE ARE ALL EAST BALTIMORE

TEAM CAPTAIN

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leader doesn’t It did not disappoint.
have to be tough,
A showy, or cool, Nor did Chase. “It’s meant to build your intestinal
though MSN (Entry into fortitude and grit,” she says of an ordeal that left her
Nursing) student Ayla Chase— oddly impressed by the ingenuity of the program’s
a former U.S. Army captain and architects. “We knew it was going to suck, so we have an
punk-loving skateboarder and forever expression: ‘Embrace the suck.’ ” Chase tried to squeeze
outdoor-sports enthusiast—can be each. She also the life out of it. “It was awesome.”
describes herself as an introverted student leader,
which she doesn’t see as a contradiction or an obstacle. Upon hitting a career wall in the military (and reading the
writing on it), “I compared physician assistants to nurses
JOHNS HOPKINS NURSING SPRING 2023 Energy is contagious.” Chase considers speaking “It’s imprinted in us: Nursing is the most trusted
Chase explains that leadership can simply look like
to going the medical doctor route: Which had the least
barriers to entry, had the greatest scope of practice, and
“being the best version of yourself” every day toward
had the most direct patient-contact care?” Introversion
colleagues and instructors alike, “and that radiates.
aside, “It was paramount that I get to be with people.”
from experience, embracing physical and emotional
JHSON’s reputation and that of nursing itself helped seal
challenges, and above all keeping your head as keys to
the deal.
leadership whether as part of Johns Hopkins Nursing
or the first group of women ever to train alongside men
at U.S. Army Infantry School. “Fort Benning in Georgia,”
profession, and it is for a reason. You say you’re a nurse
Chase remembers of the 2017 groundbreaking (and mud
and wherever you are people ask you questions. You’re
splattering) coed training experience. “The program was
just this ambassador for health care.”
designed to suck.”