My name is Kosuke "Ko" Niitsu. My gender pronouns are he/him/his. I'm your professor in this course.

My specialty is psychiatric mental health nursing! I became a psych nurse after graduating from the BSN program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and worked as an RN at an inpatient psych hospital in Omaha, NE. I truly enjoyed working with individuals going through psychiatric emergencies, such as suicide attempts, manic episodes, psychosis, etc. I returned to the graduate program at UNMC, became a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP), and earned my Ph.D. Then, I went to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz) where I completed my postdoc training. At the same time, I worked as a PMHNP and took care of the mental health of professional learners, such as nursing students, medical residents, graduate students, etc. I currently work as an Assistant Professor at UW Bothell and also serve as a PMHNP at the Counseling Center where I care for UW Bothell students' mental health.

The photo above was taken in March 2025. A group of students from the Institute of Science Tokyo (IST) came to visit UW, and I invited them to my class for undergraduate nursing students. Students from IST and UW Bothell exchanged international conversations and learned a lot from each other!

I'm very much looking forward to getting to know all of you!

My name is Elizabeth Diaz, and go by Liza, pronounced Lisa. My pronouns are she/her. I currently work as the District Nurse for the Nooksack Valley School District. Nooksack has almost 2k students between 5 building. I manage all the student individual health plans, 504’s, medication delegation, sexual health education, staff health training and much more. This year was my 6th yr working for the district and the more I think about it, I think I will be here for a long time. I very much enjoy everything this position has to offer.

Prior to that, I worked for Sea Mar CHC as a Maternity clinical educator for the First Steps program. My primary duty was to do assessments and provided interventions as needed. Also did a lot of care coordination with other providers and community services.

I first received my ADN in spring of 2014 from Skagit Valley College. Shortly after I returned to get my BSN from Western Washington University. Graduated Winter of 2016. I worked for about 6 years and decided to get my masters (now that my littlest, twins were in school). I was a part time MN student until last quarter where I pressured myself to take 2 classes. Again, this quarter I plan to take 2 classes. If all goes as planned, I will graduate Spring of 2026.

The picture above is of my 4 children and myself. They are ages 17, 11, 8, and 8. This picture was taken in February of this year at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in Vancouver BC. We take the trip annually. The kids enjoy the long walk in the cold while dinking hot chocolate and

Looking forward for this quarter.

Liza

I finished my BSN in 2011 in the Philippines and worked in the Emergency Department as an RN for two years then transitioned to working as the National Director of an international, non-government organization providing intercultural learning opportunities to various audiences mostly high school and college students and their families in order to foster peace and understanding amidst diversities. After doing it for nine years, I then migrated to the US in November of 2022. I spent a year in Syracuse, Upstate New York doing Emergency Nursing and SNF then moved to WA. In WA, I had multiple roles including working at the Emergency Department of Swedish Medical Center First Hill for four months and as PRN RN at Kaiser Permanente WA Advanced Urgent Care/ Emergency Department- Capitol Hill for eight months. I also worked as a local travel RN at the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) Jail Health Service (JHS) serving and helping our incarcerated patients in their health needs for six months, and three months in Eastgate Public Health Center as Peds RN then moved back to Emergency Nursing. I currently work as a full-time employee in the Emergency Department of UWMC- Northwest.

The picture above is taken yesterday, March 29, 2025 during the “Eid Mubarak” or “Eid’ al Fit’r” celebration with Filipino friends practicing Islam. Eid al-Fitr is the festival that marks the end of Ramadan. During Ramadan, usually a month-long, the Muslim community fasts from dawn to sunset, abstaining from food, drink, amongst others and spending time in prayer and worship.

I am the fifth person from the left wearing gray long sleeve. I look forward to a great Spring 2025!

I've been a nurse for almost 2 years. I had a lot of bumps when it came to getting my nursing degree but I made it. From my clinical experience in nursing school, I knew I did not want to work at a hospital. Working in the hospital was and still is my worst fear.

I currently work at Ashley House: Bridges to Home which is a transition facility for children from Seattle Children's Hospital. Majority of the children we serve are trach and vent dependent. We are the first pediatric skilled nursing facility in Washington State. This is my start to my nursing journey and I am extremely lucky to have found this place.

I have the opportunity to do things that I never expected I would do as a nurse. The way that my facility is I get the chance to take these children out to the beach, to the park, to the zoo, to the mall for Santa pictures, and to Krispy Kreme, too. I truly enjoy the outings I get to do with the children at my facility. I am able to build meaningful relationships with families and their children. Caregivers are able to learn their child's care in a different environment in hopes that they can take their child home. I am able to teach families how to do these "normal" things that other people would do with their children. I able to share their joy and excitement when they take their medically fragile child out in the world.

This picture is of my work besties taking the kids to a wheelchair accessible park in Edmonds. Every Friday we worked together in the summer, I would force my coworkers to take the kids on an outing. Even though they hated the process of getting all the kids ready to go out, we became pros at getting kids ready to go out. Now we reminisce all the time about summer and the memories we made with our beautiful kids.

See you in class soon! Bye!

My journey to nursing was a bit meandering as I was a second degree student. I received my BA in Biology from Whitman College in Walla Walla and then took a few years working various jobs in healthcare (and being denied from traditional BSN programs 13 times!!) before enrolling in the accelerated BSN program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia. Moving to VA was a culture shock, but a wonderful experience. I had a strong cohort of accelerated nurse colleagues who became good friends during that time. During my peds clinical I had a shadow day in the PICU and never looked back! I worked as a tech in the PICU in Richmond until graduation and started as a new grad RN in the PICU at SCH.

I worked in the PICU for 13 years, the last four as a charge nurse, until mid-pandemic I resigned due to burnout and trauma fatigue. I found myself as a school nurse for 3 school years in a high school in the Edmonds School District. While a great way to cleanse the trauma from the PICU, and an excellent fit for my family, I found that I missed the pace, patients and teamwork in the hospital and specifically in the PICU. I left the school this year and have returned to the PICU in a per diem position while pursuing this program full time. I hope to do something with education, either at Children's or in a faculty position somewhere.

My husband Jonathan and I have two boys: Cameron (11) and Ryan (8). Our whole family loves baseball and for the last two years we have gone to Arizona for Mariner's Spring Training. The picture above is from a few weeks ago. We flew out the day after our last class of Winter Quarter and enjoyed a few days of sun and baseball and the boys scored lots of autographs! For the next three months, if I'm not at the hospital or studying you'll find me at the Little League fields with the boys!

I'm looking forward to another great quarter with great people!

Erin

I grew up mostly in Denver, Colorado, but have called Seattle home for the last 6 years. I got married to my husband, Conner, in 2023 and we enjoy living in Bothell with our scruffy dog, Buster. We enjoy travelling, and in October 2024 were lucky enough to visit Japan. We absolutely cannot wait to go back! The picture here is at the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine in Kyoto, Japan. We are currently planning a trip to Italy in September, during summer break from classes.

One thing I love about grad school so far is all of the amazing people and friends I've met along the way! Looking forward to this quarter and seeing you all again! :)

My name is Teighler (pronounced Taylor) Shibata. I go by "she"/"her" pronouns.

I've worked in neuro medical-surgical for 5 years now. I'm from Honolulu, Hawaii and I graduated from an ADN program at Kapiolani Community College in 2019. Shortly before the pandemic, I moved to Tacoma, Washington to start a nurse residency at St. Joseph Medical Center on a neuro-tele unit. During my residency, I decided to also get my BSN online through WGU (it was a crazy busy time lol). After a year, I became a local travel nurse and took my first assignment in Seattle at Swedish MC on a neurosurgery/epilepsy unit. I loved it so much that I've stayed there for 4 years and eventually became staff. I've had wonderful opportunities to be relief charge, preceptor, and more recently, unit-based educator. My goal is to become a nurse educator or professor :)

The picture above is of me and my husband, Jamie. Fun fact: we met in nursing school and we both currently work as nurses on the same unit! The background of this Padlet inspired to choose my photo, taken at Osaka Castle during cherry blossom season in 2023. We got engaged during this trip and got married in September 2024! We will be returning to Japan for our honeymoon in December of this year :)

I'm very excited for another quarter with you all!

-Teighler

My name is Mariah Wilson and my pronouns are she/her. I've been an ICU nurse for ten years and worked in multiple specialties within critical care.

I'm originally from Ohio, and after attending Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland I started my career at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. After about 2 years in the Surgical/Cardiothoracic ICU, I decided to spread my wings and travel. I went to Albuquerque, San Diego, and eventually landed in Seattle at the University of Washington Medical Center Montlake Campus!

I spent about 4 years in the Surgical ICU and was able to get involved in shared governance where I started working on QI projects and on unit education. Working in shared governance opened up a lot of doors for me, and in May of 2023 I began my current role as a night shift clinical nurse educator for the ICUs and ED at UWMC-ML. My job has allowed me to learn so much and led me to this program which has been an incredible journey so far with all of you! I'm currently in an interim role on day shift, but look forward to getting back to night shift later this summer. I'm hoping to work in nursing research in the future to advance the health of night shift nurses who experience significant health risks.

The above picture is me with a hemodynamics game I made this year called the Swanlympics! I was asked to help with some PA Catheter education and was able to make a fun game. An NP who wrote the chapter on PA Catheters in the AACN manual really liked it, and so I am super proud of what I was able to do.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

I'm originally from Portland, Oregon, but moved to Seattle to get my BSN at Seattle University and have stayed here ever since. After graduating nursing school in 2021, I began working as a med surg oncology nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center - Montlake. Though I didn't originally envision myself as an oncology nurse, I've learned so much from my patients varying from the happy moments when they've completed chemotherapy treatment to the sad moments when I'm supporting patients and families through the end of life process. My nursing experience thus far has offered me so much but I'm still open to finding and discovering new avenues of the nursing profession and want to find my true home in this space.

The picture above is a family photo of me (in the Seattle U hat), my parents, aunt, cousin, and my partner Derek during a family cruise trip to Mexico/Honduras last year. My family loves to travel and though we live in different places now, we still try and find the time to go on vacations together. This summer we're going to London and Paris, which I'm super excited for!

Looking forward to another great quarter with you all. We're almost halfway to graduation!

-Lindsey

My name is Emily Watson (she/her), and I live in Bellingham, WA and am a nurse manager of a medical inpatient unit at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center.

I grew up in Seattle and made my way up to Bellingham after high school to attend WWU where I received a BA in Psychology. I worked in various jobs for a few years before becoming interested in healthcare. I received my ADN in 2012 from Whatcom Community College and worked as a bedside nurse and nurse team leader for about 7 years. I then returned to WWU and received my BSN in 2019, and have been in leadership positions ever since.

This is a photo of myself and a few friends taken just last week in Whitefish MT. Work has been a bit hectic the past month, so it was nice to get out of town!

-Emily

I'm originally from Pennsylvania and got my BSN from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Although my undergraduate experience was a bit rocky at times, I was able follow my love for nursing and nutrition in the university's dual major program. My time in nursing school is also when I found my love of psychiatry and vowed to never work on a medical unit again. Which is a promise I've been able to keep with myself so far.

After graduation, I moved out to Seattle with my partner and spent two years working as a nurse at Navos, a small inpatient psychiatric hospital in West Seattle. Then in 2023, I was able to start working at Harborview in their inpatient psychiatric ICU. The unit has 21 beds, in all single rooms, that serves almost exclusively involuntarily detained psychiatric patients. We also generally take the patients that are deemed to be too behaviorally complex for the other inpatient psychiatric settings in the county.

The photo above is of me and my fiancé on the trip that he planned to the Butchart Gardens near Victoria, Canada where he proposed. After our trip he told me that he had been planning on proposing for a few years, but every year I'd tell him that I was applying to this program and he didn't want to have me stressed about planning a wedding while in graduate school. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans because the year he decided he was done waiting also happened to be when I finally applied to this program.

I'm super excited for a great quarter with everyone!

-Baylee

Prior to nursing, I worked at a bakery and coffee shop for 8 years. I worked as both a barista and baker throughout that time, which is why I am a coffee snob and also love to bake on my free days off. Lately, I've been trying to perfect my sourdough recipe, which I feel I am super close to nailing. Otherwise, I love to bake cakes and am known for my carrot cake amongst friends and family. To combat my love for baked goods I like to do yoga, paddle board (during the summer), and adventure to new places in Washington and the surrounding area. This spring break my partner, and I took the clipper to Victoria, B.C. where we had high tea at the Empress and visited Craigdarroch Castle for a weekend (would definitely recommend it). 

This picture is of me (on the right) and my partner having high tea at the Empress in Victoria. 

I'm looking forward to another great quarter full of learning with everyone again! 

This photo is of my good friend and I in Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands on one of our many trips we've taken to island locales spending as much time in the water as humanly possible. Looking forward to taking some more trips soon!

Can't wait to see everyone again, this will be a great quarter!

-Hannah

My name is Suman ( she/her). I am a nurse at Swedish medical center in Issaquah on a Tele/ICU unit.

I graduated from Renton tech college with ADN degree and then received my BSN from Bellevue college.

I have been a nurse for 12 years now on April 4th. I started as a new graduate nurse in a skilled nursing facility where I gained my time management skills and a lot of other skills that we don't even utilize at my current position. I worked there for two years then moved to Swedish Issaquah. I have been working at Swedish for 9 years now. I started at a psych unit where I learnt how to defend myself from my coworkers and patients of course. I moved to tele/ICU after getting bullied by my coworkers. It's all good because I learnt how to be more patience than I normally was. I love the working on my unit. somedays I rather go to work then stay home and deal with personal problems.

my goal is to get this degree and open a nursing school for people like me who has dreams but a lot of obstacles gets in their way. language was and is a greatest obstacle. I cannot wait to graduate from this program and take my next step towards my dreams.

This picture is from New York City. I love NYC for their variety of food and shopping. we went there for my brother's wedding in June, 2024. It was the hottest week of the year. As you can see the Empire State building, is one block from where we took the picture. We did not want to spend $45 each , just to see the building from inside and from the top :)

Again, happy to be in the class. I am looking forward to a successful quarter and be with good people!

Suman

My name is Jack Jorgensen (he/him). I work as a Transition in Practice Manager on the Inpatient Cancer and Blood Disorders Unit at Seattle Children's Hospital. My role is new in the hospital and is blend between the NPDP and CPM roles. I plan the onboarding and orientation for new CNAs, Nurse Techs, and RNs and support them as their manager for the first 1-2 years of their practice. I find it really rewarding to help new hires navigate the challenges of entering the workforce in health care, and to help them find joy and passion in their work.

My clinical background is mostly in peds hem/onc, though I also worked for two years in pediatric emergency medicine. While I am passion about the pediatric cancer population, I especially loved working in the ED because it was so fast paced and task driven. I started working in nursing leadership 3 years ago when I took a job as the NPDP in the Infusion center at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Prior to nursing I got a degree in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. I chose this degree because I was a gym class hero in high school and I love playing all kinds of sports. I use knowledge from this degree in my approach to everyday life - particularly how I prioritize physical activity every day.

I am fortunate to have found a fantastic partner, Rachael (pictured with me above) who inspires me, encourages me, and makes me laugh. It is fun to try and keep up with her on bikes and running on trails. We are getting married this summer in Leavenworth, WA. Yipee!

I look forward to working with y'all this semester!

Jack

I was born and raised in Taiwan and moved to Seattle in 2010. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in Taiwan and worked as an RN there for seven years—four years in the emergency department (ED) and three years as a Nursing Education Development Coordinator.

Moving to the U.S., meant learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. After relocating, I was a stay-at-home mom for 12 years. In 2022, once both of my children started school, I was finally able to return to my nursing career. Currently, I work full-time as an RN in a Med/Surg unit at Swedish Hospital. It’s been a completely new experience compared to my previous roles in the ED and as a nursing education coordinator. I really enjoy my current unit—it has a super welcoming and warm environment. I also have many opportunities to care for patients with a wide variety of diagnoses, which I find very rewarding.

I live with my husband and our two energetic, social children—an 11-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl. Outside of work, I spend a lot of time on my kids’ sports and activities, cooking, and attending family events. In the little free time I have, I enjoy watching movies, listening to music, sewing, and learning to play the cello.

The picture above is of me, my husband, and our two kids at one of our favorite places—Victoria, BC. Last year, we visited again and had our first (and probably last!) experience taking a seaplane. We got a great deal thanks to the currency exchange rate, and it was an unforgettable adventure with an incredible view of Victoria from the sky. However, it will likely be our last time flying on a seaplane—my son got seasick, and we were all relieved once we landed!

Looking forward for spring quarter, and seeing you all soon!!

In 2016 I decided to take another shot at nursing and started the BSN program at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I graduated in 2018 and again bounced around jobs - trauma ICU, med surg, public health, school nursing. Frankly I was beginning to think the nursing gig was, in fact, not for me, and then I found my way to the operating room and haven't looked back. I started the OR nurse residency program at UWMC-NW in 2021, shortly after became an assistant nurse manager at the outpatient surgery center, and I am currently the clinical nurse specialist for perioperative services. I love the OR and I really love my current job.

This is one of my favorite photos of my kids - Asha and Keiran. We love to thrift and find outrageous things. We found these too cool sunglasses in a small thrift shop during a trip to Huntington Beach. I thought to share a picture of my kids because Asha, my oldest, is turning 20 today and that feels like a near impossibility. Kind of how school full time and work full time feels like a near impossibility sometimes - yet here we are! So happy to be in it with this amazing group of people!

Cheers friends, Hillary

My name is Norma (she/her), and I am a nurse, wife, and mom living in Lake Forest Park. I work at UWMC-NW as Stroke Coordinator, but before that was an ER nurse there out of new grad residency since 2014.

I graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 with a BA in Integrative Biology, worked in basic science research for five years while applying to medical school (thank goodness I never got in!) and then went to nursing school at Shoreline Community College, earning an ADN. I worked in the ER precepting, charging, mentoring, and chairing our UPC. I grew up in that unit and then was considered to fill the Stroke coordinator role where I get to continue to work alongside the ER folks and now the med/tele, ICU, and STAT teams more closely. I love this role and stroke care!

This photo is of my family in Tokyo Disney last year when we visited for the Tokyo Marathon that my husband ran. This was the first international trip for our kids and they did well! We would love to return and visit the Philippines and then Italy as well. Thanks for reading!

My name is Jen and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I currently work as a service line coordinator for breast, plastic, otolaryngology, and oral maxillofacial surgery in the Operating Room at UWMC – Northwest. I have some prior experience in long-term care and public health. I received my BSN in the Philippines at Saint Louis University in Baguio City.

This picture was taken at Balboa Park in San Diego, California with my brother, Jesse, and my sister-in-law, Jennie. I love to visit them and enjoy the sunny weather, beaches, and food of SoCal.

I’m looking forward to a great quarter!

-Jen

My name is Ana Penha. I work as an Oncology Nurse at the V.A medical center. Tomorrow will be my first day working in my new job at a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and I am very excited, mostly since I am no longer a night shift nurse. Can’t wait to have a normal sleep cycle.

The picture I posted was the last vacation with my family. My two boys Ralph and Liam and my husband Peter. We were celebrating my son’s acceptance to college while enjoying each other as a family in an amazing vacation that included England, Portugal and Spain. I miss that day so much. We had a great time.

My name is Daysi, and my pronouns are she/her. I was born in Seattle and raised up north in Everett, but both of my parents are immigrants from Central America. I speak two languages, and although I don’t have an accent, I still find myself struggling with the English language at times because I often mix it with Spanish vocabulary—it actually helps me understand things better that way.

I began my nursing journey at the age of 16, inspired by a home health nurse who visited me during my pregnancy as a teen mom. She helped prepare me for motherhood and made such a meaningful impact on my life that I knew I wanted to pursue a similar path—one where I could also make a difference in the lives of underprivileged individuals.

After high school, I went straight to college. Once I completed the necessary prerequisites, I applied to the nursing program at my community college. The program was incredibly challenging for me—it pushed me in every area of my life, especially in terms of my English, time management, and communication skills. But I completed it, and without delay, I continued on to pursue my BSN at UW.

Since graduating as a nurse, I’ve worked in a variety of specialties over the past four years—starting in Med-Surg, then moving to home health, a skilled nursing facility, dermatology, school nursing management, and most recently, as a circulator in surgery. I've taken on all of these roles in my journey to find where I truly fit in as a nurse.

While it's hard to say exactly where I belong, I do feel a sense of fulfillment. My experiences in healthcare have shown me many gaps that still need to be addressed—such as passive-aggressive behavior among coworkers, unnecessary administrative tasks, and ineffective management. These challenges have inspired me to step into leadership, where I hope to help improve communication, support staff, and rebuild healthy work environments.

It’s not always easy. As a Latina, I feel the pressure to be mindful and work ten times harder just to have a voice at the table. But I’m hopeful. By pursuing my master’s degree, I want to build a career where my voice matters, and my contributions are truly valued.