NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF HISPANIC NURSES
Meet A Member
Daniel Gallegos, MSN, ANP
Q: What motivated you to get into nursing?
A: In high school I wanted to be a veterinarian however, there was no way that my mom could help with the cost of college. After graduation, I joined the Navy was a Corpsman and ended up staying in almost 11 years, by this time I really enjoyed taking care of people so I decided to follow that career. I started college and my first step into the civilian world of medicine was as a paramedic working with an ambulance service in San Diego, CA. Unfortunately, my college career took several decades in order to complete. My next major step was graduating with my A.S. degree as a registered respiratory therapist but I knew that this was not the last step in my career where I wanted to stop. During this time I spent several years teaching first year respiratory students and found that I really enjoyed it and actually had a knack for it. I graduated from Grand Canyon University in 1989 with my B.S.N. and worked the gamut from trauma intensive care to home health. I finally had a chance to return or my Master's in 2004 and completed it in two and one-half years while also working three jobs. (I did not incur any debt though). Now I am at the point where I believe my career needs to be, as long as my physical health holds up, I will continue to see patients. When I feel I can no longer (physically) accomplish that, I certainly want to return to teaching. Long ways from a veterinarian!!!
Q: Why did you join NAHN?
A: I strongly believe that as a professional, one needs to be involved in an organization that will help make you a stronger person by becoming involved with the community that you serve not just as a nurse or nurse practitioner but as a part of that community. It is, however, quite a challenge being able to participate in different projects when you are extremely busy wtih your job but I certainly look forward to that accomplishment. The other reason is cultural; I have never considered myself very cultural. As a matter of fact, only until recently would I mark any forms with "Hispanic" or "Latino." But as I matured in my Hispanic culture, I started to notice that there were quite a few younger Latinos that were not as fortunate as I had been. I believe that NAHN will allow me to show these younger nursing students and nurses that it can be done and that there are people around to help you accomplish your goal.
Q: Where are you currently working?
A: I presently work at Arizona Lung, Sleep and Valley Fever Institute with Dr. J. Brar in Surprise, AZ. I am still trying to get accustomed to working with only one disease and as a specialist when in Pennsylvania I was working in a Community Clinic seeing quite a variety of illnesses.
Q: Tell us something about yourself our membership should know about you? (Academically or professionally)
A: As you get to know me you will notice that I like a "variety" in my life. Even though my passion is treating people, I love animals (wild and domestic). While in Pennsylvania, I was licensed as a Wildlife Rehabilitator in the categories of passerines, mammals and raptors. (Song birds, mammals and birds of prey) This was a job that no one paid us (my wife was talked into helping; however, she would not cut up "pinkies" (baby, hairless mice) for the raptors to eat. We would rehabilitate dozens of squirrels a season and of course many raptors to keep the population in an even keel. Spring was the craziest time, people bringing in injured (and non-injured) babies that they would find out in the woods. We were responsible for the entire northern part of Adams County which is probably the size of Maricopa County here.
After three years, I gave it up to pursue the "bad guys." I became a Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer for the State of Pennsylvania, in my same county. It was an awesome job, working with the public and educating them about the wildlife and also arresting and convicting poachers.
So keep this in mind, who knows what will be next!!
A: In high school I wanted to be a veterinarian however, there was no way that my mom could help with the cost of college. After graduation, I joined the Navy was a Corpsman and ended up staying in almost 11 years, by this time I really enjoyed taking care of people so I decided to follow that career. I started college and my first step into the civilian world of medicine was as a paramedic working with an ambulance service in San Diego, CA. Unfortunately, my college career took several decades in order to complete. My next major step was graduating with my A.S. degree as a registered respiratory therapist but I knew that this was not the last step in my career where I wanted to stop. During this time I spent several years teaching first year respiratory students and found that I really enjoyed it and actually had a knack for it. I graduated from Grand Canyon University in 1989 with my B.S.N. and worked the gamut from trauma intensive care to home health. I finally had a chance to return or my Master's in 2004 and completed it in two and one-half years while also working three jobs. (I did not incur any debt though). Now I am at the point where I believe my career needs to be, as long as my physical health holds up, I will continue to see patients. When I feel I can no longer (physically) accomplish that, I certainly want to return to teaching. Long ways from a veterinarian!!!
Q: Why did you join NAHN?
A: I strongly believe that as a professional, one needs to be involved in an organization that will help make you a stronger person by becoming involved with the community that you serve not just as a nurse or nurse practitioner but as a part of that community. It is, however, quite a challenge being able to participate in different projects when you are extremely busy wtih your job but I certainly look forward to that accomplishment. The other reason is cultural; I have never considered myself very cultural. As a matter of fact, only until recently would I mark any forms with "Hispanic" or "Latino." But as I matured in my Hispanic culture, I started to notice that there were quite a few younger Latinos that were not as fortunate as I had been. I believe that NAHN will allow me to show these younger nursing students and nurses that it can be done and that there are people around to help you accomplish your goal.
Q: Where are you currently working?
A: I presently work at Arizona Lung, Sleep and Valley Fever Institute with Dr. J. Brar in Surprise, AZ. I am still trying to get accustomed to working with only one disease and as a specialist when in Pennsylvania I was working in a Community Clinic seeing quite a variety of illnesses.
Q: Tell us something about yourself our membership should know about you? (Academically or professionally)
A: As you get to know me you will notice that I like a "variety" in my life. Even though my passion is treating people, I love animals (wild and domestic). While in Pennsylvania, I was licensed as a Wildlife Rehabilitator in the categories of passerines, mammals and raptors. (Song birds, mammals and birds of prey) This was a job that no one paid us (my wife was talked into helping; however, she would not cut up "pinkies" (baby, hairless mice) for the raptors to eat. We would rehabilitate dozens of squirrels a season and of course many raptors to keep the population in an even keel. Spring was the craziest time, people bringing in injured (and non-injured) babies that they would find out in the woods. We were responsible for the entire northern part of Adams County which is probably the size of Maricopa County here.
After three years, I gave it up to pursue the "bad guys." I became a Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer for the State of Pennsylvania, in my same county. It was an awesome job, working with the public and educating them about the wildlife and also arresting and convicting poachers.
So keep this in mind, who knows what will be next!!
