IANANT Nurse Spotlight - Lakshmi Manoj

Lakshmi Manoj, BSN, RN, CMSRN
Clinical Nurse, Mother & Baby
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano

Lakshmi recently made a bold move in changing her nursing specialty from neuro-science and spine unit to mother and baby unit. Lakshmi is a hard-working clinical nurse, who has never hesitated to take up the challenges to learn and grow in various fields of nursing. After 15 years of nursing experience in India and then in Sultanate of Oman, she moved to the United States. She completed her bachelor’s in nursing and is actively engaged in professional development activities. She has achieved Level IV through Nursing Career Advancement Program and inspires others to learn and grow. She chose nursing, as she wanted to be, in a profession that focuses on helping people. We learned some interesting facts about this nurse who never hesitates to challenge herself to learn something new to make sure that she never loses her passion in caring for others.

How did you land in your current specialty? What’s your typical work-day look like?

In order to expand my knowledge and experience, I have recently shifted to the mother & baby unit in my organization. Previously, I worked in the neuro and cardiac telemetry floors for over 25 years. I believe the new experiences I learn in this unit will help me further my career even more. Being the charge nurse of a neuro unit previously, every day was hectic and challenging. I wanted to try something different, so I transferred to the mother and baby unit. Now every day is filled with learning and experiencing new situations. I get to work with both new mothers and infants who have just entered this world.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I used to work with patients who were 90 plus years old and confused, but now I’m on a unit which takes care of patients who are less than 2 days into life. It feels like I have worked to understand the full life cycle of a human being, which is interesting and has been fulfilling.

How has nursing changed your life?

Nursing has made me stronger as a person. I have taken on new challenges and learned many things that I can use in my everyday life. I have never experienced joblessness because of the demand.

What do you do for professional development? Any advice for new and future nurses?

I make sure to keep myself updated with the latest nursing knowledge and education through lots of online classes. I also love having new experiences in the field of nursing. I started nursing in a place and at a time when people didn’t have much respect for this profession, but now everything has changed. Now we have a lot of opportunities for growth and learning. To the future nurses, I want to say, “make good use of the opportunities available to learn and grow.”

What is one surprise thing that others do not know about you?

I am a Reiki healer. I got a master’s degree in Reiki healing (an energy healing subset of alternate medicine that promotes relaxation and reduces stress and anxiety through gentle touch techniques). I got this special training in India and my guru is Dr. Sowdhamini.  

 *If you want an IANANT nurse to be nominated for “Nurse Spotlight” please send the nomination to indianamericannurses@gmail.com

Interviewed by:
Viji George, MA, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC
Professional Development and Education Chair
IANANT