BREMERTON, Wash. - Lt. Cmdr. Candice Kline, from Arlington, Texas, and assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB), joined the Navy under the Nurse Candidate Program while in nursing school and then attended Officer Indoctrination School in 2006 following graduation.
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| Lt. Cmdr. Candice Kline, left, a Navy nurse assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB), talks with Airman Darcie Perez during a Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program (MECP) meet-and-greet, Oct. 15, 2019. |
“I always wanted to be a nurse," said Kline. "My brother had been a nuke in the Navy and I always loved how it felt like a family when I went to visit him on base. I was also attracted by all the opportunities to practice nursing in a variety of settings and live in many different places.”
Being able to practice and travel around the world is exactly what Kline did. Kline said she watched President Obama give a press conference about sending aid after the Haiti earthquake and decided she should prepare to go.
“Later that morning my department head called and said, ‘hey, no joke, can you leave for Haiti in an hour?’” she recalled.
Eager to fulfill why she joined, Kline left later that day for Cuba where she assisted a small Navy hospital receive casualties from the earthquake.
“I was so excited," said Kline. "It was everything I wanted when I joined the Navy. It was a surreal experience and one I will never forget. That morning I was sitting on my couch and then that night I was riding a fast boat across the bay in Cuba.”
As a member of the Navy Nurse Corps, Kline explained the importance of also being Registered Nurse-Board Certified Medical Surgical Nursing qualified in Navy Medicine and how her specialty expertise impacts patient-centered care treatment.
“Medical-surgical nurses care for patients that are sick enough to be hospitalized, but not sick enough for critical care’” she said. “They can be dealing with any type of medical or surgical issue. Perhaps both. We holistically treat the patient and help them heal and improve to get back home or to another care facility.”
Recently, NHB joined the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses in celebrating people like Kline by recognizing Nov. 1-7 as Medical-Surgical Nurse Week.
When asked how being a Navy Nurse Corps officer relates to the week-long celebration, Kline said, "Navy Nurses can “flex and mold to help in nearly any area.”
“We have to remain flexible and respond to the needs of the Navy and our commands,” she said. “We can be tasked to fill many different positions and are considered the jack-of-all-trades nurses. That week we highlighted how special medical-surgical nurses are to the Navy and how we wouldn't be able to fulfill our mission without them.”
During her 13 year Navy career, Navy Medicine has taken Kline to Bethesda, Md., Jacksonville, Fla., Yokosuka, Japan, San Diego, and Bremerton, Wash. While stationed in Jacksonville, she met her husband.
“We dated for a month before getting engaged and then were married six months after that," said Kline. "We now have two children and been married eight years."
When asked to sum up her experience with Navy Medicine in one sentence, Kline simply replied, “While incredibly difficult (at times), this career and life can be extremely rewarding.”
**See links below for additional photos**
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navyoutreach/49100019376/in/dateposted/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navyoutreach/49100207432/in/dateposted/
During her 13 year Navy career, Navy Medicine has taken Kline to Bethesda, Md., Jacksonville, Fla., Yokosuka, Japan, San Diego, and Bremerton, Wash. While stationed in Jacksonville, she met her husband.
“We dated for a month before getting engaged and then were married six months after that," said Kline. "We now have two children and been married eight years."
When asked to sum up her experience with Navy Medicine in one sentence, Kline simply replied, “While incredibly difficult (at times), this career and life can be extremely rewarding.”
**See links below for additional photos**
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navyoutreach/49100019376/in/dateposted/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/navyoutreach/49100207432/in/dateposted/