Brenda Trask, Parish Nurse
I grew up in Florida and as a youngster was climbing trees, riding bikes and hanging out at the beach or swimming pool. My younger sister and I were raised in the Southern Baptist tradition and attended church Sunday morning and evening and on Wednesday evenings for supper and bible study. When I went to Florida State University to study nursing I attended the Methodist church up the hill from my sorority house and stayed a Methodist from that time on.
After moving to Atlanta and starting a family I found myself alone. After 10 years of marriage I needed a solid way to take care of myself and two children. With 13 years of experience as a registered nurse I entered the Air Force and was first assigned to a surgical unit at Wilford Hall in San Antonio, Texas.
It was quite a challenge to move from Atlanta to San Antonio with the children and pets, establish a home, enroll the children in school and start a new job. It was during that first assignment that I met my husband, Alan. Follow on assignments were in the upper plains states as part of the Strategic Air Command. I have fond memories of our time in Minot, N.D. as an educator. I coordinated classes and certification for the emergency medical technicians on base and in the surrounding towns. I functioned as the infection control nurse there and attended class at the CDC in Atlanta. So now you know why I am such a fan of hand washing with soap and water. A big highlight of that assignment was the purchase of two young Arabian horses that stayed in my life as companion animals for many years.
The next assignment in Rapid City, S.D. threw me a curve since it was a change in clinical practice; from adult health to labor and delivery. With the help of the midwives I persevered in refreshing my skills and as a result knew lots of families on base because I was the head nurse on labor and delivery. When we moved to Rapid City it was with two horses, a dog, a cat and all the cars and horse trailers you might imagine would be needed. Our neighbors were pretty worried until we pulled the truck and horse trailer out of town to the boarding stable.
My master’s degree in nursing education was completed in Omaha, NE. at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I left the Air Force in order to keep the family together and worked in ICU at a civilian hospital on weekends in order to fit work around classes and study. Yes, there were horses, dogs, a cat and of course the children and my husband, Alan.
We came to Virginia 22 years ago. I started at the Visiting Nurses of Northern Virginia as manager of Maternal Child Health services and progressed up the organization to Vice President of Clinical Services. I loved my home care experience Little did I know that this work was foundational to completing a certificate in parish nursing at Wesley Seminary program for lay leaders.
After moving to Atlanta and starting a family I found myself alone. After 10 years of marriage I needed a solid way to take care of myself and two children. With 13 years of experience as a registered nurse I entered the Air Force and was first assigned to a surgical unit at Wilford Hall in San Antonio, Texas.
It was quite a challenge to move from Atlanta to San Antonio with the children and pets, establish a home, enroll the children in school and start a new job. It was during that first assignment that I met my husband, Alan. Follow on assignments were in the upper plains states as part of the Strategic Air Command. I have fond memories of our time in Minot, N.D. as an educator. I coordinated classes and certification for the emergency medical technicians on base and in the surrounding towns. I functioned as the infection control nurse there and attended class at the CDC in Atlanta. So now you know why I am such a fan of hand washing with soap and water. A big highlight of that assignment was the purchase of two young Arabian horses that stayed in my life as companion animals for many years.
The next assignment in Rapid City, S.D. threw me a curve since it was a change in clinical practice; from adult health to labor and delivery. With the help of the midwives I persevered in refreshing my skills and as a result knew lots of families on base because I was the head nurse on labor and delivery. When we moved to Rapid City it was with two horses, a dog, a cat and all the cars and horse trailers you might imagine would be needed. Our neighbors were pretty worried until we pulled the truck and horse trailer out of town to the boarding stable.
My master’s degree in nursing education was completed in Omaha, NE. at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I left the Air Force in order to keep the family together and worked in ICU at a civilian hospital on weekends in order to fit work around classes and study. Yes, there were horses, dogs, a cat and of course the children and my husband, Alan.
We came to Virginia 22 years ago. I started at the Visiting Nurses of Northern Virginia as manager of Maternal Child Health services and progressed up the organization to Vice President of Clinical Services. I loved my home care experience Little did I know that this work was foundational to completing a certificate in parish nursing at Wesley Seminary program for lay leaders.