Yasmine Beausejour migrated from Haiti to Brooklyn at the age of 15. When she was a student at Wingate High School, she discovered the healthcare field as a volunteer at Downstate Hospital.
Launching her life’s work, she says, “My sister-in-law invited me to take the entrance exam for licensed practical nursing at Vocational Educational Extension Board (VEEB).” That was the beginning for her career that has spanned 21 years.
From a home health attendant and licensed practical nurse, Ms. Beausejour moved up the ladder. She became a registered nurse with an Associates of Applied Science degree and then earned her Bachelor of Science of Nursing degree. This registered nurse works at Northwell Health.
Ms. Beausejour cites the nursing home Director of Nursing Phyllis Quinlan as an inspiration, “She always stressed how important it is to get certified and that to become a leader is to be proactive.”
She also thanks her husband Patrick Beausejour for being the biggest influence on her career with his continuous backing and “encouraging me to go higher in my education.”
She says, “He has been supportive of every tough decision that I had to make to get to this level. Whenever self-doubt tries to set in, he has always been the one to remind me that I can do it.”
One of Ms. Beausejour’s biggest challenges was the transition to a hospital setting and later from working in medical-surgical unit to the critical care unit.
This nurse spent four years working in the Intensive Care Unit / Critical Care Unit setting. “I encountered some great challenges that ultimately shaped my views and thinking of the nursing process,” she says.
Ms. Beausejour is active with the hospital’s wound care champion committee. She is also concentrating on applying to become a nurse educator.
