Alicia Rosiu

Alicia Rosiu, RN, BSN

at Baylor Scott & White Health

JENNY TWITCHELL Special to The Eagle

In life and in nursing, Alicia Rosiu, RN, BSN, doesn’t back down from challenges. In fact, she’s drawn to them.

“My entire career I’ve almost always had two jobs,” Rosiu said. “I like things that keep me busy and give me variety.”

When Rosiu was completing her clinical rotations to become a licensed vocation nurse (LVN) at the corrections facility in Huntsville, she would hear other nursing students say how much they didn’t want to work at the prison because they couldn’t look past reasons why someone may be there. But Rosiu said she never thought twice about it. She hoped to be hired on at the facility after completing school and was thrilled when she was off ered a position upon graduation in 2011.

“It was my dream job,” she said. “I wanted that unit. I got to do a lot of things that most people will never get to do or see. Also, I very much enjoyed that I could take care of a patient population that other people don’t necessarily think to take care of or can’t set aside their own personal biases to take care of and just look at the patient in front of them.”

She gained valuable experience working in the prison by learning how to connect with patients without passing any judgement.

“I got a lot of respect and appreciation, which you may not think you would get in that setting, so it was really rewarding to take care of someone who appreciated not feeling like they were being judged and that I was just there to help,” Rosiu said.

Rosiu carried that nonjudgmental attitude and work ethic into other career endeavors, which include working in hospitals, the Brazos County Jail, a heart failure clinic, and clinics at CHI St. Joseph Regional Health Center. She also went back to school to earn her BSN and is almost done with her master’s in nursing.

Currently, Rosiu works as one of the night charges in the emergency room at Baylor Scott & White Health, which she’s been doing since 2018. She enjoys the variety of care she provides including helping get the resources they need, something she learned to do while working in rural communities.

“Some people you see are coming in for the 18th visit, but you don’t necessarily ask why they are coming in so often,” Rosiu said. “So, it’s really important to really listen to why people think they can’t get a primary care doctor or don’t know where to begin to get established care.”

Helping people gain a stronger foundation is what Rosiu enjoys most as a nurse.

“When someone is lacking a resource, and I am able to provide that for them, that has always made my heart happy,” she said. “I could be having the worst day ever and knowing they have something they didn’t have before and they can now help themselves and help themselves be better, that is my favorite thing that renews my passion to wake up, put on my stethoscope, my scrubs, and other equipment, because I might make a diff erence that day.”

True to Rosiu’s work ethic, she is also currently a clinical teaching assistant at Blinn College for the nursing program.

“Sometimes it’s hard when you work at night to then go into teaching being fresh and lively and giving them everything they deserve from you,” Rosiu said. “But it gives me a break from bedside burnout and renews my passion to help future generations of nurses.”

One of those critical skills she hopes to pass on is good communication. Even though the emergency room during the night shift can be chaotic, she stays in close communication with patients and their families.

“If you can give someone an update, communicate well and make sure that they feel and are heard by acknowledging their hurt and giving them feedback, they will have a better experience even if they are there for an hour, a week or a few days,” Rosiu said.

The combination of being a perpetual learner and staying calm in chaos is what makes her a great leader in the emergency room, said Debby York, RN, BSN, regional ER director at Baylor Scott & White.

“She really is able to make the whole team better,” York said. “She remains calm during hectic environments and is really an educator at heart. She likes to train and coach up her colleagues on new and diff erent procedures. She has an affi nity for learning the newest things and teaching them to other people.”