By Makeda White
Keisha Lewis- Nesbitt, a Registered Nurse for 22 years, has turned her childhood passion for education into a children’s book centered around nursing. The book Discover the World of Nursing “Become A Home Health Nurse,” is the beginning of a series of books highlighting different specialties of nursing for elementary-aged children.
Through her animated alter ego, Nurse Ke Ke, Lewis-Nesbitt takes readers on an interactive journey into the day to day life of a home health care nurse. She hopes that through Nurse Ke Ke, more children will be open to the idea of nursing.
Bronze Magazine: Describe yourself in five words.
Keisha Lewis-Nesbitt: I would say creative, visionary, leader, optimistic, and supporter.
BM: You recently published your first book, Discover The World of Nursing “Become A Home Health Nurse.” Tell us about it.
KLN: Since I am a home health nurse, the book is part of a series that is shedding light on specialties in nursing. This particular book sheds light on home health nursing, which is basically a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse who can go to the home of patients of all ages, providing some of the same functions that can be performed in a hospital.
BM: Your book has been attracting a lot of attention. What do you hope readers gain from reading it?
KLN: I’d like to catch the eye of elementary school-age children because I have found that when they think of nursing, they have only images of nurses that work in a hospital or a clinic; like when they visit their doctor. So, I grab the attention of children when they are just starting to think about their career goals. I prefer to reach them through storytelling vs. a video, because it’s something that they can have a discussion around with their parents.
BM: You describe nursing as your passion. Can you just describe to me your journey finding this passion, or was it something you’ve always wanted to do?
KLN: Actually, I’ve always been an educator by nature. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. So, a group of my colleagues were discussing how a lot of brown girls and boys don’t go into nursing, and if they do it’s later in life because they don’t really know what it entails. So, we’re having a discussion like, “You know we should write children’s books…” and basically it took off from there.
“A lot of brown girls and boys don’t go into nursing, and if they do it’s later in life because they don’t really know what it entails.
BM: If you could be anything else besides a nurse what would you be?
KLN: I’d probably be an event planner. I like planning events and making people happy, surrounded around some type of milestone in their life and bringing their vision to life.
BM: We are still currently experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic as the country is attempting to contain the coronavirus. Is there anything you would like to say?
KLN: To the public I’d like to say that it is real and very easy to contract, so it is very important for people to stay at home.
BM: Any last remarks regarding your book?
KLN: I would ask people to not only purchase my book, but there is a series of different books that will be coming afterwards for small elementary-age children again focusing on what nursing is and what it’s not. Now that we have this pandemic, nurses are being seen more, whether on billboards or whatever type of marketing being done out there. I just want to get the buzz out there for children to know that there are other jobs or careers that they can explore.
