Nurse Bertha Flores: My Summer At The NIH
Bertha Flores became a nurse to educate women. For years,
she worked in the a variety of
OB/Gyn clinical settings where she
noticed that Hispanic women were not coming in for their routine exam.
“We know that HPV is
a major cause of cervical cancer, so when I noticed that Hispanic women weren’t
getting screened because lack of insurance or not feeling comfortable,” she
said, “I knew a different approach was
needed.”
Flores started studying what motivated people to get
screenings through informational interviews but when she read an article about
how different types of people may be more susceptible to HPV, she decided that
she needed further education.
Her passion for health literacy led her to apply to the NIH Summer Genetics Institute where she would receive hands-on training in
research.
The Summer Genetics Institute is a month long intensive
program sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda.
The program provides a foundation in molecular genetics.
Flores was one of 25 selected to attend.
“This was my first experience in a lab focused on genetics and
I found it fascinating. It was so beneficial to have the opportunity for a
hands-on experience,” Flores said. “Learning about the techniques of micropipettes,
serological pipettes and the preparation of culture media has really enhanced
my perspective for research in genetics.”
Flores explained that as a nurse, it was important for her to
understand the laboratory techniques behind her work.
“I needed to understand the basics. Many times it is the
nurse who helps to answer questions for patients,” she said. “We see a lab
report and you think now I know the procedures behind it.”
Flores recommends that more nurses take part in the NIH
Summer Genetics Research Program.
“Nurses today need to learn about genetics because it’s a large component of health. It is one thing to
understand the theory but it is another to have the experience in the lab. Now
the theories made sense as the lab and really brought it to life,” she said.
While at the NIH Summer Genetics Institute, Flores was able
to gain more knowledge about how genetic conditions impact personalized
medicine.
“The institute helped me understand that the end
result of health care will be personalized medicine,” she said.
Last summer, she was awarded a fellowship from the Texas Center For Health Disparities to further her research.
“I’m now expanding on cultural barriers that are factors in
cancer screenings. I’m looking at male views of female screenings; I found some
females felt that males weren’t as supportive from lack of understanding,” she
said. “We still have more work to do.”