Kay McAnally

Background

About Kay McAnally

My passion for reproductive health and justice guides every professional and academic step I take. I aim to become a Nurse Midwife and integrate healthcare modalities in order to educate and empower people's reproductive decisions. My varied professional experiences as a doula, nurse-coordinator, production editor, and CNA have taught me applicable skills that I now employ in every position. Most recently, I became licensed as a CNA and built upon my knowledge of patient-facing medical practices. I learned more about infection control, scope of practice, activities of daily living, and became certified in CPR/AED basic life support. I feel prepared to excel in this role thanks to the skills I practiced as a doula, in the classroom, and at our clinical training site. As a production editor at Giddy, a sexual health platform, I manage the editorial publishing flow, acted as a liaison among departments, and built articles in the back end of our website. I learned to identify work-flow problems and develop streamlined solutions. At the start of the pandemic, I gained experience in the healthcare field managing a COVID-19 testing center. I developed my organizational and leadership skills as the start-up grew, all in an effort to decrease COVID-19 transmission. Before the pandemic, I attended a number of births as a certified doula. These experiences increased my interest in pregnancy, birth, and reproductive justice. As a doula, I honed my ability to communicate clearly and emotionally attune with clients. These professional experiences were build on the foundation of my undergraduate degree. I curated my own major at LMU, which enabled me to study both Health and Human Sciences alongside Women's and Gender Studies. This unique mix of subjects encouraged me to engage with the social injustices in both fields. At LMU, I learned to think critically about healthcare institutions and reproductive bodies. My individualized major also taught me to be proactive and resourceful when faced with a challenge. I apply these critical thinking skills every day at work, and aim to further develop them in any role I may have moving forward.