Student Interview: Lily Williams- Nursing Major and WGS Minor
Genesis Madu: Good Morning Lily! Thank you so much again for sitting down with me and
agreeing to this interview as we really appreciate it, and are so excited about WGS’s new
partnership with the School of Nursing. So the first question is, when did you become a Nursing
major and what are your specific career goals?
Lily Williams: I’ve been thinking about Nursing for a long time, I have naturally been helping
take care of people in my life from a pretty young age, being the eldest of three girls, my mom
surviving breast cancer in middle school, then moving in with my grandparents, one with
dementia and the other lung cancer. Nursing just fit perfectly. Ideally, I’d start in pediatrics, then
transitioning into Women’s Health. My big picture dream would be to eventually open my own
clinic for women and LGBTQ+ patients providing comprehensive health care (similar to Planned
Parenthood) that also has focuses on victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and
abortion care advocacy.
Genesis Madu: Three Nursing courses now count as WGS electives: NUR 300 Health
Assessment Through the Lifespan; NUR 414 Nursing Care Management of Women, Infants and
Families; and NUR 452 Community and Population Healthcare. Have you taken any of these
courses so far, and if so, which ones?
Lily Williams: Yes, I took NUR 300 junior year, NUR 300 and the clinical this past fall, and I am
currently in Community and Population nursing this spring.
Genesis Madu: When you learned that these courses could now be counted as WGS electives,
were you surprised, and if so why, and if not, why not?
Lily Williams: In NUR 414, we had a really great opportunity to attend one of the WGS events
that included a panel with a OB/GYN from the hospital I have clinicals in. We spoke with her
about the state of abortion access and care within the state of Maine, and that was when I really
began to get involved with WGS events and I believe that it was a great way to bridge both
majors (Nursing & WGS) for the first time, which was a really perfect integration for both of my
passions.
Genesis Madu: And were you surprised at all to learn that these Nursing courses would now be
counted as WGS electives?
Lily Williams: I was actually really excited when I learned about this opportunity, because
there’s a lot of things that come up in these courses that totally involve the healthcare part of
WGS, so I was definitely excited that these classes counted and they should. I believe that these
classes should possibly contain more of these WGS aspects and more of the comprehensive
healthcare side of things, because a lot of healthcare was heavily focused on men, forgetting
everyone else who comprises the population. Learning and understanding how to take care of
patients from all backgrounds and identities is a huge part of healthcare and making sure that our
patient interactions take the actual patient into account.
Genesis Madu: We’d love to hear any examples of materials you’ve either covered in any of
these classes that seem to correlate or that you believe could even possibly be enhanced by future
WGS courses!
Lily Williams: In NUR 300, we read parts of the book “Privilege, Power and Difference” written
by Allan G. Johnson, and I think that was the biggest part of that class where we dove further
into the inequality part of healthcare and being able to link the everyday realities of inequality
with healthcare. I think that was the first time that we had specifically seen that in our Nursing
classes. For obstetrics, a class all about women and women’s reproductive health, we were able
to talk about the state of birth control and reproductive health access too. Obviously it’s tough for
professors to best ensure the content isn’t misconstrued as politically leaning, but I think that it
was very important that within that class we talked about the facts and the instances when
abortion is healthcare. I think that factor gets lost a lot and people forget the healthcare
perspective and medical necessity. We were able to talk about how direly women with certain
medical conditions need to have access to that type of health care, as well as talking about the
different types of birth controls and what works for some people versus others. I was able to
collaborate on what I learned in WGS 101, reading “Gendered Worlds,” which described the
impact healthcare has outside of standardized medical care.
Genesis Madu: How might minoring in WGS contribute to both your educational and future
career goals?
Lily Williams: I think WGS has played a huge role in providing the opportunity to combine both
nursing and women’s/LGBTQ health at a greater level. In high school, I worked as a peer
educator for Planned Parenthood, which was the very first time that my passions intertwined. It
was a really formative job for me. Combining the Nursing and WGS classes together definitely
boosts my ability to provide comprehensive and holistic care that is respectful, compassionate
and understanding is super important. Being able to provide a space in the healthcare system that
allows patients who constantly feel discriminated against or treated poorly in prior health
experiences, being able to have healthcare practitioners, nurses and doctors and such that
actually allow patients to feel like they are freed and open to share details that can be very
significant to their care is super important. I also think that these WGS classes help broaden
these perspectives that we have and with Nursing that’s very important because we want to make
sure that our patients feel open and free to share whatever details they like with us without fear
of bias or being treated differently or having judgment.
Genesis Madu: Our last question is sort of the reverse of the last. How might patients seeking
care benefit from Nurses who take WGS coursework? For example, what are your thoughts
(however preliminary) about how gender, sexuality, and other identity markers like social class,
race, age, ability, etc., might factor into health care—from whether or not someone can afford (or
feel comfortable) going to the hospital to the assumptions that a health care practitioner might
bring into their practice? In other words, what challenges might health care practitioners face in
trying to treat clients equitably and with care?
Lily Williams: The WGS courses provide an opportunity to gain a greater understanding and
deeper perspective on identity markers (class, race, gender, sexual identity/orientation, ability,
etc), and when combined with our Nursing education, can only benefit the care we provide to all
of our patients. Patients should feel free from fears of judgment or assumptions in the healthcare
setting in order to share important aspects of their identity and experiences- The care we provide
as future nurses is upgraded from what we learn (or the topics we cover) in WGS courses and
patients benefit from it too. Gender, sexuality, and other identity markers influence a patient’s
desire to access care or ability to access care because of bias within healthcare, which impacts
the health of many patients. Knowing and understanding the perspectives of patients with
different identities/backgrounds than our own is a huge part of what these WGS classes have
taught me.
Genesis Madu: Is there anything else you’d like to share? We’d love an example of material or
ideas you’ve encountered in WGS courses that have really enhanced how you think about your
career path or your coursework in your major!
Lily Williams: I’m really looking forward to the fall, I’m going to be taking WGS 230: Women,
Health & the Environment, which I’m really excited about because it dives deeper into the
connection between health issues like cancer, auto-immune diseases, infertility and
gender-transition and substances in the environment and body that impact health, on top it also
being combined with feminist analysis and encourages transformative work. So, I’m really
excited for this class, because you get to see a more holistic approach to WGS, Environmental
Studies and Nursing care all in one, and I think that’s really important and wraps around back
around into one of my Nursing classes that I’m currently taking which is Community Nursing.
During the panel with the local Obstetrician, I spoke with Dr. Neiman afterwards, and when she
had proposed the idea of counting some Nursing classes as WGS credits in order to make it more
attainable for Nursing majors to have a WGS minor, I was thrilled at that opportunity and was
honestly a little worried that it would come after I graduated, but as soon as she came into my
class this semester and told us about the opportunity, I was so excited, I emailed her right away
to declare my minor, and am so thrilled that I’ve done it and am super excited for the
opportunities that it will bring me!
Genesis Madu: Well thank you again for sitting down and talking to me today!
Lily Williams: Of course, thank you for having me!