Georgina Villarreal, RN-MSN, or Nurse Georgie, is determined to empower nurses and active women in everyday life. Her latest venture is holding a class on how to protect yourself through self-defense.
Villarreal, from Huntington Beach, California, has worked as a nurse in medical-surgery, oncology, telemetry, orthopedics, and, for the past couple of years, on the COVID floor. While being diligent in her nurse duties, she found time to create her first business: She Can Be Both.
“That was inspired by the fact that a lot of women in health care — and nursing specifically — have two roles,” she told Nurse.org. “I love being a nurse. I love being an entrepreneur, so I do both.”
In the interview, Villarreal speaks on being a huge fan of wrestling, superficially WWE. She reached out to three-time WWE champion Eve Torres Gracie about her idea of hosting a self-defense seminar for health care professionals.
The first event was held in Torrance, California, with more than 350 health care professionals — mostly nurses — participating. The free workshop focused on Brazilian jiu-jitsu, with specific moves if attacked while walking to your car or dealing with a patient in the hospital.
Learning self-defense is important to Villarreal because she, like many nurses, has experienced violence with a patient.
It escalated “so quickly — one minute she was fine, and then the next minute she’s yelling at me, threatening to throw me against the wall,” she told Nurse.org, “and then the doctor comes and they’re trying to help and then the doctor gets hurt. And then I’m like giving her shot in the butt on the floor.”
On average, 25% of nurses experience workplace assaults at least once in their career. With violence against health care professionals rising — especially during the pandemic — Villarreal is working to help her fellow nurses be prepared.
“It’s just really empowering — I feel safe,” she said. “And you know, that makes me feel more confident as like a woman too.”
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