Melva Meminger, RN

You hear it in the media. Healthcare is the place to be. Industry experts predict more than one-half a million new registered nurse (RN) positions will be created by 2018. But nursing is not for everyone. Entering this profession requires the stamina to work long hours, and mental fortitude. It also takes passion. We surveyed several nominees of Meritus Medical Center’s 2010 Professional Nurse of the Year Award, and the hospital’s vice president of nursing. Here is what they have to say about what it takes to be the best in a demanding field.

“Nursing is hard work. You can’t do it day after day if you don’t have passion—it sustains you. You impact patients and change their lives. That’s not captured in a paycheck.” Mary Towe, RN, Vice President of Nursing and RN for twenty-five years

Nursing is not a job—it is an identity. Nurses have the passion and will to care for others beyond when their shift ends. “It doesn’t bother us not to get out on time,” admitted Sheila Frankenfield, RN, Cardiac Rehab. Julianne Harp, RN of thirty-seven years and perianesthesia clinical educator, emphasizes that nursing is a profession that cannot be shut off like a machine. The patient, not the shift, dictates when a nurse can go home.

Nursing comes down to valuing people and having compassion for them. Nurses are often privileged to share in the personal and private moments in the patient’s life and death. “You treat some patients for many years and become part of their family,” said Renee Frick, RN, OCN, of the John R. Marsh Cancer Center. “It’s hard to remove yourself and do a good job in this field. Patients want to be taken care of emotionally and physically.”

“I keep in my head that this is a human being. I make eye contact and place my hand on the patient’s shoulder. Physical contact helps.” Melva Meminger, RN,  Cardiac Catheterization Lab and RN for twenty-six years

Although the physician leads the healthcare team, the nurse spends eight-to-twelve hours a day with the patient. In that time, they play the role of caregiver, companion, protector, advocator, and confidant.

Kelly Robinson, RN

“The patient relies on you. Some patients don’t have family around so you’re everything to that patient.” Kelly Robinson, RN, Progressive Care Unit, RN for thirty years and 2010 Clinical Nurse of the Year

To get a good read on a patient, nurses have to listen more than talk. And when they do talk, nurses must translate diagnoses, test results, and lifestyle changes in a language that patients can comprehend.

“You have to listen to your patients more than anything. When you ask them how they’re feeling, you sometimes have to pull it out of them. Cancer patients are not going to tell you how badly they feel.” Renee Frick, RN, OCN, John R. Marsh Cancer Center, and RN for seventeen years

Mary Towe teaches her nurses to use the “worried-about” factor combined with factual-based patient data. Asking nurses which patients they are worried about helps them think instinctively and prompts them to look for behavioral and visual patient clues. Kelly Robinson agrees that as in parenting, nursing instincts build along the way. “A nurse gains intuition over time,” added Towe. “A doctor who receives a 2 am call from an experienced nurse will jump out of bed and get to the hospital.”

A great nurse understands that her every move has far-reaching consequences. The job takes a constant sense of hard work, dedication, and scrutiny of detail. “There’s too much at risk for mistakes. Patients are depending on you,” emphasized Renee Frick.

Nurses must be prepared to address problems as or before they arise—and wear many hats. “You cross over and do someone else’s job. It doesn’t matter because it’s about the patient. If a room can’t be cleaned for another fifteen minutes, you have to step in and move because you never know what’s coming in the door,” stressed Sheila Frankenfield.

“If you don’t keep on your toes, you’ll be lost. You have to do more than one thing at a time.” Sheila Frankenfield, RN, Cardiac Rehab and RN for twenty-three years

Kelly Robinson speaks for all nurses when she says making a difference in someone’s life fuels these dedicated healthcare professionals. “The best is when a patient says thank you—I appreciated you being there when I was scared,” summed up fellow nurse Melva Meminger.