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Nurses Day is celebrated on 6th May, to appreciate and honor the contributions of nurses.
In this feature, Chinnamma Mathew,Teresa Vinitha Francis, Sherly Jose and Elsy Jaison share their stories and some nuggets of wisdom drawn from their experiences in a profession which is more of a calling than anything else.
Chinnamma Mathew
Chinnamma Mathew
My name is 'Chinnamma' as called by my dear ones & by the church community. But at work I'm known as 'Anna' my official name. I'm a nurse, currently working in a cardio-vascular stepdown unit in Framingham, MWMC.
My journey as a nurse, started from a small village called Thiruvampady which is in Kozhikode, Kerala. I was inspired by one of my aunts, who was working abroad as a nurse. Every year, she used to spend her vacation with us. As a child, her stories of visiting different countries, including Holy land inspired me a lot! I realized that the only way to fulfill those dreams was to become a nurse. Even though later in my life I learned that, nursing has a much higher meaning than just seeing places & travelling!
Anyways, after the struggle of convincing my parents, I managed to join a nursing college at Nirmala hospital, Kozhikode. After successfully completing my training as one of the best outgoing students, I had to continue with 2 years of internship in one of the branches of the same institution. I decided to move to the north in Marimpur, Uttar Pradesh with my best friends. Then, from there all of us moved to Delhi, the capital of India. After my marriage, I was able to continue my job in Delhi as my husband was already working in Delhi.
After a few years, I got a chance to work in Saudi Arabia with Ministry of Health. I still consider this as the most adventurous part of my entire carrier. Unfortunately, the Kuwait-Iraq war started during this period. The American military base was located very close to our hospital, and was considered to be one of our enemy's targets. Missiles from Iraq were fired very often. The whole city was evacuated for the safety of the residents.
The only people left in the entire city were the military personnel and the hospital staff. We were trained to put the military face mask within seconds to escape from chemical bombing. I still remember the day, a missile was about to hit our hospital, but was successfully intercepted by the military. It felt like a severe earthquake, followed by a thunderstorm. The whole building was shaking and we could hear the loud noise when the warhead hit the sand and made a huge well. The smoke kept coming for days from the spot. I was working as an OR nurse at that time. So ,unfortunately witnessed & assisted in operating a lot of wounded soldiers, until they were airlifted. After a few months, I was able to return home safely to join my family in Delhi and continued working there as a pediatric nurse for 13yrs.
In 2005, I made another big move to USA with my family to continue my journey as a nurse. Initially, I worked with an agency, in a nursing home for a short period of time. Then I found current job, in the cardio-vascular unit in Framingham. Even though this profession can be very challenging at times, I still think this is the best profession. I can't think of myself doing something else!
As a Christian, it gives you so much meaning to make a difference in someone else's life. The whole pandemic has been so stressful but I still believe it is a privilege to hold someone's hand during their last moments, specially when their loved ones are not around!
As a Christian, it gives you so much meaning to make a difference in someone else's life. The whole pandemic has been so stressful but I still believe it is a privilege to hold someone's hand during their last moments, specially when their loved ones are not around!
At the same time, we also witness a lot of joy when patients recover and are able to walk out feeling better. Their words of gratitude and smiles of relief on their faces are so rewarding. It is also rewarding to learn that your honesty is being appreciated among your colleagues! For me personally all this is only possible with constant prayers & blessings from Almighty! At the end of the day, you are indirectly proclaiming that you are a Christian, a true follower of Jesus!
Teresa Vinitha Francis
Teresa Vinitha Francis
I’m an inpatient nurse manager at Tufts Health plan, a health insurance company.
It is a job I really enjoy because it is very rewarding. There is a great sense of accomplishment as I know that there is always a safe plan for my members and I can ensure they receive high quality healthcare. The COVID times have been hard because our members found it hard to transition to the next level of care. However, the future looks bright with the vaccination drive and reopening which will allow us to have better movement and easier transition.
Nursing is a job with vast potential. We should not really view it from a narrow perspective of the profession where there is someone clad in a scrub bent down to clean wounds or simply pass medications. It is of course a job that carries its character of being noble in other aspects too.
Nursing is a job with vast potential. We should not really view it from a narrow perspective of the profession where there is someone clad in a scrub bent down to clean wounds or simply pass medications. It is of course a job that carries its character of being noble in other aspects too.
It is a profession that everyone has to feel really proud of executing your roles. You can be the nurse anesthetist giving that right dose of anesthetic to help the patient not to sense the knife that cuts through. You can be the Information technology nurse who coordinates the operation of Serna, or epic or Meditech, or Citrix environment without any interruptions. You can be the McKesson nurse who devises the new criterion that is absolutely practical for a day to day clinical scenario. You can be that legal nurse who advocates for the rights of the patients. The sky is the limit. You can always imagine to be a pioneer in this limitless field of nursing. It is just like any profession which undergoes changes constantly and vigorously. If it is your call in life to undertake this great aspiring profession, then you must most certainly take it on with pride as the rewards of this job are priceless. The profession has certainly evolved to a great extent. It needs new brilliant minds to continue the legacy of kindness and compassion to restore health and well-being to all humanity.
The invitation is open to Generation Z or the new millennials who want flexibility with schedule and establishment of a perfect work life balance. Most of all, you get to enjoy the profession of caring.
Sherly Jose
Sherly Jose
I have worked as a Registered Nurse for more than 30 years with a specialty in the geriatric population. There are many rewards that come along with being a registered nurse. For example, the difference I make working with my patients has a lasting effect. Whether it be little such as making sure my patients are taking their medications as prescribed in order for them to maintain optimum health, to addressing any concerns they may have about their health and catching things early before they progress and develop more serious complications. The interpersonal connections I make with my patients brings joy to me. From a healthcare perspective we are not just treating patients physically and taking care of just their ailments, we are looking at the patient as a whole physically, mentally and emotionally. By addressing my patients in this fashion I am able to care for them better and they in turn heal in more ways than just medically. Being able to make a lasting difference that extends outside of the healthcare setting in my patients lives, truly brings me joy in this career.
Nursing isn’t just all about rewards; it has its challenges that we face daily. For example - uncooperative patients. A lot of times, patients get frustrated and they will lash out on nurses and we have to be thick skinned so that it doesn’t get to us. They will swear, they will get angry and press call lights every 5 minutes, but it's our job to keep a level head and understand they are ill and here for a reason. It’s tough at times for sure, but in the end it is worth it. Many times patients will apologize. It's just given their circumstances that they have no other avenue to express their anger in this setting aside from taking it out on their nurse. Everyone will have their good days and bad days as in any career path one chooses.
One advice I would give to someone deciding on whether or not to become a nurse is you need compassion...
One advice I would give to someone deciding on whether or not to become a nurse is you need compassion...
Without compassion, you will drown in this career and will not be happy. You will make money for sure and live a good life, but you will not be a good nurse and will dread waking up for work unless you are able to develop that trait. Many good nurses are born with the skill, but others need to develop it. A lot of times, you just need to be there for your patients and listen and hear them out. Just being able to understand the patient and giving them compassion really will go a long way and honestly will make your job as a nurse much more enjoyable and less of a job and more of a career.
Elsy Jaison
Elsy Jaison
My name is Elsy Jaison and I have been a Registered Nurse for 20 plus years. I graduated from St. Philomena's College of Nursing in Bangalore, India with Diploma in General nursing. I continued my nursing education by pursuing a Bachelor in Nursing from Grand Canyon University, Arizona and Masters in nursing program through Aspen University Colorado. I began my profession with a passion towards taking care of critically ill patients and their emotionally upset families. I was always enthusiastic to see and learn about new cultures, advanced technology and a diverse patient population.
I had opportunities to work as a registered Nurse in India, Middle East and here in the US and enjoyed different roles like clinical nurse, resource nurse, preceptor, rapid response team, quality improvement projects and clinical supervisor. Over these years of experience, I have gained clinical experience and knowledge in direct patient care, leadership roles by collaborating the care with a multidisciplinary team, strong interpersonal and organizational communication skills and commitment to patient care and to the organization.
Currently I'm working as a nurse coordinator for CyberKnife Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston. CyberKnife is the most modern technology that is used in radiation oncology to deliver a high dose of radiation in a most accurate way to treat cancer patients with very minimal side effects. My role is to coordinate the program with the multidisciplinary team. And also to educate and help the patients throughout from the decision making process to treatment and with symptom management during the acute phase.
Being a nurse is a delicate responsibility as we are dealing with the sick and dying and being a patient advocate. Worked in intensive care units for many years, took care of patients at some of the worst times, including the COVID-19 when they are mechanically ventilated, on continuous dialysis, and on a lot of supportive medications. Worked in different parts of the world, I can honestly say, as a nurse, every patient is unique and I have provided the best care possible to all of my patients. Even though it can be a stressful situation at times, I have always enjoyed working side by side with my colleagues. I have always had a great learning experience in all these teaching hospitals. It’s really amazing to see how the advanced technology is helping patients towards their recovery. In my current and past work experience, I totally believe that the quality of care depends on the skills and knowledge and now of course it comes with advanced technology.
A nurse has to be kind and compassionate to not only the patient, but also to their families in order to provide complete and extraordinary care. It can be challenging in many different ways like handling an emotionally upset patient to resuscitating a critically ill patient .For the same reasons not everyday or every shift goes as smoothly as we think. Nurses have to work according to the clinical needs of the patient with a positive spirit, enthusiasm and accountability. Every patient outcome is different depending on the severity of their illness. But I can assure you that none of them forget to say thank you regardless of their situation. I consider it as a reward when I notice even a tiny improvement in their condition, which in turn helps to reach their ultimate goal of improving their quality of life.
My advice to those who are waiting to make a decision to enter the healthcare field is simple. No matter how big or small your contribution towards healthcare, it really matters to the patient and their loved ones. Do it with compassion and respect and you can definitely make a difference in their lives and be a part of their goal towards a better life.
My advice to those who are waiting to make a decision to enter the healthcare field is simple. No matter how big or small your contribution towards healthcare, it really matters to the patient and their loved ones. Do it with compassion and respect and you can definitely make a difference in their lives and be a part of their goal towards a better life.
I also wanted to mention here that nursing is a profession with endless opportunities to specialize and practice in an area of your interest.
Healthcare is team work and I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you” to all those who are in the healthcare field for all their selfless service especially during the pandemic.
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