UW Health Careers HomeAn Interview with Annette, RN
"It's not only care with our technical skills - it's the relationship that you form with these patients." - Annette, RN
Q: Annette, what do you do for a living?
A: I work at UW Hospital in the Cardiothoracic Unit. I'm the nurse manager. I have been a nurse manager for about eight months, but have worked at UW Hospital for about three years.
A: I work at UW Hospital in the Cardiothoracic Unit. I'm the nurse manager. I have been a nurse manager for about eight months, but have worked at UW Hospital for about three years.
Q: You've worked as a nurse elsewhere. Why did you come to UW Hospital?
A: UW Hospital gave me the opportunity to meet new challenges, challenges that I was not getting at my former job. I was looking for challenges that would help me mature in my nursing career and also help me obtain my career goals, which was to continue on to my master's in nursing. And I'm working on my master's right now.
A: UW Hospital gave me the opportunity to meet new challenges, challenges that I was not getting at my former job. I was looking for challenges that would help me mature in my nursing career and also help me obtain my career goals, which was to continue on to my master's in nursing. And I'm working on my master's right now.
Q: How would you assess the qualifications of UW Hospital nurses?
A: The nurses at UW Hospital not only have to have the technical skills needed to take care of patients, but also they have psychological and a kind of emotional attachment to what they do because these patients are so complex.
A: The nurses at UW Hospital not only have to have the technical skills needed to take care of patients, but also they have psychological and a kind of emotional attachment to what they do because these patients are so complex.
We have patients with multi-organ system failure and with that comes a family that is not coping well with their loved one's problems. So not only do we have to deal with the patient but we also have to work with family members to help them cope with the patient's problems and also give them hope so they can give hope to that family member.
Q: How do you stay motivated?
A: As a nurse and also as a nurse manager at UW Hospital, what keeps me going is the knowledge that the people I work with know what they're doing and care about what they're doing to help see these patients through the worst of times. Some patients feel there's no hope and we help them get to the goal of going home.
A: As a nurse and also as a nurse manager at UW Hospital, what keeps me going is the knowledge that the people I work with know what they're doing and care about what they're doing to help see these patients through the worst of times. Some patients feel there's no hope and we help them get to the goal of going home.
A good day is a day in which I have helped the nursing staff deal with problems or deal with a complex patient, or just a day where I can go and see a patient and ask them how they're doing. And if they're not doing so well, to be able to at least give them some emotional support and come out thinking that I did something good.
Q: What types of patients do you routinely see?
A: At UW Hospital, we get patients that come for more routine procedures, like a bypass, and then we also have those patients that come for a transplant or those that are waiting for a transplant. We have a lot of our patients that, because they're waiting for an organ, become part of our family. We see them day-by-day, 24 hours a day.
A: At UW Hospital, we get patients that come for more routine procedures, like a bypass, and then we also have those patients that come for a transplant or those that are waiting for a transplant. We have a lot of our patients that, because they're waiting for an organ, become part of our family. We see them day-by-day, 24 hours a day.
Their family might not be able to be there all the time because they have jobs, because they have to attend to other family members, so we become their support system. And their failures, as well as their successes, are part of our failures and successes. It's not only care with our technical skills - it's the relationship that you form with these patients.
Q: What do you take away from providing quality care to patients?
A: I think what keeps us coming back isn't that we're going to get a thank you from the patient or the family, although many times we do. It's the knowledge that we have done something good for somebody and that we've made maybe one, maybe hundreds of people, happier because of what we did.
A: I think what keeps us coming back isn't that we're going to get a thank you from the patient or the family, although many times we do. It's the knowledge that we have done something good for somebody and that we've made maybe one, maybe hundreds of people, happier because of what we did.
Because when we take care of one patient, we not only make that patient happy because they were able to get out of the hospital, but we made that whole family happy. We give back to the community by giving them their loved ones back healthy and able to function as they were before they came into the hospital.
Q: Does working at UW Hospital pose specific challenges?
A: I think what makes UW Hospital different is that we see patients with multiple, complex problems. They don't typically follow the usual pathway of care or the usual way of getting better.
A: I think what makes UW Hospital different is that we see patients with multiple, complex problems. They don't typically follow the usual pathway of care or the usual way of getting better.
We have to work on a care plan that will fit that patient because of their unique and individual problems. And that involves more than the nurse and the doctor - many, many people are going to be involved in the care of a patient, and they all have to communicate in order to bring the patient back to health.
Q: What stands out to you about the nurses you work with?
A: Oh, the nurses are not only knowledgeable, they care so much about the patients. I can't tell you how much they care. It's just the hope that these nurses give the patients and the families. It's absolutely amazing. I mean, we've seen miracles here. Where the family and the patient might not see any hope, the nursing staff gives them that hope to keep going. And I think that's what is so wonderful about working here.
A: Oh, the nurses are not only knowledgeable, they care so much about the patients. I can't tell you how much they care. It's just the hope that these nurses give the patients and the families. It's absolutely amazing. I mean, we've seen miracles here. Where the family and the patient might not see any hope, the nursing staff gives them that hope to keep going. And I think that's what is so wonderful about working here.
