Notable Nurses Speak Straight From the Heart
National Nurses Week has been celebrated for more than 40 years. They’re the unsung heroes of health care, yet often they are the ones who interact the most with the patients. Central Florida Health News asked our local health partners to share their amazing nurses with us so we could learn what it takes to thrive in the profession.
Answers have been abridged.
Shannon Hernandez, Emergency Department Nurse, Bartow Regional Medical Center
A woman recently came to the Emergency Department with her husband. He was told he needed surgery and would have to be transferred to another facility, but no hospitals were able to take him. As the man’s condition became more dire, Hernandez gathered some nurses, encircled the patient and began praying for him. Moments later, a hospital sent word that it could do the surgery. Hernandez offered to drive the patient’s wife to the hospital, but the wife declined so she could have her own vehicle with her. Still, Hernandez showed up to the hospital later and waited with her until the surgeon gave a positive report about the patient. She stayed with the wife until at least 1:30 a.m.
Q. What does being a nurse mean to you?
Being a nurse is holding a 3-year-old’s hand when he is scared because he has to get blood drawn. It is being present and there for a woman whose husband has just passed away. It is a listening ear when a patient tells you he is homeless because of his substance use. It is teaching a newly diabetic patient about their disease process. Being a nurse to me is more than a job or a title; it is who I am.
Q. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
I think being able to mentor and teach a new graduate nurse is extremely rewarding. When you watch someone that you helped precept learn and grow, it can be an amazing thing!
Q. Did you always want to be a nurse?
When I was a teenager, I worked as a candy striper in a hospital nearby. I would see all the doctors and nurses caring for all these vulnerable people. I knew right then and there that I wanted to help people.
Q. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in nursing?
I would not change my career for anything in the world. I would tell someone that nurses are needed now more than ever. If they enjoy educating, helping people, flexibility, and making a difference, then nursing is a great field to go into.
Q. What motivates you when your job gets challenging?
I have seen the most “highs and lows” that one could encounter in my particular job. I work with some amazing nurses that anyone would love to be working with. Their support is what motivates me. My daughter has also become an RN and has told me that I have motivated her. So the circle of life, caring, and love for nursing continues.
From Shannon’s manager, ED Nurse Manager Zoe Munoz:
In her current role as a charge nurse, [Hernandez] goes above and beyond for the care of our patients and has done so since the day I met her. She is a huge patient advocate and treats all her patients with dignity and respect. Shannon is a shining example of what a nurse should be.
Joyce Brown, Nurse on the Mother/Baby Unit, Winter Haven Women’s Hospital
Q. What does being a nurse mean to you?
Being a nurse is working hard and caring a lot! It is about being a part of a team and trying to be a good leader in my unit. Above all else, it is always focusing on the patient and keeping them safe and well cared for. It is so much more than just a job or a way to make money.
Q. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding aspect of my job is creating a personal connection with the patient. I have a very special connection with parents who have a child born with a disability of any kind because I live that life myself. I have some written materials I share with them and I try to visit and encourage them at this difficult time in their lives as they adjust to their new normal. Being able to see and talk to someone who has been there and understands can be so comforting. I have had several families contact me after years have passed and shared that my interaction with them helped them in a big way and they have never forgotten me. That is better than winning any award.
Q. Did you always want to be a nurse?
I can’t remember when I did not want to be a nurse. When I graduated from high school, I didn’t even think about other options, just how fast I could get into nursing school.
Q. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in nursing?
I do recommend a career in nursing but my advice would be to really search your heart and know why you want to be one. If it is for the money then it is not for you. It is challenging and can break your heart some days. You must be in it for caring and for the patients.
Brown’s nurse manager calls her a standout nurse for her work with parents whose babies have difficult diagnoses, and she draws on her own experience to provide comfort to them.
From Nicci Lambert, Director of Patient Services at Winter Haven Women’s Hospital:
“Joyce is a nurse’s nurse. She is confident, calm in a crisis, knowledgeable, and compassionate. I am grateful that I have been able to work with Joyce for many of her 42 years at WHH/WHWH. This year she will retire, and it will be a loss not only to the hospital but also to her team and our patients.”
Amy Whann, Education Coordinator, Watson Clinic
Q. What does being a nurse mean to you?
A nurse is compassionate and always willing to help those who need it.
Q. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
I have been a Nurse Educator for almost 20 years now, and the most rewarding aspect is helping new nurses. They are so eager to learn and help those who are sometimes
experiencing the most difficult times of their lives.
Q. Did you always want to be a nurse?
I always wanted to help people. I wasn’t sure that nursing was going to be my career, but I am so glad it has provided me with so many different opportunities over the past 30 years. Some of my most difficult and rewarding experiences have been working as a nurse.
Q. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in nursing?
I would encourage anyone who is thinking about nursing as a career to take every opportunity available. There are so many different avenues to find what makes you happy and fulfilled.
Q. What motivates you when your job gets challenging?
I love a challenge, and motivation comes in many forms. Personally, I have been a patient and know what it is like to have great nurses. I find motivation in knowing that what I do matters every day and can have an effect on how nurses react and treat each other and our patients.
From Kelly Lonsberry, Senior Associate Administrator for Human Resources at Watson Clinic:
Amy Whann goes above and beyond every day. She supports every department at the Clinic and often functions outside of her job description just because something needs to get done. Every Director at Watson Clinic would tell you Amy has helped them in some way. I once had a Director tell me she wished we could clone Amy and I couldn’t agree more.
Sandra Haislip, LPN, Bond Clinic
Q. What does being a nurse mean to you?
It means I will never be bored. I will never know what the next day holds, which is one of the many reasons I love my job as a nurse. Being a nurse to me means I was given love, compassion, and kindness.
Q. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The opportunity to empower our patients and their families with knowledge and confidence during a stressful or challenging time. We have the ability to bring understanding, peace, and confidence when it’s needed the most.
Q. Did you always want to be a nurse?
From a very young age I knew a nursing career was what I wanted to do. As I watched my grandfather struggle with an illness — watching him get worse and then better with treatments — it was then that I realized my love for nursing.
Q. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in nursing?
My best advice would be to always think of it in this perspective: If that were your family member, how would you want it handled? Always have an open mind and always expect the unexpected.
Q. What motivates you when your job gets challenging?
Being able to make a difference in what could be somebody’s worst or best time of their lives is the best motivation you can have. Nursing has its good and bad days. There will be days your heart hurts for the patients you saw that day or days you get to laugh so hard your side will hurt.
Patsy B. Mincey, RN, CPHRM, Bond Clinic
Q. What does being a nurse mean to you?
It’s an honor and a privilege first, but most of all it is a blessing, and I would not change my career choice for anything. To me it is my passion and a love for taking care of others in a time of need.
Q. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Knowing that every day you are faced with different challenges and obstacles in caring for people, and at the same time being able to change the situation or have an impact on people through your ability to be the best nurse you can be.
Q. Did you always want to be a nurse?
No, I wanted to be a pediatrician and care for children, but life sometimes has a way of changing that. It was when my husband’s grandfather became ill and I helped care for him with the Hospice nurses. That situation changed my life, I realized at that moment that I wanted to make a difference in other people’s lives.
4. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in nursing?
I would tell them to be sure they were making the right career choice; nursing school requires extreme dedication and perseverance. Being a nurse requires compassion, integrity, empathy, determination, and a passion for helping others. If someone possesses these qualities, then nursing is where they should be.
Q. What motivates you when your job gets challenging?
Knowing that I can apply my training, skills, and knowledge that I have obtained over the last 14 years to solve any challenge that I am faced with motivates me.