Nursing Profiles

Robert M.

Altoona, WI
RN: Surgical ICU

Being a nurse has been very rewarding for me. After several years of an airline career that ended in 1991, I decided to change my destiny. My mother was a Red Cross RN during WWII, and my grandmother was a nurse as well, so I decided to go to RN school. It was a long, grueling four years, but it was worth it at the end. During clinical rotations, I came to like ICU very much, and have been there ever since. Working in ICU is more than passing pills, starting IV's, giving injections, and drawing blood; it’s a gentle touch of a hand, a soothing voice that reassures a patient that everything will be okay. It’s helping someone to the bathroom, or helping a patient feed himself. Not only are you helping that patient recover, you become a family member of that patient. I've been known to make my patients laugh when they come out of surgery, or to sing them an Irish ditty when times get rough. I had an Irish patient who was critically ill, and I sang to him. After the song was done, he had tears in his eyes, and told me that he had not heard that song since he was a “wee lad” in Ireland. From that moment on, he smiled a lot and recovered. Just knowing that I was there to help him get through his illness was reward enough for me. I love my job, and I love my patients. That’s why I love going to work everyday, and why I became a nurse. I would not have it any other way!