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Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
Thank You to our Nurses and Healthcare Providers Recognizing National Nurses Week amid a global pandemic makes this time extra meaningful. While most of us are keeping our distance, our nurses and healthcare providers are marching straight into battle. Your bravery and dedication to serving others does not go unnoticed. We thank and celebrate our healthcare providers who are helping patients fight, offering care, support and compassion to those in need. Nurses are true superheroes and we are pleased to have the opportunity to say thank you this week — and all year round. We sincerely applaud your sacrifices, compassion and dedication to care during this time of need.
Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
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A Passion for Caring
What it takes to become a nursing superhero BY JOSHUA ARCHER
While the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 has sent most of us home to ride out the storm, medical professionals are on the front lines, going into work every day. Nurses around the globe are caring and comforting those suffering from an illness that the rest of us are avoiding at all costs. Add to that shortages of medical equipment and the ever-present threat of getting sick, and it’s clear that nurses are true super heroes. Dr. Colleen Koob, dean of nursing and biological sciences at Beal College, tells her nursing students that to become a good nurse they must be passionate about caring. “Caring is more than just a diagnosis, a pill or an IV. It’s about holding the hand, holding the iPhone so that someone can say goodbye to their loved ones when they can’t be with them while they’re suffering from COVID-19 and they know that they’re going to be leaving us. That is nursing,” she said. While many businesses have shut down or adapted to social distancing, Koob said her school’s transition to online courses had her nursing students asking if they’d graduate this year. The good news is they will graduate and they already have jobs waiting for them. “When this was all happening a couple weeks ago, [students were asking] are we going to graduate and I said, yes, you are. We need you out there in the workforce. We need those nurses,” she said. Koob says she always wanted to be a nurse and never anything else. She attributes her inspiration to becoming a nurse to her younger sister. “My little sister is 10 years younger than me and she was born two months early in critical care in a neonatal ICU,” Koob said. The visits at the hospital to see her sister placed her on a path that led her to become a registered nurse at the age of 20. She then gained experience in many healthcare environments, obtained her master’s degree and entered nursing education. Today she holds a doctorate which has broadened her career to include a more leadership perspective.
“I knew that academics and academia would be where I found my passion,” she said. She treats her students, staff and faculty the same as she would a patient. She remains an advocate and mentor. “I will always consider myself to be a nurse, but academics really and truly have brought me professional satisfaction. I have a passion for educating people to be their best selves,” she said. Koob has adopted a Florence Nightingale approach to nursing and the art of caring. Nightingale was a pioneer of modern nursing, serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organized care for wounded soldiers. National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. “Florence looked at caring from a different perspective than other nurses had looked at it prior to her,” she said. “And I’ve always looked at nursing that way. Not just this is how you were taught to do it, but is there a better way to do it? Always be open to a different perspective.”
“Caring is more than just a diagnosis, a pill or an IV. It’s about holding the hand, holding the iPhone so that someone can say goodbye to their loved ones when they can’t be with them while they’re suffering from COVID-19 and they know that they’re going to be leaving us. That is nursing,” Dr. Koob said.
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Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
DR. COLLEEN KOOB PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. KOOB
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Caring for the Caregiver Koob also recommends that while nurses concentrate on caring for their patients they must also remember to care for themselves. “It’s always worth it to take care of yourself so you can better take care of the ones around you,” she said. This is especially true during this global pandemic — and especially difficult. Nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists are returning home after long shifts with telltale imprints of face masks and PPE. Healthcare works have to strip and shower before they can even touch or hug their loved ones, Koob said. “After all of this craziness, people are going to look at nurses in a different light,” she said.
A Rewarding Career Noticing her mother’s fulfillment as a nurse, Danielle Coutu also entered the workforce as a healthcare professional. Although she already obtained a bachelor’s degree in counseling, Coutu was looking for a more rewarding and dynamic career and chose to attend nursing school at Eastern Maine Community College. Following graduation she began working for Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in the respiratory oncology unit, later transitioning to the emergency department, where she’s worked for the past three years. “It’s been awesome. It’s very fulfilling to find your niche or your specialty as a nurse. I think sometimes it takes a little bit of trial and error because the field is so great. There’s so many different things that you can dip your toe in to find out what’s yours,” said Coutu, a registered nurse and assistant nurse manager.
NURSE DANIELLE COUTU PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHERN LIGHT
NURSE AMBER ANDERSON PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHERN LIGHT
Among what Coutu appreciates most are her coworkers who work alongside her in a busy emergency department. “The change from a respiratory oncology floor was because I was looking for greater experience and more information,” she said. “I wanted to learn more and I knew that because you service such a wide population in the emergency department that was a good fit for me and it ended up being a great fit.” There are stressful days that take a heavy toll on Coutu and she said that anyone considering a nursing career needs to be organized, team oriented and always ready to learn. “One benefit of being a nurse is that there are so many options,” she said.
While at Husson, Anderson took advantage of internship programs at Northern Light EMMC during her junior and senior year. “That really opened my eyes to all the opportunities that I had here at the medical center,” she said. “I ended up applying here to this floor on cardiac telemetry after I graduated.”
Gaining Experience Coutu recommends that prospective nursing students volunteer at hospitals to gain experience and to study anatomy and physiology. “Part of our mission in life is human connection, so if you’re an empathetic person or if you have a desire to serve or to care for people this is the profession for you, where you can make a difference in the lives of others and for yourself,” she said. Over the past two years, Amber Anderson has been a nurse on the cardiac telemetry floor at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center. She went to nursing school at Husson University in Bangor. Nursing became appealing to Anderson when she was in high school and she thought nursing would make a challenging career that would also give her the opportunity to work with people. “It’s very fast paced. We get a lot of post-op cardiac surgery patients,” Anderson said. “We get a lot of patients who come in with heart attacks and from cardiac procedures pre- and post-op. There’s a lot of turnover.”
Part of a Team Anderson and her coworkers operate as a unit. She said her time playing team sports in college has helped set her up for being part of a team. “I’ve met some really great people and some really great nurses that I look up to,” she said. Even though she’s part of a team, she said nurses always struggle finding ways to be in multiple places at once. “There’s always a lot going on and there’s usually four or five different things that you could be doing at once, so I just have to take a step back and prioritize what I’m doing and what I need to do for patient care,” she said. “The hardest part for me is when I feel like I’m not being the best nurse I can be just because of time, but that’s something that is improved upon once you’ve got more experience.” Anderson became a certified nursing assistant when she was a sophomore in college. “Once I did, I started working in a hospital and just that exposure really set me up for success after I graduated nursing school,” she said. She recommends getting experience in a hospital environment as soon as possible to anyone looking to become a nurse. “One thing that makes a good nurse is somebody who’s keeping the patient’s best interests in mind and advocating for them medically and with their family members,” she said.
Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
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Finding Your Niche in Nursing
Exploring the many avenues of a career in nursing BY WANDA CURTIS
A key to longevity in the nursing profession is finding your niche — and that may change over time. Often when we think of nurses, images of hospitals and emergency rooms come to mind, along with long shifts and weekend hours. But that’s not always the case. The nursing profession can take many roads, not all of which are in a hospital. Whether at the beginning of a nursing career, or after working many years, it’s important for nurses to find a position that best matches their needs and interests.
Public Health Nurses Nurses who don’t want to work weekends could consider a public health nursing job. Most public health nurses work a daytime Monday through Friday schedule. They travel to patients’ homes in company vehicles and provide routine nursing care. Often they’re required to have at least one year of hospital experience before applying.
Specialty Clinics Another healthcare setting which often offers a Monday-Friday daytime schedule are specialty clinics. Many hospitals have specialty clinics such as cardiology, neurology, endocrinology, rheumatology, dermatology and podiatry clinics. Most of those have daytime nursing positions which involve checking vital signs, taking medical histories and assisting medical providers. Depending upon how busy the clinic is, those positions can be less stressful than working in a hospital setting with very sick patients and rotating shifts.
School Nurses School nurse positions are often an ideal match for nurses with school-aged children. They usually have a schedule similar to that of the children, with holidays and summer vacations free to spend with their family. Obviously, that type of work is a better fit for nurses who enjoy working with children.
Traveling Nurses Travel nursing may be an attractive option for single nurses. It’s a great way to try out different types of nursing positions and to see the country at the same time. Most positions are for a specified length of time, often with the option to extend the time if mutually agreeable to both nurse and employer. Housing or a housing stipend is usually provided.
Nursing Education Nursing education is a field that may appeal to experienced nurses. Teaching requires an advanced degree but it’s a great way to share years of experience with new nurses just starting out in the profession. Some new nurses might stay in the field longer if they had an experienced nurse to mentor them. Registered nurses can also teach CNA courses. Those teaching positions don’t usually require an advanced degree. The courses are often run through adult education departments. Whatever the situation, it’s important to remember there are more options than ever. Finding your niche is the way to enjoy a long career in nursing.
© ANDY DEAN / ADOBE STOCK
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Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
The Outlook for Nurses is Very Strong COURTESY OF METRO CREATIVE
Many people consider the right job one that provides both a sense of fulfillment and the opportunity to achieve financial security and stability as one’s career advances. Given that criteria, the field of nursing should make for an attractive career path. The outlook for registered nurses, often referred to as “RNs,” is very strong. In its recent “Occupational Outlook Handbook,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, issued a highly favorable employment outlook for registered nurses. Estimating the projected percent change in employment between 2018 and 2028, the BLS estimated that employment of registered nurses is expected to grow 12 percent during that 10-year period. That’s more than double the average growth estimate for all occupations. The outlook is equally strong in Canada. According to the Canadian Occupation Projections System, which is provided by Employment and Social Development Canada, new job openings for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses are expected to total 157,100 between 2017 and 2026. The ESDC anticipates a nursing shortage during that same period, estimating that only 143,900 new job seekers will be available to fill those positions. But that gap between job openings and qualified candidates means that nurses should not experience much difficulty in regard to finding work. While the outlook in terms of availability of work is strong for current nurses and those who aspire to one day follow this career path, that outlook should not alone compel people to pursue a career in nursing. Few fields can be as demanding as nursing, which means not everyone is necessarily cut out to be a nurse. The demands are perhaps best exemplified by examining the hours registered nurses may expect to work, especially at the beginning of their careers when they have no seniority. The BLS notes that hospitals and nursing care facilities require round-the-clock employees every day of the year. That means nurses can expect to work long hours on nights, weekends and holidays. That requires considerable sacrifice on the part of nurses, and those aspiring to enter this line of work should consider if they’re willing to make those sacrifices before enrolling in a nursing program. Estimates suggest the employment outlook for qualified nurses will be very strong over the next several years, which should compel more and more talented people to pursue this fulfilling career path.
© DAVIDPRADO / ADOBE STOCK
Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
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The year of the nurse COURTESY OF MAINEHEALTH
For 38 years, we’ve celebrated Nurses Week with the rest of the nation. Typically, the week recognizes RNs, in all fields, for the patient care they so selflessly give. It is usually a time to both congratulate and gather. Today, however, National Nurses Week arrives during some of the most challenging moments in the careers of most healthcare professionals. As we face an unprecedented global health crisis, this year’s National Nurses Week also marks 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale. A pioneer of modern nursing and education, Nightingale revolutionized care in the time of conflict. Under her supervision, field hospitals saw a staggering improvement, ultimately saving hundreds of lives. Nightingale was given the moniker “The Lady with The Lamp” by British soldiers as she traveled from tent to tent by horse and oil lamp. When things are at their worst, and care is in dire need, nurses rise to the occasion and serve as beacons of hope and bearers of light in our darkest hours. While many of us stay safe by being home, nurses are doing just the opposite. They’re suiting up to care for those in need on the front lines. They are our compassionate and brave caregivers. The COVID-19 pandemic is heartbreaking because those infected battle the virus alone, as quarantine measures keep loved ones at a safe distance. While this is undoubtedly tragic, we watch in awe as nurses become the loving family these patients need. They provide life-saving care beyond treatments and medication. They share laughter, sympathy, tears, comfort, companionship, and much more. They pour their all into every patient that comes through our doors.
And yet, these nurses are also mothers, fathers, children, and siblings. As they care for the sickest among us, they clock extended shifts and spend more time away from their families—sometimes in self-quarantine at home. Their extraordinary sacrifices seep into the lives of the ones closest to them. Our gratitude extends to the families who fight along with our nurses—the spouses who are working double duty at home, the children who are twice as brave, and the parents who are worrying that much more. We count you among our care team as you care for nurses at home. We’ll never be able to express our appreciation in a way that is fitting or complete. Yet, the astonishing character of nurses will not ask anything from us in return. Because nursing isn’t just a career. It’s not a job to be done, or an obligation to fill. It is a calling. One that only the strongest, kindest, most selfless of us can answer. Nursing is not something you do. It’s something you live. We will get through this, and when we do, it will be because courageous nurses lead the way. From Longfellow’s poem Santa Filomena “Lo! in that house of misery A lady with a lamp I see Pass through the glimmering of gloom And flit from room to room.” To nurses everywhere—you are heroes among us, and we are with you. LAIL FULLER, RN, SUITS UP TO CARE FOR POSSIBLE COVID-19 PATIENTS AT SOUTHERN MAINE HEALTH CARE IN BIDDEFORD.
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Nurses Care • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • May 7, 2020
SOME HEROES WEAR CAPES.
OTHERS WEAR HEAD-TO-TOE PERSONAL PROTECTION GEAR. If ever there was a time to thank nurses, it’s now.
While many are staying safe by staying home, you’re suiting up to care for those in need every day on the front lines. You’re the heart in the heat of the moment. Putting in the shifts. Putting in the hours. Being there when loved ones can’t be. With a quiet grace and calm compassion, Because nursing isn’t a career, it’s a calling. And we couldn’t be more grateful you answered it. from everyone you’re doing it for.
YOU CARE FOR US. WE CARE ABOUT YOU.