Interview with Cheryl
The first time I walked in at Carecor, the interview was phenomenal. They are so pleasant. They are so reasonable.
How long have you been a nurse?
Cheryl: I’ve been a nurse for 13 or 14 years.
What do you like about being a nurse?
Cheryl: I always wanted to be a nurse. I just wanted to be able to give back the care I got when I was a sick child. I was a very sick child. It’s very gratifying. Actually, I love being a nurse. It’s a wonderful profession.
What do you get out of it?
Cheryl: Well at the end of the day, I know I’ve done something nice for someone and it enhances the belief in me that I helped save a life.
What’s your philosophy of nursing?
Cheryl: Firstly, you have to like nursing to be a nurse. Nursing is a very stressful profession and if you don’t like being a nurse, it’s not the place to start because it takes you away from your family for many hours. You have to be able to get along with your colleagues. Nursing is a very diverse profession - different nationalities, different people. Therefore, you have to learn to be able to handle conflict because it’s not always going to be good when you get up. So far it’s been pretty good; you have to roll with the punches.
How would you describe your philosophy in a nutshell?
Cheryl: My philosophy about nursing is empathy and advocacy for the patient. At the end of the day, we’re here to help return our patients to the optimum in health.
At what point did you decide to become a nurse?
Cheryl: When I was a child, I was so ill. I remember most of my days being in the hospital. I can remember nurses holding me and just telling me it’s going to be all right even though there was a lot of pain. But just their caring attitude of letting me know that my relatives couldn’t be there 24 hours a day, but they were there - it was so reassuring. That’s what made me want to become a nurse. Because if it wasn’t for nurses, I might not be here now. Nurses are always with you, they know what's wrong and are able to tell the doctor the problem. The nurses are the first person you see, so therefore she’s the person you have to depend on. So basically that’s how I look at nursing and that’s why I began in this profession.
Where were you when you were sick as a kid?
Cheryl: I was in Barbados. And in Barbados, we don’t have the facilities and equipment like in North America. I wasn’t expected to be living this long. Trust me. I saw all my friends I grew up with die around me. I always used to be petrified every time a child died. My mother didn’t say it to me, but I always figured that my turn would come. But some unconventional medicine my mother provided help me along a bit.
Do you feel any connection with archetypes like Florence Nightingale or Angels of Healing or Saints?
Cheryl: I don’t know if I connect myself in being in that capacity. They were in an era where there was minimal equipment; they were in an era where antibiotics were not developed; insulin was not developed. For the things they did back in those days - phenomenal. I don’t know how they did it. So, I admire them. I say there are people who perform little miracles of their own with the help of whichever power they worship. I don’t classify myself as being in their category. I class myself as continuing on from what they did before me.
What’s the hardest thing about being a nurse?
Cheryl: (Laugh!) Having to get up after long hours to meet the next day. You never have enough hours in the day at work and you never have enough time at home, you know. It’s like as soon as you go to sleep, it's time to go again. That’s the only part of it, but otherwise once I’m there, I’m quite happy. I find that even in my job, I get along well with people because, you know, I’ve learned over the years with my experience how to deal with situations. And I go to work and I’m never stressed because I always say, I have twelve hours in this shift and I’m going to make these twelve house as happy as possible, stress free. Because stress is the number one killer. We’re nurses, but we break also. I try to never let stress come into my job. Because stress makes you angry. It makes you really unhappy and you can never give 100%. I know that you can never give 100%, but I’d like to get as close as possible.
How is it that you can see people get shot, watch people bleed or watch people die and go home and be in love, go home and kiss a kid, go home and sing and laugh - how can you have that experience in the morning and then go home and be a human being who’s happy?
Cheryl: Well, before I started nursing, if you showed me blood or a needle, I would pass right out. My mother was so shocked when she heard that I became a nurse, she actually had to come and see it for herself. She knew that I could not stand seeing cuts and blood.
The one time that really turned me off was when someone had a head injury and another nurse took me around and showed me the cranium wide open - that almost made me faint. You get accustomed to seeing these things and just accepting them; I go home and I’m able to function normally with my family. You know, we clean such messes and see such things and still go on our breaks and have our lunch. Over time, you learn to deal with it. You sort of blank it out of your mind, not that you forget it, you never forget certain things. But when I first started to nurse and I saw ulcers and stuff, I couldn’t eat meat, especially the beefy ones. I couldn’t eat beef for many years, I just stopped eating beef. But after a while, it didn’t bother me anymore. There’s lots of stuff, that no matter what, you will never get accustomed to it.
How did you find out about Carecor?
Cheryl: I found out about Carecor through a friend of mine, quite a while ago who joined. But I went away to travel and when I came back, most of the nurses that were working with Carecor always had such pleasant things to say about the company. I called Carol and when I spoke to her, she was so receptive and she just encouraged me. She was so pleasant. Carecor has a good reputation. I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about Carecor, and I’m really proud to part of that family. Sometimes when I come home, I need someone to talk too. I call Debbie or Celia, and they listen. Because I work nights, in the morning everyone’s gone to work, but they are there. I like this company, I think I’m going to stay quite awhile.
Have you checked out other agencies?
Cheryl: I worked for other agencies back in 1999. I believe in hard work and making life good by my work. Sometimes when you work for other agencies, you want a letter, such as for your bank, and they are not really receptive to giving you a letter. I was new with Carecor and I needed more than one letter, and I called them up and it was in my email by the evening - I was so shocked. The other agency I spent so many years with they wouldn’t do that. But Carecor had the letter in my email that night. I feel good that I can use Carecor as a reference and I know I will get a good response.
How does the public see the nursing profession? Does it see the nursing profession correctly?
Cheryl: That is something I have always wondered about, how the public perceives us. Sometimes at my job, we will have a patient who is very, very sick and we’re working along with him. We have the family in and they are very grateful for what we’re doing for this patient and they will let us know. Some of them would stand back and let us do our jobs. And then we have another family who is totally different; we actually have to step around them and tip toe, because you don’t want to offend them. They are very defensive about everything, I think most times it’s a feeling of guilt - you can actually feel it. I think sometimes they feel they haven’t done enough for this family member and it’s grief. So we sort of understand it and deal with it and don’t get angry with this family because they are so different. So you don’t always meet every family in the same way. They’ll be right in there with you and you’re trying to fight to save this person’s life, but the family is right there and you want to do certain things. But because it’s so invasive, you say, “Please Lord let them move back” but they are still there and they are hampering the progress, being there all over the patient. You don’t what to offend them, but if they move out of the way, you could do more. The law says the patient’s family has to be right there. So we have to skate around them to do our job. But for me, if it was my family, I would step back and even if I’m a nurse, I’d let the nurse work to save my family. Because the more time and attention they can get from the nurses, it is better for me.
What do you think about the way nurses are depicted in television and magazines?
Cheryl: I think sometimes we get a bad rap, especially in long term care nursing. All nurses are lumped in one category. Like critical care, long-term care nurses, they all get lumped together. And when one gets a bad rap, we all get it. The public needs to be educated more about nursing. We advocate a lot for patients. Sometime doctors yell at us when we suggest a patient needs something different.
What’s good that you like about Carecor?
Cheryl: Carecor understands their nurses; they respect their nurses. They respond to their staff and listen to the nurse’s problems. They are there to help nurses. Carecor does care about their staff.
What is the one quality the stands out about Carecor?
Cheryl: Carecor employees, the Scheduling Coordinators, the Directors, they are very personal and they listen. They listen to our stories, that means we can talk to them and they don’t talk over us - they actually listen. That’s the quality of Carecor that I value.
The first time I walked in at Carecor, the interview was phenomenal. They are so pleasant. They are so reasonable.
