We’re happy to introduce the May 2021 CareerStaff Unlimited Clinicians of the Month! Please join us in congratulating Jeanne, Joanna and Twiyla, three incredible nursing professionals working hard to keep patients safe and healthy. Thanks to them, and thanks to all the amazing healthcare workers in the CareerStaff network — you are appreciated!
CareerStaff Clinicians of the Month for May 2021
Meet Jeanne
Jeanne celebrated her 50th year as a nursing professional in January, 2021 — an amazing milestone that has given her unique insights into the life of a working nurse for half a century, from the 1960s through the time of Covid-19.
“Healthcare has changed tremendously in my years in this field,” she told us. “It has progressed from taking and implementing orders blindly, to being an integral part of the diagnosing by your evaluations and observations.”
As she likes to remind younger health workers, “Your opinion matters. Especially through COVID-19. You are often the only contact patients have when separated from their loved ones.”
Even though the role of the nurse and clinician has become more involved and patient-focused over the decades, some things have remained the same.
“I remain fascinated with the functioning of people and the vast deviations that occur,” she said. “Having spent 40 years in the operating room, that still remains a special time in my life.”
More recently in her career, Jeanne relocated to Kentucky and is now taking an active role in the care of young patients. It’s a role that she’s found rewarding.
“Moving to Louisville has afforded me the opportunity to give back to the community, by caring and sharing the care of our young students these past eight years,” she said.
“Life is never dull around kids. I have felt the grief of losing a student to cancer and the joy of seeing one of my students of eight years get lung transplants. Her first time in life not attached to the wheelchair on ventilators and O2. That smile will melt any heart.”
Going even further back, Jeanne traces her original motivation for her life in healthcare to a family inspiration.
“I was fortunate to have an uncle who was a surgeon who nurtured my curiosity with the human body. I had learned all the bones and muscles by age 10. He proceeded to have me sew nerve endings under a microscope using various sewing techniques. I was hooked from that day forth.”
4 Quick Questions!
What’s the best part of your day? “Compassion will serve you well, if you can go home knowing the smallest kindness made a difference in their day.”
What’s the hardest part of your job? “The difficulty remains not being able to make everyone wel, but being there to the end.”
Is there anything you’ve learned over the course of your career that you think young healthcare professionals should know? “As new healthcare professionals, never be afraid to ask questions or stand up for your patients. They frequently know more about themselves if you ask, BELIEVE them.”
What’s the accomplishment of you’re proudest of? “When I decide to retire, I know I made a difference. It’s not who you leave behind, but what you left in your place.”
Meet Joanna
Joanna is a CNA who worked as an essential frontline Covid-19 crisis response worker in 2020. During that time, her colleagues took note of her non-complaining attitude and positivity. “Joanna genuinely cares about her patients and it is obvious through her work,” they wrote. “She picks up shifts whenever someone needs help. She sometimes drives an hour and a half to a facility when they need help.”
A nursing professional since 2004, Joanna has been part of the CareerStaff family for a little less than a year now. “My favorite thing about working with CareerStaff is my recruiters — how they make me feel appreciated and always keep me updated,” she said.
When talking about her career and the work she does, her passion for “the quality of care for the patients” shines through. She recently told us about the first time she realized she was headed for a career in nursing.
“I first realized I was destined for a career and healthcare is when my dad brought me a medical bag as a Christmas gift and told me he seen the gift of caring for others in me,” Joanna told us.
In the years since, she’s has blazed an impressive career path. Today, she takes pride in her accomplishments, and that she’s taken the initiative to be a leader.
“My favorite memory is when a resident was trying to convince me that I was her sister,” Joanna recalled. “I tried for five days straight to get her to realize I was not her sister. Finally I gave in and agreed with her and every time I walked by her she would say ‘hey sis!’”
4 Quick Quesitons!
What’s the best part of your day? “Coming in and seeing that my patients are happy to see me.”
What’s the hardest part of your job? “Seeing a patient said I’m not being able to see their family and me not being able to help them.”
What do you find most inspirational about working in healthcare? “Knowing that I am able to help others in their time of need.”
Is there anything you’ve learned over the course of your career that you think young healthcare professionals should know? “I would like for younger healthcare workers to learn patience and remind them to have caring hearts. Also, to be open to constructive criticism.”
Meet Twiyla
“Twiyla is so kind and caring,” write her referring colleagues. “Everyone who speaks to her in our office absolutely LOVES talking to her. She can brighten up the slowest of days.”
A clinician for almost seven years now and a member of the CareerStaff family since October 2020, Twiyla remembers when she first realized she was destined for a career in healthcare.
“I can remember as a toddler standing on foot stools at the bedside of my great grandmother giving her medications and telling her it will make her better,” she told us. “So at the early age of 4 I knew I would be a nurse or medical professional.”
In the years since, she’s seen a lot of changes in the day-to-day life of working clinicians. “The level of care and compassion in healthcare settings has declined,” she said. “Young healthcare professionals should know that what we do for patients and their families IS NOT JUST A JOB but an opportunity to make a great impact on/in someone else’s life in a major way.”
For her part, Twiyla can recall some very impactful moments over the course of her career — both for her patients as well as herself and her co-workers. She remembers “taking care of a patient who had hand contractures and doctors were considering cutting off her hands.
“At the time I was a health and wellness coordinator at an assisted living. I convinced her daughter to allow me to work with her mothers hand for about 45 days. She agreed.
“The greatest feeling in the world is to help a patient to heal and see the appreciation on the families face and hear thankful along with gratitude in their hearts. Doctors were amazed but I wasn’t if you heal the mind and spirit the body will soon follow.”
4 Quick Questions!
What’s the best part of your day? “Seeing my patients face light up after returning to work from a few days off. It’s a good feeling to know that the level of care that I provide on a daily basis is missed when I’m gone. I am doing something right!”
What’s the hardest part of your job? “Not being able to save everyone even after having done all I can do.”
What’s the personal accomplishment of which you’re most proud? “Returning to school so that I can become a Registered Nurse and master wound care and mental health.”
What’s your favorite memory about working with CareerStaff? “Having my recruiter Madison call me and offer a position I had no idea I was even being considered for.”
Find Your Next Nursing Career Opportunity With CareerStaff!
Are you interested in joining professionals like Twiyla, Joanna and Jeanne in America’s leading staffing network for nurses and other essential health professionals? We’ve got great opportunities across the U.S.A. Learn more about the benefits of working with us here, or start searching for your next job now!