Have you ever wondered what a day in a nurse's life is like? A registered nurse (RN) monitors, treats, and educates patients. Their physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs become the highest priorities in achieving optimal health. Patients receive compassion and the first line of communication between the nurse and their family members. 

In their daily work, nurses handle a wide range of tasks, using both their medical skills and compassion. They work closely with other medical professionals to provide personalized care, administer treatments, and educate patients. Nurses play a crucial role in helping patients understand their health and to make informed decisions. 

A career in nursing offers a multitude of benefits. Nurses enjoy a high-level job of security and opportunities for career advancement. It is a versatile profession with various specializations, allowing individuals to pursue areas of interest such as pediatrics, oncology, critical care, or public health. Along with this, it offers competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits packages, flexible scheduling options, and the potential for travel and relocation opportunities. The profession of nursing provides a sense of purpose, professional growth, and lifelong learning that can be immensely rewarding. 

To learn more about nursing life, Ke Ali’i spoke with Natalie— a registered nurse at Queen’s Medical Center on Tower 5 Neuroscience. Hawaii’s first hospital, The Queen’s Hospital, was established by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV in 1859. They strive to offer good service, evident in their mission statement,“to provide quality healthcare services for Native Hawaiians and all residents of Hawaii, guided by compassion, aloha, respect, and excellence.”

In the interview, Natalie was asked, “How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively during a busy shift?” She replied that “time management wasn’t taught well in nursing school,” but instead, it's something you learn on the job. There are times when there are multiple people who need your attention, but at the moment, you can only care for one patient. To illustrate this, say there are two patients. One is hungry and wants ice cream, while the other is in serious condition with heart problems. Of course, you would choose to attend to the patient with heart problems. Instead, sending another nurse to the hungry patient, while you use your expertise to treat the patient in serious condition is a better call. Figuring out the best way to deal with patients and making sure everyone is receiving proper care is a skill that comes with the experience of being a nurse. 

Another question we asked was, “In your opinion, what are some key qualities that make a nurse more successful in providing holistic patient care?” Natalie shared that some of these qualities are, “[a nurse that is] providing care and sympathy are the main key qualities for holistic patient care. But, one quality that is underrated is creativity. When you are creative, people are amazed with how you conquered a problem differently [in a more efficient way]. Nurses can be more creative on the floor to create a different [new and positive] impact on their patients.” 

At the end of the interview, Ke Ali’i requested that Natalie share a memorable patient interaction that had a significant impact on her as a nurse. Natalie said, “A girl I was taking care of had brain cancer and she knew she did not have a lot of time left. So, I gave her ice cream before she spent her last moments with her mother. The girl even told me to ‘make love-making decisions.' This had a significant impact on me because it helped me be a better overall nurse on the floor [working]. Even though this happened around 10 years ago, I started incorporating what she said into my personal life, as some of my decisions were made with fear. Until this point, every decision I have made is now with love and has bettered me, not only in nursing, but outside the hospital as well."