As 2020 has been declared Year of the Nurse by the World Health Organization, we would like to take this time to focus on our great nursing staff. They are arguably the most important people in the organization, whether they think so or not. We appreciate the sacrifices they make to take care of us and our loved ones. From working nights and holidays, to being on call and making home visits- they do it all with integrity and courage. They are selfless, caring, innovative, fierce, and much more than we have time to describe. So, nurses, thank you. You do what others cannot, we appreciate you.
With that, BBGH would like to share with you, our community, a little bit more about our nurses. Who they are and why they do what they do.
Meet Jennifer Johnson. A Custer, South Dakota native and RN for over 26 years, Jennifer and her family have called Alliance home twice. Originally more interested in math and thinking she wanted to be an accountant when she grew up, Jennifer quickly changed her mind after a conversation with her parents’ accountant.
After deciding the life of an accountant wasn’t for her, Jennifer started exploring her other interests. She always enjoyed her science classes in high school, and one day- on a whim- she decided she was going to college for nursing, and never looked back. “I have always enjoyed helping others. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I know that what I do can make another person feel the slightest bit better. I try to always have a positive attitude and I think that comes through to my patients and my employees,” she said.
When Jennifer isn’t busy on the PCU, she enjoys spending time with her growing family. She said, “I have five sons and three grandsons. They are all very active in sports, wrestling in particular, and we travel a lot to see them compete. My grandsons do ALL the sports and that keeps us very busy too!”
Florence Nightingale, popularly known as the ‘founder of modern nursing’ mentioned in her personal diary in the 1870s, “It will be 150 years to see the kind of nursing I envision.” We hope to continue her vision, 150 years later and 150 years from now. Jennifer said, “It’s [nursing] always changing now… it looks very different than it did when I started 27 years ago. I can’t even imagine what the future of nursing holds.”
As 2020 continues, keep your nurses in mind. They have families, hobbies, and feelings just like the rest of us. The main difference is they are courageous enough to do what we cannot, or choose not, to do.
