Honoring our nurses during National Nurses Week
National Nurses Week is May 6–12. To recognize our incredibly dedicated nurses who work tirelessly every day to care for our patients and protect our communities, we asked 12 nurses, “What makes you proudest to be a nurse now?”
What makes you proudest to be a nurse now?
Diane Dohl, RN (site manager), Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital
“Helping people who so desperately need it at this time makes me proud to be a nurse.”
Phil Godak, RN, ICU, Geisinger Community Medical Center
Abby Zihou, RN, Geisinger Holy Spirit
“The same that it has always been — getting to help people.”
Jody Jolloff, RN, Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital
“Being a patient in the hospital right now is very scary for most people. Family and friends are unable to visit patients at this time and patients fear being in the hospital due to COVID-19. I am proud to be a nurse now because I am the patient's friendly face, their support system and their nurse. As a nurse, we are always advocates for our patients, but at this point in time, in the world today, we are their everything — and I am very proud of that.”
Nathan Stoner, RN, Emergency Department, Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
“Being able to provide a sense of reassurance to patients and their families on what is potentially one of the worst days of their lives.”
Colby Faust, RN, ICU inpatient nurse operations manager, Geisinger Medical Center
“Being part of a team finding innovative ways to overcome new obstacles. Modern healthcare is continuously changing, even more so now with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen healthcare and nursing care delivery change almost on the hour. As a nurse, our primary responsibility to care for patients has never faltered. I’m very proud of my team, my profession and of being a nurse.”
Jodi Gates, clinical nurse educator, and Teri Aton, LPN, Geisinger Medical Center, Emergency Department
Jordan Karlovich, RN, team coordinator, Med-Surg unit, Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital
“Being a nurse was something I wanted to do from the time I was young. What makes me proudest to be a nurse is I get to be someone the patient needs at that time — whether to listen as they work through a problem, hold their hand as they talk with the doctor, share a laugh with when they feel down, or sit with and just be there for them. Being able to be that person and give whatever I can of myself and seeing their appreciation is truly what makes me proud to be a nurse. Especially with everything going on, making someone smile while they are in the hospital is heartwarming and fulfilling and gives me deep pride in my role. Not everyone gets to experience this life the way nurses do, and to help someone through what may be their lowest point is, to me, truly what being a nurse is all about.”
Keesha Bruno, certified registered nurse practitioner, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre
“I am proud to be a nurse at Geisinger because I am able to provide healing to patients and families by being a part of a great healthcare team that utilizes evidence-based practices. I feel that this is what I am meant to do, that this is my calling in life. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”
Sarah Hauze, LPN, Orthopaedics, Geisinger Woodbine clinic
“The hard work and compassion I see from the central region orthopaedics team. Every day, we put aside our fears and show up to support not only the patients who need our help, but also our coworkers who rely on us to work together seamlessly to get the job done. I am proud that as nursing staff, we have stepped up to the challenge of ‘being the calm’ for our patients in this trying time.”