Nurses are the foundation of Binto's "why." Nurses carry us through so much of our lives with so little recognition—at every appointment, emergency, vaccine, they are holding our hands. We thank our nurses for their strength, compassion, charisma and sacrifices in taking care of patients. So what better way to honor National Nurses Week than with a daily feature of some of our favorites? Read on.
Jasmine Nguyen, RN, Labor & Delivery
What are some of the most challenging situations you have faced as a nurse and how did you overcome them? The first thing that comes to mind is how it can feel like everything always falls on nursing. I remember at the beginning of the pandemic we had to be the ones to not only care for patients but empty the trash and deliver their food trays! It was very frustrating but I understood that we wanted to limit exposures the best we could. Having a difficult patient can always be challenging as well but I always try to be open-minded and put myself in their shoes.
Can you share a story about a patient you helped to make a significant improvement in their health? Prior to being a labor and delivery nurse, I worked in med surg and I remember having a very old patient during the pandemic who was struggling to eat the hospital food. He started to become very weak and COVID was not helping the situation because we didn't allow visitors at the time. I remember calling his son for him so they could talk and the patient telling me how great of a cook his son was. At that moment, I had an "aha" idea. I reached out to my unit manager and asked if his son could bring him food and I could meet him in the lobby to bring it up to the patient. I quickly got approval and the patient's son quickly got cooking! The patient literally licked the bowls clean! We saw such an improvement in his overall morale and I even felt like it was comforting to the patient to have something familiar while his stay was so lonely. It was something very small but I'll never forget this story and I'll never forget his reaction! Priceless!
How do you balance the emotional demands of nursing with your own well-being and self-care? If you know me you know I take self-care VERY seriously. L&D is VERY emotionally demanding and it can be very exhausting. You see so much. From someone's first delivery to someone's first loss. I make sure to set aside time on my days off to recharge so I can show up as my best self for my patients. I love getting a good sweat in (so therapeutic for me), spending quality time and laughing uncontrollably with my friends and family, or trying a new restaurant (always gives me something good to look forward to-- huge foodie here)
What advice would you give to someone who is considering becoming a nurse? DO IT! There are so many endless possibilities with nursing! Inpatient, outpatient, administration, education, public health, businesses, and so much more! If you get tired of something you can always use your nursing background in another venture! Nurse Suzie is a great example!
What do you love about Binto? The passion Suzie has towards women (and mates!) health! I relate to that so much! The love and dedication to help others feel better and ultimately become their best selves. That is what first comes to mind when I think about BINTO!