Connection is Important!

We chatted with Nurse Clinician Kristen P. during Medical-Surgical Nurses Week earlier this month. She’s been a nurse for 17 years, nearly 12 of those with Northside Hospital. It was an honor to hear about her experience in nursing, what the med-surg unit at Northside is like, and what she would say to candidates interested in joining our team. 

Kristen has been in the same unit at Northside since she started - med-surg! She’s moved from a staff nurse on the floor to relief charge nurse, and eventually became a supervisor. Today, as a Nurse Clinician, Kristen is an educator for the med-surg unit she works on. She helps on-board new employees, ensure competence, roll out education for new procedures, participate in clinical rounds, and so much more. But a big part of her job, and what she says makes the “Northside Difference,” is to try and connect with patients on a person-to-person level. She says, “We want to care for our patients and treat their physical conditions, but we also look at care as a patient experience opportunity. Connection is important to their recovery journey.” 

The culture at Northside supports that kind of commitment to people. About that family-feel Kristen says, “You don’t find that everywhere. It may not seem like a big deal, but culture is a big part of feeling appreciated and satisfied at work.” And for Kristen, who has worked in several states and hospitals over her career, she knows how important finding the right culture and fit are to your career. And now that she’s found it at Northside, she says, “Where I am now is where I see myself in the future!”

To any medical-surgical nurses who want to see themselves at Northside in the future, Kristen would say, “Be able to answer the question ‘Why Northside?’ We want people to work here because of what we stand for.” As for what to expect on her med-surg unit at Northside, Kristen says, “Our primary patient population is the surgical population, but we work with patients who come in for surgery who have a lot of other medical history that needs to be considered. So we get experience across both surgery and medical work.”

Even with Northside’s continued growth, Kristen still works with a number of coworkers who were at Northside when she started. She says, “Northside is a big name in the healthcare industry. It stands for a lot. And the fact that they put their faith and their trust in me every day to uphold that reputation makes me proud of myself!” 

Come join our team!