There are many important jobs in the world, but I think one of the most important and selfless jobs anyone could choose is to be a nurse, like my Aunt Cristi. There are different types of nurses, but my aunt is a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital in Seattle, WA; meaning she only works with kids, like you and me! If you want to be a nurse, you would have to enter a nursing program that could take 3-5 years.

My aunt wanted to become a nurse because she wanted to help other people, especially children, I like that! Right now My aunt works at the PACU. That means: post anesthesia care unit. Her department only does same-day surgeries and she takes care of the kids when they come out of the operating room. A PACU nurse makes sure that the patients have the right medications and that they are comfortable after surgery. They also educate the patient and parents on what they need to do at home and aunt Cristi is really good at making sure kids are calm and happy. She also has to chart everything, lots of notes from the doctor and for the parents.

Finally, my aunt Cristi says that the most important qualities that you should have as a nurse is compassion for your patient so they can stay calm knowing that someone is looking after them. Being a nurse also requires a lot of patience; especially right now because some people aren’t as nice to their doctors as they should because they are scared of unknown things that could happen to their loved ones with the pandemic going on. The doctorsand especially the nurses have to endure a lot of yelling or their patients and families not cooperating. Lastly, while talking with my aunt Cristi, I found out that she has been a pediatric nurse for 30 YEARS! My aunt is quite experienced in her work and I would trust her in my care any time. Fun fact, I actually did have heart surgery at that same hospital when I was 5, but because it wasn’t the same-day procedure she just had to visit me as a guest!

Nursing is a very rewarding profession.