René Kougel, health center manager at our Martindale-Brightwood Health & Dental Center & Eastside Health Center, is a Registered Nurse just like each one of our health center managers. She has had a lot of experience in the nursing industry, and she wanted to share some “things that I often say to people that I’ve learned along the way in my nursing career”.
15 Lessons Learned during my Nursing Career
- Just when I think I’ve seen or heard it all, something else comes along.
- To be really successful, you must learn to be the master of multi-tasking.
- Don’t ever pass up the opportunity to use the bathroom—you might not get another one for a very long time.
- Losing my sense of smell at age 15 has served me very well in many situations during my career.
- Family, friends, neighbors will call you at all hours asking you for expert medical advice on any and all ailments, and you will be expected to know the answer—immediately.
- I have a great appreciation for nurses that work the night shift.
- I’m a terrible patient.
- I love Dansko shoes.
- Learning to accept that you can’t always be all things to everyone at all times.
- When people find out you are a nurse, they tell you everything—and I mean EVERYTHING.
- Always carry a blue or black pen.
- Don’t write your family notes that contain medical abbreviations—they will have no idea what you are talking about.
- Patients trust and need you. Do everything you can to respect and maintain that trust.
- Listen to your intuition.
- You should expect and look forward to learning something new everyday.
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