Jan Phillips

“The most rewarding experiences occur when you are able to advocate for a patient and help them find their voice to participate in their plan of care.” Julie Werner, BSN, RN, PCCN is currently working as a nurse manager for the Heart and Vascular Progressive Care Unit, which is a 24 bed integrated unit that cares for floor and IMC level patients.

Why did you become a nurse?

When I graduated from high school, I was undecided about my career path. I floundered for a bit and someone mentioned, “I had the personality and smarts to be a nurse.” I do have an extroverted personality and enjoy helping others, so I decided to enroll in a vocational nursing school to see if this could indeed be my career path. With only a few clinical days under my belt, I knew that nursing was my passion and calling. The amount of satisfaction I felt from making a small difference in someone’s day was the spark I’d been missing when exploring other career options. I finished the vocational nurse program and immediately enrolled into a Registered Nursing program. I’ve been learning ever since and never regretted my decision.

What is the most rewarding experience?

I think the most rewarding experiences occur when you are able to advocate for a patient and help them find their voice to participate in their plan of care. Health care is often a passive experience for patients; and, nothing is more rewarding than having an engaged patient and/or family that makes decisions about their treatment, asks questions, and is actively engaged in learning all they can to optimize their health.

What advice would you give a new nurse?

I think new nurses should learn two very important things. First, never stop learning. Every day for the rest of your career you should be actively seeking learning opportunities. When you stop trying to grow and learn in your career, job dissatisfaction and stagnation make what once was a passion into a chore. Secondly, stop worrying so much about mastering skills such as starting IV’s, inserting an NG tube, or drawing blood the first few weeks of orientation. All these skills can be mastered with time and repetition; much as they were mastered by all the new nurses orienting before you. Inherent qualities such as kindness, empathy, and caring, cannot be taught; so, if you possess those virtues on day one of orientation, you’ve already achieved an important accomplishment.

What would you like to see change about the image of nursing?

I want nurses to be seen and respected as professionals. I want the public to understand and realize that patients are admitted to the hospital for nursing care. Patients who require hospitalization are not able to visit the doctor, receive a prescribed treatment, and go home and care for themselves. They need 24 hour monitoring and supervision and care provided by the nurse. I won’t be happy until phrases such as; “oh, you’re only the nurse” or “the nurse is the physician’s handmaiden” are never uttered again. The nursing profession is filled with smart, dynamic, innovative, and inspiring individuals who deserve the respect and admiration of all members of the community they serve.