Posted on Thu, Apr. 24, 2008

A hundred nurses from the Midlands and around the state were honored Saturday with the Palmetto Gold Award from the S.C. Nurses Foundation Inc. Scholarships also were given to 23 students — one from each of the state’s accredited registered nursing programs.

Some of the honorees talked with The State about nursing.

B.J. Roof, 59 Nursing administrator, Palmetto Health Richland Education: University of South Carolina Rewarding moment: “Mentoring young nurses as we hire new graduates. People come with great ability and the opportunity to grow.” Discouraging moment: She watched the parents of an 18-month-old child with Reye’s syndrome go through what was to be a loss. “She was just such a beautiful child, and there was nothing that could be done to improve the situation. I never forget that child.” What keeps me going: “People give me energy, and as long as I’m surrounded by great people, we can always do great things together.”

Marie Bridges, 62 Nurse-midwife, Lexington Medical Center Education: Greenville General Hospital/Furman University, Columbia Hospital School of Nursing, USC, Medical University of South Carolina Rewarding moment: “Delivering my grandchildren. I’ve been involved in the birth — being in the C-section room or doing the delivery.” Also, she now is delivering babies of women she delivered. “When you’ve been somewhere for 20-something years, you can see a generation come through.” Discouraging moment: A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against her once. “I think that was my lowest moment. It was an affront to my integrity. I felt like I’ve always done the best job that I could ever do. I never would willfully harm anybody.” The suit was dropped. Advice to younger nurses: “I would tell them not to become a nurse unless they are willing to give 100 percent while they’re there. And yet, I would also offer them the advice that they need balance in their lives. They need time with their families. They need time to develop their personal interests away from work.”

Andrea H. Marshall, 40 Nurse executive, wound care nurse, W.J.B. Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center Education: USC, University of Phoenix Why I got into nursing: “My grandfather was ill when I was 14 or 15. I think I got interested in that time because my mother had to take care of him with hospice. I would also sneak and look into (my father’s) Emergency Medical Technician books. I was a wild child and ended up going in the military.” While in the Air Force, she became a jet engine mechanic. “I finally made it into nursing school.” Discouraging moment: “I’ve cried for many patients. The most discouraging moment was when I felt like I didn’t have the ability or resources to help a patient get through a certain situation.” Rewarding moment: “I think I have had multiple patients come and tell me, ‘thank you,’ and (seeing) them up and healing and leaving the hospital. It doesn’t have to be something they come and say to me; it’s just knowing that I had a part in that.” What keeps me going: “Trying to make things better. I love veterans. That’s why I stayed here. I am a veteran. My husband’s a veteran. I believe we owe good quality care to the veterans.” Advice to younger nurses: “I tell them to uphold their ethics, don’t fall into the traps of the negativity. Focus on the patient and on being the best they can be, but also to balance and have a life, too.” Barbara Smith, 52 Surgical Intensive Care Unit nurse, Roper St. Francis Health Care in Charleston Education: Lander College (now University), Howard University Rewarding moment: “I enjoy working with the young nurses because they ask questions and keep me thinking. I’m a farmer’s daughter. My father (Adam Smith) grew cotton and tobacco. He didn’t have the opportunity to go to school, but he wanted his children to do well. I found something that I love, and at the end of the day, I say, ‘Wow, they pay me to do this?’” Discouraging moment: “During Christmas of 1994, I vacationed to West Africa — Ghana. While I was there, I did some volunteering in the children’s ward in Korle-Bu Hospital in Accra. There was a little baby, probably about 3 or 4months old, having an asthma attack. They had medicine, but didn’t have the equipment to put the medicine in. It took a lot out of me to watch that baby die. If I could have just gotten a nebulizer — and we throw so many away.” Advice to fellow nurses: “I would like to tell nurses with my experience and years in the profession to continue to learn and to not eat their young. To encourage young nurses. When I one day become a patient, I hope that the person who stands over me wants to be there and enjoys what they do.” Lydia Bautista, 51 Surgical Intensive Care Unit nurse, Roper St. Francis Health Care in Charleston Education: Philippine Christian University, Mary Johnston College of Nursing Rewarding moment: “When my patients get better. They go home. That’s my reward. When I see them coming back to the hospital for a visit, I feel so good.” What keeps me going: “I think it’s just embedded in me — taking care of others. I want to be a bedside nurse.” Advice to younger nurses: “You have to be compassionate. Some people use (bedside nursing) as a steppingstone to another role. You have to have your heart in it to do it excellently. I understand you have to progress, but what I’m seeing is that we’re losing some of the best bedside nurses. If we don’t have bedside nurses, who will take care of the patient?” Jerry Feagin, 49

Surgical Unit Intensive Care nurse, Roper St. Francis Health Care in Charleston Education: U.S. Army How I got into nursing: “I kinda fell into it.” He entered the Army in 1975, but soon got injured in a parachuting incident. He went into the medical field after that. “You go from shooting people up to patching people up. I enjoy patching them up better.” Discouraging moment: “When I was deployed to Croatia with (a) MASH unit and dealing with civilian pediatric casualties. We were neutral because we were attached to the U.N., so there was only so much we could do in terms of protecting the kids.” What keeps me going: “I think I make an impact. From time to time, I have a family that comes back and tells me that I did a good job and helped (them) and the patient, and I really enjoy that.” Advice to younger nurses: “Don’t be intimidated by technology. Stay compassionate. Don’t forget your ABCs — Airway, Breathing and Circulation.” Yvonda Wright, 38, Emergency Room nurse at Mary Black Hospital, Spartanburg Education: USC Spartanburg Rewarding moment: “When patients come in with a family member and say: ‘You’re the one who helped me and gave me that advice.’” Discouraging moment: “The most disheartening thing to me is the middle-class bias that we see. Sometimes we lose sight of people who may be indigent ... of why people use the ER instead of having primary-care doctors, instead of finding out the root cause.” What keeps me going: “My kids. I think of the young African-American girls who come in, and I say, ‘I can get that extra bit of teaching in there.’ When you see someone who might remind you of a relative, you can say, ‘Hey, I do know where you’re coming from.’” Advice to younger nurses: “Remember why you became a nurse. When you find yourself feeling like it’s just a job ... maybe it’s time to switch fields — within nursing, there are so many things you can do.” Cherie Setzler, 60 Infection Control and Disaster Preparedness nurse, Mary Black Hospital, Spartanburg Education: Community General Hospital of Greater Syracuse, 1968 Why I got into nursing: “I’m a baby boomer, and my mom was a Navy nurse. I got into it for probably crazy reasons. When I was 3, she would come home and tell my grandma about the babies (she took care of at the hospital). She had silk stockings. I would sit on the floor and listen to her. I still have a snapshot in my mind of sitting on the floor and rubbing my hands up and down her leg. I wanted to grow up to be a nurse.” Discouraging moment: “We don’t put enough funds into adult daycare so we keep people out of institutions. It such a worthwhile thing to have good-quality daycare for folks so they can stay in their homes for longer.” Emotional moment: She once ran an adult daycare in Syracuse, N.Y., where a woman was admitted for terminal care. “She required a lot of care. The lady was nonresponsive to anyone.” When the woman was dying, the nurses called in the family from out of town. “I sat with her and recited the 23rd Psalm. As I did so, a huge tear came out of that lady’s eye. A single tear ran down her face,” Setzler said, choking up at the memory even 30 years later. “I knew then there was a reason for my being a nurse — at a time when things in my life were making me question, in that one tear, it brought it home.” Advice to younger nurses: “I would encourage a new nurse to get some technical skills in an acute-care setting so you’re familiar with the machinery and techniques but never discount the fact that you can use that knowledge if you get into the care of the elderly. If you do so, you’ll never want for a job.”

— Czerne M. Reid

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To learn more about the Palmetto Gold awards and scholarships, visit http://www.scpalmettogold.org/. Click on “Support Palmetto Gold” to see how to donate online or nominate a nurse, and other ways to contribute.