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A lot of what healthcare professionals do on a daily basis goes unnoticed, but sometimes we get to hear about the acts of kindness that touch patients鈥� lives. Recently, associate chairperson of Nursing, Denise Edinger, received a truly remarkable email from the Nursing Informatics Manager at St. Elizabeth鈥檚 Hospital about one our own 修车论坛茅 College students, Alex Pilla, who is at St. Elizabeth鈥檚 as part of her Medical-Surgical Nursing I clinical experience. Here鈥檚 what the email said:

As a part of the leadership team at St Elizabeth鈥檚, I round with random patients to see how their hospital stay is going. Last week, I met with a gentleman and when I asked him if there was 鈥渁ny particular staff member he would like to recognize鈥� he responded 鈥淪tudent nurse Alex鈥�.  He continued to say how smart, caring and attentive to his needs she was. 鈥淎lex is going to be a fantastic nurse鈥�! He really couldn鈥檛 say enough about her鈥�.so good to hear!!

St Elizabeth鈥檚 thanks you for the excellent patient care Alex!!!

Sincerely,

Eileen

We wanted to get in touch with Alex to find out more about her and how she is working toward her goal of becoming a compassionate caregiver and nurse.

What is your background?  Have you always been in health care?

I attended the University of Tampa and graduated with a degree in exercise science. I thought I wanted to go into physical therapy so I became a PT aide but the job was just too slow paced for me. I wanted to do more so I decided to go back to school for nursing.

Why did you choose to go into nursing?

Growing up my mom would always catch me watching health shows on The Discovery Channel. Also, my Grammy had Parkinson鈥檚 disease and she was diagnosed really early at 42. I鈥檝e just always been interested in helping people and seeing them smile.

Why did you choose to attend 修车论坛茅 for your nursing degree? 

Originally, I headed to Florida right after high school graduation- I grew up in Massachusetts and I was ready for the warm weather! But after graduating from college, I wanted to be close to my family. I鈥檓 from central MA so I started at a college out there, but it just wasn鈥檛 a good fit. I found 修车论坛茅 when I was halfway through my second semester. My grandmother鈥檚 nurse is a 修车论坛茅 grad and seeing her treat my grandmother so well said a lot about the kind of school 修车论坛茅 is.

What experiences did you have at 修车论坛茅 that are helping you prepare for your career in nursing?

The nursing professors and instructors at 修车论坛茅 are super nice and encouraging- they really want you to do well. In simulation lab, we get to act as if we were in a hospital and really get in the moment to take charge of someone鈥檚 life. The instructors are tough on us during simulation so you really get in the moment and deal with a critical issue. You can make mistakes in simulation lab so it鈥檚 a great learning experience. I鈥檓 also learning a lot of information about therapeutic communication from my clinical advisors, which helps when dealing with patients and tough situations.

Tell us about the patient mentioned in the email above. 

I鈥檓 in clinical for NUR 1020, Medical-Surgical Nursing I, at St. Elizabeth鈥檚 Hospital in Brighton. I was assigned to work with a patient and the nurse in charge warned me that he was very angry. He was really upset about his situation and he just wanted to go home. I immediately connected with him and I wanted to make his experience better. I started just listening to him- I wanted him to know his voice was being heard. As I cared for him, I continued to talk with him and his wife, brainstorming ideas on how to get him home safely. I also spoke to his nurse and advocated for him. I was so glad to have his as a patient that day and he told me he was super thankful for my care.

What advice do you have for others who are considering a career in nursing?

I really think students should try and get some hands-on patient care hours under their belt. I work as an ER tech at Beth Israel Deaconess Needham and it allows me to take what I learn in the classroom and apply it at my job. Plus, I love the fast-paced environment.

Also, if you don鈥檛 like talking to people, then nursing is not the career for you. You need to be ready to listen more than you talk and love what you do. I truly look forward to going into work every day. You have to be hardworking and be able to operate on random hours of sleep. Flexibility is so helpful, but the most important thing is to have compassion and empathy for your patients.