Margaret Hurley RN
“I always wanted to be nurse,” Margaret Hurley, RN, of the CTICU, says. Because there will always be a role for nurses, it is a profession offering job security. And she entered nursing on the heels of the last nursing shortage, as salaries became more attractive.
While those things brought her to nursing, it’s the day-to-day rewards and professional satisfaction that keep her there. “Patients, many of whom have been very independent, come to you at an extremely vulnerable time,” Margaret says. Those patients, particularly in a unit like the CTICU where stays average 24 hours, realize how essential a nurse’s role is to their well-being.
Working in the CTICU is particularly rewarding for Margaret. “The one-on-one care for open heart patients allows us to give them the attention they need, to work very closely with them,” she says. “Patients appreciate this because they can get further in their recovery.”
Attracted by Saint Raphael’s CTICU, Margaret joined the Hospital in 1990, right out of school. She usually works weekend nights, often as the charge nurse. This combination of responsibilities gives her a unique perspective of health care, and nursing, today. The challenges facing healthcare providers and the demands on nurses are always in the back of Margaret’s mind, but, she says, “I don’t let that overshadow the rewards of being a nurse.”
Page last updated on Sep. 21, 2007