August 23, 2022

We spoke recently with Assistant Nurse Manager Joan at St. Peter Hospital in Olympia about her life at Providence, what brought her to the organization—and the new unit opening soon to help address the growing needs of the community.

Relocated from Florida

A longtime nurse, Joan and her husband decided to move from Florida when it was time for something new. When evaluating options, Joan and her husband felt Olympia was right for them. She says they felt it has the potential to grow into a bigger city. “And it’s beautiful with Mount Rainier so close.”

Life at Providence St. Peter

Joan’s workdays are all about patient care. “A great day for me as an assistant manager is that my team is happy and is functioning. Everyone has a job; everyone has a role, and patients are being well taken care of.” Joan has worked at a variety of hospitals and loves Providence St. Peter because, “it is not too big but not too small of a hospital; with people who have stayed for 20, 30 years. People just want to do their best to take good care of their patients.”

She adds: “There’s a lot of teamwork. I think at the end of the day, it’s that teamwork that people love.”

Joan tells us about the potlucks the staff had to bond before the pandemic. “We have a unit secretary who would make food for everybody. She would go in the breakroom to cook, and we would all keep working, and page a few providers to come share our meal. Everyone would eat together.”

Learning every day

Joan believes that working in Medical Surgical Nursing gives RNs a fantastic foundation when they’re new. “You have just gone to school, you’ve never done it in real life, and you know you need to practice, clock in, clock out, get those shifts in and take care of those patients.” Joan reassures new RNs that with time and experience, “the more comfortable you feel with that responsibility, the more you can hone your skills, the more you know what to do.”

New unit to address growing needs of Olympia residents

To keep up with the growing Olympia community, Joan says that the hospital is adding a new unit that will primarily take on surgery patients. And they’re actively hiring RNs with a surgical background. Says Joan, “In order to staff the new unit, we’re going to have to essentially double our staff.”

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