Roberta McCabe has been a
registered nurse for 33 years and counting. She has worked at Little Company of
Mary Hospital and currently works at Palos Community Hospital as Charge Nurse
for the afternoon shift. She was generous enough to answer a few questions for
me.
What originally drew you to the field of nursing?
I went
into nursing 33 years ago, after my first husband passed away. I had a two
month old son and I needed a job with security. I thought, “If my cousins could
be nurses, so could I.” I always wanted to be a policewoman. You could say
that, “I fell into nursing.”
Do you feel that nursing is your vocation?
I feel
that things happen for a reason and that there is a master plan. I fell into
nursing 33 years ago and I could not imagine doing anything else.
How has the nursing field changed since you first entered
it?
Nursing
has become more technical. The devices and equipment that is used has become
more complex. Because of the EMR- “electronic medical record,” you can spend
more time entering patient information then taking care of the patient. You
have more patients to take care of and less time to do it in. There are more
opportunities of nurses from working in hospitals, offices, clinics, and home health
care. Educational requirements have also changed, most schools have BSN
programs. When I started, most programs were associate or diploma programs.
What is one of the most important lessons that you have
learned because of nursing?
After
33 years and working at various institutions, I have learned that “no one is indispensable.”
With the healthcare in the country changing, have you
noticed any changes occurring with the hospital and staffing?
Definitely,
the patients are coming in “sicker.” People are post-poning or waiting to come
in, because “fear of losing their job.” There is less staff (nursing and ) and
inventories for supplies are lower.
If one
unit is slow, you may be told to go another unit that you may be unfamiliar
with. We have more patients than ever before and they are a lot “sicker.”
Do you still believe that nursing is a “recession proof”
career?
For the
most part yes, but the ACA was crammed down our throats by lies and deceit millions
of dollars were taken from medicare payments directed towards hospitals and
diverted to the ACA. Since that time. If your nursing units has empty beds, you
are now sent home.
