Interview

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.