“My parents wanted me to become a nurse. Nursing was an in-demand job and there are a lot of people who need help. Over the years I have really enjoyed having the chance to work with all kinds of people from different walks of life.”
I started working at Lakewood in 2006. I work night shift so some of my patients are sleeping, but most of them are in pain. Sometimes they can’t take care of themselves. Family members come to us asking about their loved ones and what is happening with them. We take care of the family members too, helping them to stay informed.
Sometimes nurses don’t have a voice. They don’t know what to do to address their complaints and concerns and administration doesn’t always help. It’s good that there is a union at Lakewood because it guarantees us the representation we need to address our concerns.
We don’t have any reservations about taking care of our patients. We know we can do what is right for our patients because we are union members. We don’t have any second thoughts about doing the right thing because UNAC/UHCP gives us rights as nurses to do what we need to do so we can take care of our patients. With the security of the union behind us, we are protected when we advocate for our patients.”