Jenn Himes-Smith became a nurse later in life, and she doesn't regret her decision. Submitted photo

Jenn Himes-Smith has been there as a person has started his life, and has also been with people at the end of their lives, alongside their families.

While she described her work as the unit director of the emergency department at UPMC Passavant in McCandless as high-stress and chaotic, she said she never regrets leaving her job as a massage therapist to become a nurse about nine years ago.

“I love that you never know what's coming in the door and you have to be prepared for everything,” Himes-Smith said. “You really have to think on your feet, and it’s scary sometimes, but you just have to go in and go for it.”

Himes-Smith said that although the job is rewarding, nurses still face challenges that come along with working in a high-stress environment, including mental health troubles. She said these challenges and nurses’ responses to them are what she would like to share during National Nurses Week.

“I think I just want people to know that we all are really trying our best and really want to help people,” Himes-Smith said. “I would really like to see an understanding that we’re just there to help.”

Tara, left, and August Bailey are a daughter and mother who, for a time, both worked as nurses in the emergency department at UPMC Passavant. Submitted photo

August Bailey has been a nurse at UPMC Passavant for more than 25 years, and had worked for a short period of time alongside her daughter, Tara Bailey, who went into the profession a few years ago.

August Bailey, who is now a senior clinician in the emergency room at Passavant, said working with her daughter as a new nurse emphasized to her the importance of working as a team to get the best results for patients.

“Nursing is a tough career but it’s very rewarding also,” Bailey said. “It’s always team playing that I like; one nurse cannot do it all.”

In the emergency room, medical staff have to act fast to make sure medical situations don’t escalate or end with a bad outcome, which is why teamwork is needed for efficiency, Himes-Smith said. She said the perfect example of teamwork in the ER that she experienced was when the staff had no choice but to deliver a baby in the department.

“It was an employee of the hospital; this baby was coming fast,” she said. “The physician delivered that baby right into my arms.”

August Bailey said she saw her daughter grow as a nurse while the two worked together. Tara Bailey now works as a nurse in the trauma surgery intensive care unit at UPMC Presbyterian.

“I was so proud of her,” August said. “Anything she has done she has always excelled. She did great and everybody respected her very much.”

August Bailey said her initial interest in nursing came from her time working as an EMT, where she would once in a while get a glimpse of the excitement in the emergency room.

“I became a nurse’s aide and I got my EMT license and then volunteered for Cranberry Township ambulance,” Bailey said. “When we would visit the ER all the time I would think, ‘This is so cool to work here.’”

August Bailey and Himes-Smith both said working as a nurse comes with a lot of responsibilities that are not technically in the job description. Himes-Smith said she once sat for hours with the daughter of a man who died in the emergency room, just helping her process her emotions.

Because not every emergency in the department is strictly medical.

“I think we always love to be a part of saving someone’s life, but sometimes it’s being a part of the end of someone’s life,” Himes-Smith said. “Sometimes, even if I'm not in the room with a patient who is struggling, I can be with the family and help them through all the fears.”

Bailey also said her time as a nurse has come with sad patient stories, but she is often honored to learn about their lives. She recalled a time when she was taking care of a hospice patient who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and how much that patient appreciated a simple meal.

“When I was taking care of her, all she wanted was something to drink and something to eat,” Bailey said. “I got her coffee and a sandwich, and she thanked me several times while sitting with her and eating her sandwich and coffee. She said, ‘This is the best sandwich and coffee I've ever had.’

“With nursing, sometimes you have a bad day, but I think I am the luckiest person in the world to hear these stories.”