PATRICIA (TRISH) GAITHER Facility: Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital Specialty: Rehab 3 Hometown: Orange, VA Favorite Color: Green Favorite Movie: True Lies Favorite Sport: Boxing and football Favorite Team: Oscar de la Hoya and the Dallas Cowboys Nursing Education: Associate Degree in Nursing, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Roanoke, VA Who was your most memorable patient? A patient named Roy. He was the sweetest man, and although he could never remember my name, I just adored him. He always called me ‘Chris.’ One night when I was off-shift, my co-workers rang me up at home and said Roy kept yelling for ‘Chris.’ I consoled him over the phone and assured him that he would be in good hands with the other nurses until my shift in the morning. That calmed him down. And when I went to see him first thing I got to work the next day, he said, “Oh Chris, I missed you.” Boy, did that feel good. What would you say is the best thing about being a nurse? I get to do what I always wanted to do — take care of people. And there is a special breed of nurses in Oncology. We care for patients from diagnosis, treatment, complications of the treatment and the disease, through remission and sometimes cure, and even through the dying process. We care, educate, console, share, laugh and cry with the patient and with their families. We are their extended family. I am a nurse and I am proud of it. What’s the most challenging thing about being a nurse? One day, after almost 18 years of nursing, I felt ‘burned-out.’ As I left work that day, I thought of taking another job. But when I came back to work on Monday, I had a patient who died, and I was there to help his family through it. They were so appreciative and thankful to me for all I had done (even though I felt I hadn’t done a lot) that the ‘burned-out’ feeling disappeared. So, I guess the most challenging thing for me is the thought (or fear) that I’ll ever feel like I don’t want to be a nurse again. Trish was recently awarded the “Healthcare with a Human Touch Award” — recognizing nurses who consistently serve as mentors and demonstrate quality care. Nurses, nominated by fellow nurses and selected by a system-wide committee, are recognized for excelling in placing the patients first and in demonstrating service quality.