I was five years old when I decided I wanted to be a nurse after having a vision of an Angel of Mercy in my mind.
At that time there was not a lot of help in the education system to evaluate your strengths and desires in choosing a career path, especially for females.
When I went to school at Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing at 17, I was unprepared for reality.
After graduating from nursing school, I spent 18 years in various fields of nursing, and my favorite department was Labor & Delivery because I was drawn to babies. During that time, we also started a family and work-life balance was a challenge because nursing is a demanding career.
As I left nursing, I was also frustrated and dismayed at the lack of emphasis on quality patient care. I returned to school, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, and pursued other career paths.
Over the years, I saw the education of nurses change into a science and discipline of patient-centered care. It was a much needed and welcomed transition.
During the last two decades, Jerry and I have been in situations where our health was at serious risk, and we needed care from doctors, nurses, therapists, clinicians, and health care professionals committed to patients.
We’ve received top-notch care at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital on many occasions and in various departments -- from cancer to heart and vascular to orthopedics. Because we have an outstanding hospital associated with an academic medical center, we think this is standard. Unfortunately, not all hospitals provide care at such an exceptional level.
Since 2005, we’ve become very involved with Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital Foundation, and we’re impressed with how this nonprofit supports the hospital and community. The impact of donor generosity is seen across the hospital.
After retiring from our business earlier this year, we decided to sponsor an annual scholarship through the foundation. Recognizing the demand for nurses, we wanted to specifically target young adults who may have started in one direction and then switched to nursing.
What traits are needed to be an excellent nurse? Topping the list: smart, knowledgeable about medicine, and compassionate. But nurses also need to be tough, a good listener and observer, level-headed and quick to react after assessing situations.
We understand that college is expensive – much more expensive than when I earned my nursing degree. We wanted to ease part of the financial pressure so students could focus on their studies.
Our oldest granddaughter recently finished her first year of nursing school at Carthage College. When she told me she wanted to pursue nursing, I was thrilled. I had not encouraged her to go into nursing so her career choice surprised and pleased me.
Unlike me, she’s entering a field with her eyes wide open, and she has many strengths that will allow her to be very successful. She worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant in high school, which gave her the opportunity to see nursing up close before she started college.
Our hope is that the Wick Nursing Scholarship will help grow the nursing field into the strong numbers necessary to support the needs of our community.
