Michelle Swenson
Michelle Swenson switched from pre-med to nursing when she realized that it was the nurses — not the doctors — who were able to spend more time with a patient on a daily basis.
“I love people and I love to take care of them,” she said. “For me, just being there for a patient, being their advocate during what could be one of their most vulnerable life moments, is what it’s all about.”
Her dedication, enthusiasm and commitment to the profession is why Swenson was recently recognized as a recipient of the Nurses – Heart of Healthcare award. Nominees underwent a voting process by a committee comprised of nursing administration and faculty members at Clarkson College.
Swenson recently moved into a position as a pre-op/PACU/post-op nurse at OrthoNebraska after working in labor and delivery for much of the last 24 years. In her current role, Swenson prepares patients for surgery, cares for them after the procedure and either prepares them for release that same day, or for an overnight stay. She also works in the facility’s pain and treatment area.
Swenson said the nursing profession involves a lot of collaboration with the interdisciplinary health care team assigned to each patient, and it also provides a certain level of autonomy when it comes to working with patients.
“There is such a great team of doctors at OrthoNebraska and the collaboration between departments is amazing,” she said. “In labor and delivery, for example, a nurse is with the expectant mom and family members monitoring and providing comfort and reassurance throughout the entire process. Oftentimes, we are advocates to both the doctor and the patient.”
As a labor and delivery nurse, Swenson enjoyed serving as a mentor to newly hired nurses and nursing students rotating through their OB/GYN clinicals. “The more nurses we have in this field, the merrier it becomes,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for so long and it makes me feel good just being able to get people excited about the profession.”
Another positive to nursing is the variety of career pathways an individual can take within the profession, Swenson said. She recommends new nurses spend at least a year on the medical-surgery floor of a hospital to get a comprehensive grasp of the practice of nursing, after that the options are endless.
Michelle Swenson receiving her Heart of Healthcare award
Though the majority of her work was in labor and delivery, Swenson worked for two six-month stints at a clinic and a medical center in Omaha just after the birth of her daughter, returning to the birthing unit both times. With her son getting ready to enter high school, Swenson thought the timing was perfect for her to switch out of labor and delivery and into a new pathway, orthopedic surgery.
“The majority of patients who need orthopedic surgery are released the same day. So, I get to care for them pre- and post-op, feed them a meal and review their discharge papers,” she said.
When Swenson learned she won a Nurses – Heart of Healthcare award, she was floored.
“I’ve never thought of my job as something that needs to be recognized,” she said. “In fact, when the email first arrived alerting me to the award, I had to read it twice because I thought it might be spam. You know, we nurses do get the occasional cards from patients and employers recognizing our work, but to be honored like this is truly something special. I feel very grateful and humbled.”
OrthoNebraska is a highly-rated orthopedic care system with more than 35 doctors in every orthopedic subspecialty including spine and non-operative pain management, in addition to physical therapy and imaging. OrthoNebraska also offers emergency care services and multiple orthopedic urgent care locations throughout eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.
