Spotlight on Patricia Mack, registered nurse in the surgical extended recovery unit at Candler Hospital
Patricia “Trish” Mack
Registered nurse, surgical extended recovery unit
Worked at Candler Hospital for 18 years (Post-surgical unit for seven years; previously on 6North and 6South)
Education: College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick
SJ/C: Why did you decide to become a nurse?
Trish: I enjoy caring for people and seeing good outcomes. I’m also a people person. Meeting different people and caring for them is what got me into nursing.
SJ/C: What do you love about being a nurse at St. Joseph’s/Candler?
Trish: One, I love nursing. Nursing does have good and bad, just like any other job. What’s kept me here is the people I work with are like family. Some of the people I work with now, we’ve worked together the entire 18 years I’ve been here. I love the family atmosphere.
SJ/C: What are some of your responsibilities as a nurse on the surgical extended recovery unit?
Trish: Probably 90 percent of our patients are post gynecology surgery patients, but we do get a couple of different conditions as well. We get only the patients that are going to stay overnight following surgery. Most of our patients leave the next day, but they can stay up to two nights. After that, they have to be admitted. Our job is to watch them overnight, help with pain management and make sure there’s no setback in recovery in the first 23 or 24 hours before they go home.
SJ/C: What do you enjoy about nursing on this unit?
Trish: I like meeting somebody new every day. On the floor you have people that stayed two days, four days, a month, two months. It’s meeting somebody new every day that I like about it here. I also like that we are like a family. I love night shift. We get along really well and work well with each other.
SJ/C: What does it mean to you to be a Magnet nurse?
Trish: It means a lot to me. I think being Magnet status is really good because it’s a step above non-Magnet facilities. Being Magnet is top-tier to me.
SJ/C: What would be some advice you would give to new nurses or those considering a career in nursing?
Trish: My advice is don’t bite off more than you can chew. I see with a lot of nurses still, they get into the profession for money, but don’t get into it just for the money. I also see a lot of nurses burn themselves out. I tell a lot of people, nursing has so many avenues. When you get to where you feel like you don’t like the area, move on. Don’t get stuck in a place you don’t want to be. Not everything is about patient care; you can do so many things in nursing. So, my advice would also be don’t get stuck where you don’t want to be.
Family: Married for 27 years; three sons; three grandkids; three sisters and three brothers
Hobbies/interests: I love to roller skate; traveling with my sisters; spending time with my family