Caring for patients for 30 years, a day at a time

A day at the hospital

It’s 6:30 am. A typical day in my life at North York General Hospital (NYGH) begins. I’m a Clinical Coordinator of perioperative services at the hospital. So, at this early hour, you can find me looking through surgical lists and planning for the day ahead. It’s a detail-oriented job, making sure there is appropriate staffing for surgeries, triaging urgent cases, checking on equipment, and all the other resources needed for the cases to run smoothly.

I work with the hospital team to ensure surgeries are on track, starting when the patient registers upon arrival to the Day Surgery department, to the operating room and the Post Anesthetic Care Unit, to being safely discharged home.

The days usually rush by. We try to care for and serve all the patients in need on any given day, making sure we are able to accommodate and time their surgeries appropriately.

My history with the hospital

I joined NYGH in 1992, but my association with the hospital is from long before. I was born in the neighbourhood. This was my community hospital and I always aspired to work here. Taking care of people is what drove me to the nursing profession. I’m happy that today I am still able to do so with the help of my colleagues and other members of the hospital staff.

Over the years I’ve seen patient volumes grow steadily as well as the acuteness of disease in the patients who come through the hospital’s door seeking care. Another big change is in the kind of teaching we do at the hospital, the new people, and new technologies. There are now more nursing and medical students here than we have ever had before.

The culture of work

The one thing that has remained constant through it all has been the work culture here. The people, be it in the operating room or other places in the hospital, are like no other. Their kindness, generosity, and compassion for patients and for each other make me look forward to coming back to work every day. I’ve had exposure to other facilities which are similar, and I believe the environment we have created here is unique and special.

The Staff Lottery

The 50-50 Staff Lottery contribution comes as a small part of our paycheque every month but has the potential of making such a big impact on the lives of the people we serve every day. I was happy to contribute and have done so since it started. This win is a bonus! I look forward to spending some of the jackpot on travel when we are safely able to do so.

— Michell Richardson