After 24 years as a Registered Nurse at North York General Hospital (NYGH), Marieka Brown says she’s proudest to see the next era of nurses — many of whom she has trained — bringing skill, vibrancy and compassion to their roles on a daily basis. We chatted with Marieka about her first days on the job at NYGH, why nursing was always her calling, and how community support has helped she and her colleagues thrive and remain steadfastly #HereForLife.
After 24 years as a Registered Nurse at North York General Hospital (NYGH), Marieka Brown says she’s proudest to see the next era of nurses — many of whom she has trained — bringing skill, vibrancy and compassion to their roles on a daily basis. We chatted with Marieka about her first days on the job at NYGH, why nursing was always her calling, and how community support has helped she and her colleagues thrive and remain steadfastly #HereForLife.
A day in the OR for me is really just go-go-go right off the bat. Getting patients in, making sure everyone is comfortable, providing safe and compassionate patient care… especially if the patients are away from their families. That is my eight-hour day every time I come in.
Absolutely – it was June 5, 2000. I was actually a student at the time. Back then it was at the former Branson Ambulatory Care Centre. I was all nerves, but the staff there made me feel so comfortable. I actually still work with some of them today. They were so great and they took the time to show me around the OR I’ve been there ever since!
For me it’s the way we support each other – this is my family. If you’re ever feeling down, or feeling stressed, there’s always someone that you can go to. We’ve gone through a lot of change and I love where we’re at as a team. We just feel empowered — we’re all about empowering the young people and being accountable for the care that we provide to the patients and being great at what we do.
I’ll be honest with you that at the time it seemed like a way to be guaranteed employment right out of school. But once I started practicing it became clear that nursing was always in me. I was always the one, growing up, who would be looking after the younger cousins. If there was a cut I would be the one everyone would come to. It really was a natural fit.
Well, I’m a resource nurse for the orthopedic trauma department, and simply put — we always need stuff. When there’s something we need to enhance the way we help patients, we love partnering with the Foundation to talk about funding. When we get the call saying a request was approved, it boosts morale in a way that really can’t be put into words. That ability to just work more efficiently and deliver the best care to everyone who comes in, that’s what makes us the most excited.
I think for me it’s seeing nurses that I trained on the job, blossoming in their role. I know from experience that starting out in this line of work can be hard, and the job can seem thankless at times. I’m just so proud when I see our new nurses seeing it through, and growing with us as part of this incredible team.
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“They deserve to have a gym”