A Nurse At Memorial Hospital Reflects On Five Decades Of Service

Tell us about the start of your career at Memorial Hospital.

Cathy Fenton: I’m a nurse in the OR now, but I started on the medical-surgical floor. I worked there for two years, and then a supervisor approached me and asked if I would be interested in working in the OR. I said I’d love to try. It was all because a supervisor took an interest in me.
I was lucky to have mentors here in the OR who took me under their wing and taught me the basics and so much more. One of my mentors was Eileen Botkin, RN, and she was the epitome of OR nursing. I knew the best way to succeed as a novice surgical nurse was to follow her lead. Eileen shared all her knowledge and expertise with me and under her guidance I was able to become a surgical nurse she would be proud of then and now.

What was it like to work in the OR when you began?

CF: I remember early in my career, the surgeons wanted nurses in the OR to help them at the surgical field (the sterile area where surgery is performed), but we needed to be trained. The surgeons took the time out of their schedules to come once a week, on Wednesday mornings, and they taught us what we needed to know to assist them at the sterile field. The surgeons share their knowledge and expertise with us — what a fantastic opportunity for OR nurses to experience during the early 1980s.

You were part of the first heart program at Memorial, correct?

CF: Yes. In 1990, we started the heart program, and I wanted to be a member of this team. Starting the heart program was an example of the hospital going above and beyond. The hospital was implementing a new surgical specialty for the community. They provided education for all the nurses who were going to be taking care of these patients, not just for the OR staff, but all the staff on the surgical units and ICU. For the OR, the hospital brought in an expert cardiothoracic nurse who set up classes to teach anatomy and physiology of the cardiac patient, along with overview of cardiac instrumentation and supplies, specialty equipment and how to care for the cardiac patient. The hospital converted two operating rooms into open-heart rooms, which were set up to accommodate the cardiac patient.
In 1996, Memorial had a near-perfect heart program under the guidance of cardiothoracic surgeon Bill Daily, MD, who came from Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 1996. Before he came to Memorial, I remember going to Barnes-Jewish Hospital and watching Dr. Daily perform a surgery. I was standing at the head of the bed in awe of his expertise and command of the surgery and the staff. To watch him do surgery and realize we were going to have this talent in the Metro East was exciting and humbling at the same time.

What is the culture of the OR at Memorial like?

CF: The OR is a family. I’ve made lifelong friends here. I’m a nurse of color — Mexican heritage. When I walked through the surgical doors at Memorial, and felt I was accepted because I was eager to learn, and I never backed down from challenges.
Another thing I learned from the beginning is when you come to the OR, your focus is keeping the patient safe. You must be their advocate, and you treat each patient as if they were your family or significant other.

How have you witnessed the OR evolve over the past five decades?

CF: Surgery has advanced in the OR. I went from doing simple surgeries such as open appendectomies/hernias to laparoscopic appendectomies/hernias, open-heart surgery, robotic surgery and neurosurgery. Surgery is trending toward minimally invasive surgery. We used to make a large 5- to 6-inch incision to take the gallbladder out. Can you imagine having to recuperate with a large incision versus having three or four small 1-inch incisions that heal in about a week?

What is your advice for nurses who are starting out?

CF: I would tell any nurse to take every opportunity to advance your education and to be active in all aspects of professional development. I’ve been a certified OR nurse for 37 years, and the reason I did was twofold: One, I wanted to do it for my personal achievement and satisfaction. Two, I felt like it gave me credibility in my role as the OR Nurse Educator as I had not pursued a Bachelor of Nursing degree at this point of my nursing career. My advanced degrees came later in my career at Memorial. I was the first nurse in my OR to be certified, and hopefully obtaining this certification would help to encourage other Memorial OR nurses to think about obtaining their certification.

To learn more about careers at Memorial Hospital go to https://memhosp.org/careers/