By Joan Janzen
If you’ve had to spend time in the hospital as a patient, you will soon learn to appreciate the nurses in our community. I caught up with one of them and asked a few questions. Christie Ortman is a familiar face in our community, as she has been nursing in Kindersley for the past eleven years.
“I worked in Rosetown before that, Saskatoon paediatrics age 1-3, and before that orthopaedics in Regina,” Christie explained.
Christie said she went into nursing because she had a desire to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Now she enjoys helping people navigate a path and coming alongside them to advocate.
“Nursing provided a good income, as well as a ton of variety in how, where and in what capacity you work with people,” Christie said, adding that she loves to travel and nursing is a very “portable” career with the added possibility of working vacations.
But more than anything, Christie enjoys working with the patients. “I love the job I am in right now, and the fact that I get to see patients through their entire process is very rewarding to me. I love teaching patients and preparing them for what is to come, as well as being able to walk through the entire process with them. Advocating for patients with physicians, as well as providing a safe and high standard of medical care is such a rewarding experience,” she said.
Throughout her career, Christie has witnessed many changes, as nursing and medicine changes so rapidly with the research that is done. “I think the number one biggest change I’ve seen is in technology, and the process to standardize medical treatment and streamline that treatment for patients,” Christie explained.
While working in Kindersley, Christie has come to appreciate the community for many reasons. “I love working with my colleagues. I feel very confident knowing that they are highly skilled professionals who are very competent. I believe my supervisors really do their very best on a daily, ‘boots on the ground’ kind of way, to ensure that things are running smoothly.”
For the most part, the people in Kindersley have been a really fun part of her job, Christie said. “They are usually very understanding when there are unforeseen changes or cancellations.”
And of course a smaller, less important perk, Christie appreciates is a short drive to work!
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