Patterson is a loving mother, a caring nurse and a diligent student. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

She has never wanted to be a doctor. As a little girl, Anthonette Patterson preferred to gaze with fascination upon the women in white.

"I just loved seeing the nurse, she was just so pretty," Patterson said, reminiscing. The immaculately dressed nurse was almost angelic in her eyes. "She was just so outstanding," she emphasised.

Today, as an 18-year veteran of the profession, she not only wears her white uniform with pride but also her commitment to caring for her patients.

No exception

Patterson, who was awarded 2009/2010 Lasco/Nurses' Association of Jamaica's Nurse of the Year on August 1, is always on duty.

There was no exception during her interview at The Gleaner Company. Dressed in a white uniform, with hat and shoes, the only punches of colour were a blue belt and various badges across her left breast.

She paused, periodically, apologising for not allowing me to begin the interview.

"I'm so sorry," she kept repeating, "but I just have to do this," she said.

Her fingers moved deftly and her face looked concerned as she jotted down information about a potential patient.

She expressed genuine concern and a sense of professionalism towards someone she had met approximately 20 minutes before.

This is not out of the ordinary. When Patterson leaves the walls of the Kingston Public Hospital, where she is a ward manager, she finds it hard to leave the job behind, no matter how much she tries.

Her satisfaction comes from the simple appreciation shown by patients or the pleasure she gets from helping another through illness.

"The statistics are down when one remains alive; the statistics are up when one person dies. So, if you save one, you save the whole country," she said. This is the fulfilling and challenging part of her job.

"It's a very good field though. I'd recommend it to any and everybody. It's not financially rewarding but it has professional and social rewards," she said.

First Runner-up

Prudence Grandison, first runner-up to the nurse of the year. - contributed

First runner-up Prudence Grandison expressed a similar commitment to the profession.

"This is what I have found fulfilment and satisfaction in," Grandison said.

She said she was proud of her accomplishment and might attempt the competition again some years down the line. She is also proud of how well her fellow nurse did.

Patterson, the mother of a five- year-old daughter, has no intentions of slowing down. She just completed her master's degree in nursing education and is awaiting her next move. A part of her prize package was a scholarship for a master's degree.

"What I would like to do is see if I can move it forward to get more financing to do doctoral studies," she said, considering she has already completed her master's degree.

She hopes she will get the opportunity to teach other nurses. She has much to contribute with a background in midwifery, mental-health nursing, general nursing and bereavement counselling.

Challenge

Patterson loves the challenges that come with being a nurse. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

Nursing also has its challenges, One is balancing the emotional attachments sometimes formed in the line of duty.

"Sometimes it will wear you down; you have to master your own strength while you're assisting those persons on the outside. You have to balance it," she said.

In her line of work death often comes knocking and delivering the news to loved ones is never easy.

"You're not trained how to do that," she said, it's an art a nurse learns on the job. One she said many of the younger nurses have asked her to help them fine-tune.

"That's the challenge we have sometimes; the transition from theory to practice. You have to learn on the job," she said.

Despite the challenges, she believes it's a worthwhile profession which young people should look towards. However, she cautioned them to be aware of the facts and ensure the nursing option they select affords upward mobility to ensure they do not get stuck.

"Do not be fooled by everybody in white. Everybody in white is not a registered nurse. Get the details."