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Home > Profiles in Nursing
Posted August 15, 2006
Linda Rutan, Registered Nurse, St. John's Home, Rochester
Current Position: Per diem nurse at St. John's Home in Rochester N.Y. St. John's is a multi-level care home for the elderly in Rochester where approximately 475 residents live on an eight-acre campus.
 Ms. Rutan is a career nurse living in Rochester, N.Y. with more than 20 years behind her in a variety of nursing disciplines. She's also the mother of two teenagers and a wife who has lots of advice for young nurses these days. Keep your head up, work hard, and don't try to do it all. But most importantly, try to live a balanced life.
After speaking to Linda about her experiences as a nurse, you'll know that caring for people is the number one, all-important theme in her life. She speaks with an incredible sense of humor about many years of meeting and caring for some of the most interesting people in the world - after all that's what's nursing is - that's what nurses do. They care for people at some of the most vulnerable times in their lives. But she also speaks about nursing with great reverence for the trade. "It's a career that's very important, even though current and historic pay scales don't reflect that, it's necessary." It's a rewarding career but she advises it may be right only for a certain type of person, "Someone who is sensitive, nice, pleasant and generally appreciative of people. Sour grapes need not apply! [That's her humorous side talking.]
"I know exactly how I came into the nursing profession. My mother thought I'd be perfect for it. But I would have been a pilot if she said I'd be perfect for that too. I was young and just graduated high school so what did I know." Linda's mother encouraged her to attend nursing school at a local college. At the time - and even now - Rochester's popular two-year State University of New York community college had a booming nursing program.
"I respected the field so much that as a nurse in training I'd wear my nurses cap in the car, in the food store, I'd wear it all the time I was so proud and happy. I felt I was learning how to be a nun. I even thought I'd have to dress differently and stay away from tight jeans or sexy clothes," she laughs.
After finishing her R.N. training she began working at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She worked the burn, psychiatric, med/surg units as well as the emergency department where her appreciation for people and the job she chose only grew.
"I'll never forget the woman with the glass eye I was taking care of in the burn unit. She had finished her dinner and had gone to sleep. I knew she was in a lot of pain and I wanted to clean up for her a little bit. I was straightening out her over-bed table and accidentally threw out her glass eye that she had wrapped in tissue!" Linda had assumed that the rolled up tissue on the table was garbage. The next day when no one could find the glass eye she realized what had happened. "I thought that was it. I was going to be fired for sure." Thankfully, Linda wasn't fired but learned a lesson; people sometimes wrap their glass eyes in tissue paper.
 In fact, there were many more memorable patients Linda would meet as a nurse. Each of them either taught her a lesson, or made her appreciate life's challenges. "While I was working as a home health nurse for Visiting Nurse Service in upstate, I'll never forget a young 17 year-old girl who had a learning disability. She had recently given birth to an extremely premature baby and lived with her mother who also was mentally disabled. I was hired to help her and her mom learn how to care for her infant. On my first visit I was supposed too explain how to generally care for an infant. I ended up spending three hours there just explaining how the baby would need to be fed every two hours! The baby weighed only 4 lbs 15 oz. and looked like a tiny helpless sparrow. I was so afraid to leave her alone. It was the most amazing thing though; the baby thrived in that house. At first I thought I'd never feel comfortable leaving them alone with the baby and I reluctantly left that first day. But they provided everything and more to the baby. It was a real lesson to me that I'll never forget."
Palliative care is also very common in the visiting nurse program. "I cared for dying patients that were always inspirational. Visiting Nurse gave me an opportunity to work regular hours and do what I really love to do."
"These days I spend a lot of time caring for my own children and have picked up gardening has a new hobby." Although Linda has been an avid hobbyist over the years, her interests have been as varied as the people and experiences she has had. From painting to knitting to reading, she has been a fan of them all. "You need to have a hobby or something else that keeps your attention," she says. "It helps to strike that necessary balance with work and life."
As for the nursing shortage and pay scales, Linda has some thoughts. "Nurses today need more leadership training. I don't know if this has something to do with the shortage but we definitely need to have more opportunities for professional development. A normal career in nursing prepares us every day to nurture and support people in need, but on the other hand, we are never prepared enough to manage and lead other nurses to excel. I'd really like to see health care organizations regularly provide increased levels of employment, training and career development opportunities, and of course a compensation package to match."
 Even with the ups and downs in the nursing field, Linda strongly believes its one of the best careers in the world. "As I get older I feel a sense of obligation to promote nursing as a career. I'm always encouraging aids to take the next step and get their degree. It's a real sense of responsibility that I've developed. I want to replace myself. I know I'll never quit. I'll be a nurse forever. I love it. But I want to make sure there is someone to take my place."
"I'm not sure how the system will change - but I recognize that's it's hard to expect people to keep working long hours while earning minimal pay. I definitely think they should increase the wages across the board. Hospitals and health care organizations have gotten away far too long with paying poor wages to such an important discipline. Maybe this is why the shortage has reached critical levels. If the hours, pay and benefit packages were more attractive, we might not have this problem."
Ultimately, Linda chose a career that matches her philosophy on life. Her dedication to the field is unyielding. Yes. She recognizes that things like career development, promotions and pay scales have to change, but she's more devoted today then when she was a proud teenager driving around town wearing her nurses cap. "What other career will give you this kind of insight, and first- hand experience on life, and on what the world might have in store for us?"
Linda Rutan is a registered nurse in Rochester N.Y. Born in Brooklyn, she grew up in her formative years in Baldwin and later moved upstate where she attended high school. She currently works per diem at St. Johns Home, a residence for older adults. She earned her nursing degree from Monroe Community College and attended Alfred State University while floating at the University of Rochester Medical Center. As a floater, she worked in the burn, psychiatric, med/surg units as well as the emergency department. After college, she would later focus her attention in the burn unit and psychiatric unit for one year each. She then worked for the Visiting Nurse Service for 11 years until she was married and had two children. After a year off to smell the roses, learn how to be a new mom and take care of her family, she began working at St. Johns Home. She has been happily employed there for the past 10 years. In her fee time she likes to garden, paint and generally have a good time with her kids, now ages 13 and 16, and family. She also works part-time as a home health aide for an elderly multimillionaire gentleman who, she says, "is one of the most interesting and entertaining people I have ever met." But that's a whole other story.
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