Julie Porter, CNP

Julie's Story...
When I reflect back as a young child, I always knew I wanted to be a nurse.  In second grade, I painted a picture of myself in my chosen career, cap and all.  I enjoy working with patients, nursing and the multidiscipline approach.  We look differently at our patients than most other professions.  We not only see the diagnosis, but also the whole approach to the patient and their family.  Teaching is a continual opportunity that presents itself from the simple task of bathing or walking to preoperative instruction.  Patients genuinely appreciate the time spent and information shared in a simple and honest approach. 

The nursing staff at Rush-Copley is interested in their patients and take initiative in each patient's care.  Nursing is often stressed with the time constraints and the demands for documentation.  It is a struggle to provide excellent care, education, and preventative education, and still document all that we accomplish in a day. I am fortunate to be in a position in nursing to be able to see many types of nursing.  Working in the OR as a first assist, I appreciate the great care and concern the nurses have for patients they rarely get the opportunity to know.  The ICU has been my comfort zone for more than 20 years and nursing here brings the challenge of advanced technical skills paired with compassion for a family in crisis and under stress.  The intermediate unit is a place where I feel my greatest impact on the patient is often felt because at this point most patients are anticipating discharge home and are feeling the need for as much information as possible.  The patient and family are full of questions and often anxious about the next stage in recovery.  They appreciate the information and support.

I am also fortunate enough to work in our office.  I had always felt that the office would not be the most stimulating aspect of nursing, but I have discovered just the opposite.  Many of our surgical patients present prior to surgery for evaluation and preoperative education.  This gives me the opportunity to meet the family and assess their discharge needs before they are even hospitalized.  Their postoperative visit gives us the pleasure of seeing the patients in recovery and at times learning ways to improve our care and process for the next patient.

Because nursing offers many opportunities for all different aspects of care, I think those interested should try all different areas of nursing.  I have been a Nurse Practitioner for four years and found my niche.  The variety of care I can provide is an incredible challenge and a great reward.  Your peers are the supportive group that drives a practice to improve and advance. 

There is a great combination of events that stand out in my mind, all small and large events with patients and families.  It is very rewarding to see a once very ill patient doing wonderfully a few months later.  It is also wonderful to see the improvement in patient's lives who may have had more minor procedures.  The years I have spent at Rush-Copley are a string of events that grow together, a single event doesn't make the fabric.