Nurses Week: Learning from 220 collective years of nursing experience
Nurses are the backbone of care teams. In celebration of Nurses Week, we’re highlighting the collective wisdom of some Mary Bridge Children’s nurses who’ve dedicated more than 20 years each to caring for children in our community.
The calling
It is not uncommon for pediatric nurses to remember an early calling to the profession.
“Initially, I felt a calling to work with babies,” shares Christy Webster, pediatric nurse care manager of Mary Bridge Children’s medical-surgical unit and PICU.
Webster’s passion has grown along with her care population.
“Now, I love how it’s progressed over 21 years into working with kids of all ages,” she adds.
For others, like Mary Bridge Children’s house supervisor Christina Calkins, the calling was more of a surprise — a chance, love-at-first-sight scenario amid clinical rotations with pediatric patients.
Some experienced firsthand the support that nurses provided to one of their loved ones and knew they had to pay that comfort and reassurance forward.
“I had a friend in high school who died of leukemia, and I wanted to do what her wonderful nurses did for her,” says Kristi Nelson, RN, with Mary Bridge Children’s transport and PICU team. “I love the resilience that children have. For the most part they are not responsible for what is happening to them. They recover quicker, then move on.”
These nurses followed that calling and share tips for newer nurses.
“Get to know your patients and families,” encourages Kris Bates, nurse manager for Mary Bridge Children’s perianesthesia and GI lab. “They are truly the reason we are here.”
Growing patients, growing careers and a growing campus
Health care is unrecognizable from what it was 20 years ago. These veteran nurses continue to reinvent their approach to care, year over year.
“When I first started in the NICU 24 years ago, all the different disciplines needed access to your chart,” shares Nelson. “Now I have at my fingertips what was discussed at the last outpatient appointment.”
Jodi McWhirter, center, stands with fellow nurses Kimberly (left) and Samridhi (right).
The rapid introduction of new technologies has revolutionized the speed of care over the last 20 years, resulting in a potential mismatch between innovation and the emotional needs of still-developing patients.
That’s where a dedicated nurse comes in, to be a friendly face when you’re faced with a new infusion machine or something else intimidating.
“I love the challenge of helping a child feel more comfortable with medical care — also building trust in the parents who bring them to us,” says Jodi McWhirter, RN, with Mary Bridge Children’s transport and PICU team.
Alongside patients’ developmental growth and nurses’ professional development, Mary Bridge Children’s is invested in growing our campus, too. Growing steadily alongside the next generation of South Sound patients and nurses, we’re already well on our way to our new children’s hospital, opening early 2026.
Why pediatrics at Mary Bridge Children’s?
While ultimately rewarding, nursing remains emotionally taxing and physically demanding. After spending a shift with a medically complex child, the importance of personal well-being can pale in comparison.
“We do great things here and people deeply care about kids and doing what is right for them and their families,” says Bates, explaining that on the hardest days, her team draws strength from a collective sense of purpose and fulfillment.
“I truly enjoy helping families learn to navigate our complex health system, and helping them understand new diagnoses,” shares Webster.
Sharon Hansen, MN, RN, CPN, finds fulfillment in her ongoing relationships, and building mutual trust between her team and patient families, referring to the relationship as the “honor of partnering with individuals at their most vulnerable moments.”
Those tough moments draw from nurses’ deep emotional well, which only recharges if supported by healthy work and personal life boundaries. Trust in their team is nonnegotiable, as it allows downtime to replenish energy and positivity.
Calkins lauds the supportive nature of her larger team, reminding them to “give yourself, and those around you, grace.”
Chosen family
After 20 years of working together, the divide between co-workers and friends becomes blurry. McWhirter says this sense of community is why it’d be hard to imagine working elsewhere.
“It’s because of the long-standing relationships I have built here,” she says. “The trust I’ve garnered amongst my colleagues, and their wealth of available knowledge at my fingertips. Mostly because it is the community in which I live in — therefore it feels even better to be a part of this hometown system.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Katie Schilz, Mary Bridge Children’s hospital supervisor, who says “It is a small, family-like atmosphere, where everybody knows and cares for one another. I’ve met my closest friends through working here.”
Help recognize nursing heroes
As we celebrate the enduring dedication of long-term pediatric nurses at Mary Bridge Children’s, we are reminded of their unique bonds to generations of South Sound families.
Thank you to each and every nurse at Mary Bridge Children’s — from the newest nurse resident to the longest tenured — for everything you do to care for our patients, their families and each other. Happy Nurses Week!