"My goal is to take care of patients and their families as I would want myself and my family to be cared for," said Mercy nurse Susan DeSmet.
She's a staff nurse on Mercy's Zone 71 (seventh floor), where oncology, neurosurgery, and ear-nose-throat patients stay.
It's easy to see why patients like Susan. She's friendly and unassuming, like a favorite neighbor. She listens when you speak, and is genuinely interested.
"I don't believe I'm unique to my (nursing) floor," she says. "We all work together as a team -- nurses, therapists, social workers, and others. Everyone's focus is excellent patient care."
Susan, 51, became a nurse at middle age. "I think my life experience gives me special rapport with patients," she reflects.
Her Iowa farm background also is a connecting point. "Even if patients didn't grow up on a farm, they often had parents or grandparents who did," said Susan.
Years ago, as a high school student, she worked part-time at a nursing home, and her mother suggested that she consider becoming a nurse.
Instead, Susan married at 19, had three children, and helped her husband on their dairy farm near Victor. She also worked 25 years as a waitress, and volunteered 15 years with Hospice of Iowa County.
Helping her two sons apply to colleges inspired Susan to return to school herself. She earned her associate degree in nursing from Kirkwood Community College.
In December 1996, Mount Mercy College awarded her a bachelor of science in nursing, summa cum laude (with highest honors).
A Mercy nurse since June 1997, Susan said, "I think nursing is a calling, not just a job. You get the most satisfaction from caring for your patients."
She concluded, "I keep in mind that every patient and family are both special and unique, and I hope that the care I give will always reflect that."
