Nurse balances motherhood and work
By SUSAN HALLER
For Smart
How did you get into your field? I actually started out in public health in York. I went to York College and started out working in York City Health Bureau. We did HIV testing, tuberculosis treatment, immunizations . . . it was public health so you pretty much do the gamut. We treated homeless patients and worked with young moms and pregnant moms. Then I went to the Visiting Nurses of York (now part of WellSpan) and started working there, and got interested in doing wound care. I think it started out when I was working with the homeless because a lot of those patients didn’t have the money or resources to get the care that they needed. I found in VNA I wanted to . . . teach people to care for the wounds they were left with.
What is your favorite part of your job? For the most part, it’s whenever I have a patient that feels hopeless . . . wondering, “How am I going to live my life?” My job is . . . to get them to realize they are going to have a productive life, and they will learn to manage. In my job, I pretty much deal with the ugliest of the ugly. It’s not for everyone. There’s no way I could be a kindergarten teacher — I don’t have the patience. I found something I love to do.
What is the hardest part of your job? The hardest part is when I don’t have the answer. That’s the most challenging. When the doctors, the patients and the nurses are looking to you for the answer and I have no answer . . . I have no magic wand.
The hardest for me are the babies or the pediatric patients. You’re dealing with not only the child themselves — who don’t know why they are hurting — but then you’re dealing with the parents who say “save my child” or “fix them.” As a parent, it brings it to this whole other level; you look at them and I can’t imagine what these parents go through. And that’s why I wanted to do the missions trip. Because I’m sure that there are a lot of kids and parents and patients that I
do have the answers for.
Where are you going on your missions trip and what are you going to be doing? We’re going to be in Guatemala for five days working in a medical facility assisting other physicians on the trip.
Have you been on a missions trip like this before? I was a disaster specialist for the Red Cross . . . I’ve done missions-type trips before. I was at the World Trade Center at 5 or 6 the night of Sept.11. It was very intense.
What inspires you in life? I guess the first thing that comes to mind is my kids, only because they’re such a blank slate. They don’t have all the burdens of the world; and I think that’s refreshing to see. We all start off that way. No matter who you are, you’re a gang
member now, or whatever situation of life you’re in . . . you started off enjoying coloring.
What are your hobbies? I am involved with my church. I go to St. Andrews Episcopal Church in York. I work with the youth program there. And taking care of my kids. They’re my hobby for the most part. I like working separate from where I live. It’s such an intense
job that when I come home I embrace (my kids). . . . They’re my stress relief. . . .It really is a nice balance for me. I need both. I could not be a stay-at-home mom. I love my kids. But I appreciate them and I love them more because of my job.
ABOUT JENNIFER FIMIANIAge: 33
Occupation: A registered nurse certified in wound care (Certified Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurse) at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore.
Family: Husband Ron; sons Luca, 3, and Lance, 1.
Education: Studied nursing at York College
Lives in: York Township
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