For Premier Medical Group’s thousands of patients, no patient experience would be complete without the dedication, expert care and kindness of our more than 75 nurses. Roles that they fulfill at our offices and online practice include:
- Nurse Practitioners (NPs)
- Registered Nurses (RNs)
- Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs)
- Clinical Leads
- Clinical Supervisors
- Nurse Navigators
- Team Leads
When you are a patient, it is not always easy to recognize these roles but each of these skilled professionals play an essential part in keeping you healthy, safe and comfortable whether your visit is a routine checkup, or diagnostic testing, or a variety of medical procedures.
What makes a great nurse?
Whether you’re talking about a nurse practitioner, a nurse, or any of those listed above, to be an effective nurse, these are vital elements of the skillset.
- Think fast, act fast
The ability to assess a situation and move into action is something patients don’t necessarily see unless they happen to be the situation in question. Our nurses are working in many different areas throughout Premier Medical Group and are in constant contact with patients every day. Our nurses’ quick thinking has reduced the severity of adverse reactions and actually saved lives.
- Compassion and communication
For many of us, a doctor’s appointment can be stressful. That’s why our patients appreciate that our nurses give them kindness coupled with clear communication of the patient’s needs, doctors’ orders and their own suggestions.
- Quality of caring
Our nurses are role models of people who are more concerned about the needs of others and their well-being. They are generous with their time, know how to listen and have the ability to make well-informed decisions. Good nurses lift patients’ spirits, support their recovery and, most of all, make patients feel comfortable. They are a significant part of what brings our patients back, year after year.
This has been an exceptional year for our nurses, with the pandemic, social distancing, PPE and other changes to manage. In recent weeks, nurses have been administering COVID-19 vaccines at Premier Medical Group offices and helping to make our patients, and our country, safer.
Meet Nurse Judy Martinez, 27 years of service at Premier Medical Group
Judy Martinez met Premier Medical Group’s CEO, Sunil Khurana, MD, a noted gastroenterologist, in 1984 when she assisted him in performing endoscopies and colonoscopies in what were the early days of these procedures. Physicians performing those diagnostic procedures had to bring their own instruments, so Judy Martinez finds Premier Medical Group’s state-of-the-art Endoscopy Center at 21 Reade Place, in Poughkeepsie , NY to be a vast improvement in the care they can provide to patients. Judy says that even after 37 years as a nurse, with 27 of those years at Premier Medical Group, “There is always a lot more to be learned. New procedures and tests, Like the WATS3D Test for Barrett’s esophagus. This procedure has made a huge improvement in finding this condition earlier.”
Judy Martinez finds nurses are able to reassure patients and encourage them to be more compliant. “I really enjoy what I do. I think I make a difference, helping patients feel comfortable, treating them well, always remembering that they are nervous and treat them with respect.” Premier Medical Group is proud of our ability to attract and retain excellent and compassionate nurses like Judy Martinez.
And Nurse Nerina Rivera, 15 years serving in Premier’s Urology Division
Nurse Nerina Rivera grew up in an Italian family with her father owning his own restaurant business. Nerina didn’t want to join that business but went to nursing school instead, “Premier Medical Group was my first job, my only job!”
She works to support Dr. Paul Pietrow and Dr. Walter Parker at Premier’s Kingston office where she is Lead Nurse with a responsibility to ensure that all nursing aspects of the practice are well organized and caring. She comments: “I absolutely love my job. I treat my patients as if they are my mom, my dad, or a family member. I calmly talk them through, reassuring them that they are in good hands.”
For Nerina, the satisfaction in her job comes “at the end of the day when a patient says, ‘Thank you! You made me feel comfortable.’ and they walk out feeling content and happy, I feel like I make a big difference.”
All of us at Premier Medical Group feel the same way about our nurses and we hope that during May, you’ll remember to share your gratitude for their service.