Medical-Surgical nursing is the single largest specialty in the United States, where nurses practice on hospital units and care for adult patients who are acutely ill with a variety of medical issues or who are recovering from surgery.
And at Regional One Health, Mini George has been a dedicated Medical-Surgical nurse on the floor and in the clinic for 15 years. She is currently a patient care coordinator, a position that enables her to follow her passion of working with people.
“I’m people-oriented. Giving good care and getting satisfied patients from that care makes me happy,” George said.
George is a dedicated employee, focused on always learning more about how she can better serve patients. That includes continuing education and performance improvement, and she works hard to train new nurses and making sure patients know they’re cared for while at Regional One Health.
She appreciates the challenge on the floor where patients come from the spectrum of medical specialties, always keeping the nurses on their toes.
“Everybody depends on the nurses when they get on our floor,” she said. “It’s everyone on the multidisciplinary team, social workers – everybody says, ‘Ask the nurse.’ It’s the common saying on the floor. Nurses are responsible for so much.”
It’s a challenge, to be sure, but George said it’s one she and her fellow Medical-Surgical nurses proudly meet.
George has been at Regional One Health and in Memphis since 2002. She is from southern India and attended the four-year nursing program at the University of Delhi in New Delhi where she graduated in 1990. She followed that with a two-year program to obtain her master’s degree in psychology.
It was at that point she ventured away from home to pursue a nursing career. But instead of staying in India, George moved to Kuwait where she spent about seven years as a nurse. It was while in Kuwait that the idea of Memphis popped up. George met a recruiter for Regional One Health and decided to make the move to Memphis, her first and only nursing stop in the United States.
Why Memphis and why Regional One Health?
“Nurses are there to bridge the gap, to help patients get through their difficult times”.
“People ask me why Memphis but I haven’t wanted to work anywhere else,” she said. “Patients are patients everywhere, no matter where you go. Some moments are good and some moments are challenging. It’s the same care nurses give everywhere, irrespective of nationality or language. Nurses are there to bridge that gap, to help patients get through their difficult times.”
George chooses to work at Regional One Health because she appreciates her co-workers and enjoys the work environment.
“The teamwork and the relationships between employees here makes a big difference in your day-to-day life,” she said. “If you have someone to lean on like we do here it makes work much easier. Working at Regional One Health gives me a wonderful experience. I love what I’m doing here.”