Grumpy patients, said Dee Thompson, are her favorite part of her job as a patient care assistant.
“I like the challenge. I know that sounds terrible, but I end up making them laugh before they leave,” said Dee, who works on the medical/surgical floor at Saint Joseph Hospital. “The majority of the time they just need somebody to listen to them.”
Any initial grumpiness rolls off her back, she said: “I’m a tough cookie, so their words don’t hurt me at all.” Her approach is to ask about their family and their life and not simply do her care duties. “I come in with a smile at all times. I just make sure that the people, when they see me, know that I’m somebody they can come up to and interact with.”
Though she had been at Saint Joseph Hospital less than a year at the time, Dee was honored as its Employee of the Year in May.
Her sister works at the hospital and suggested she apply for the job there. Dee didn’t know any other employees and said she was amazed at how comfortable they made her feel right away.
“Everybody was so welcoming, so open. Like they would smile and say hi to me, and I don’t think I’ve ever been in an environment where people actually did that,” Dee said. “I love what they stand for. I love how everybody’s so nice and open. I feel that helped me absorb the humankindness.”
She currently works another full-time position, as a department manager at McDonald’s, where she’s worked for eight years. No stranger to hard work, she got her first job at age 14.
How does she juggle three 12-hour shifts at Saint Joseph and two or three days a week at McDonald’s? “I honestly don’t know. I ask myself that every day,” she said with a laugh. One key is to set aside what she calls “me time.”
“I think every day I set aside time for myself, to just recharge my energy,” she said. “I work out, I go for a walk with my dog. I love ‘me’ time, so I make sure I have enough ‘me’ time for myself throughout the day.”
Dee’s work history includes providing patient care at a nursing home, which helped prepare her for the job at Saint Joseph. Dee said she loves everything about patient care.
“I would consider myself an old soul — I think I can understand a lot of people’s situations and where they came from,” she explained. “I love bonding with them and trying to figure out what I can do to better their stay by bonding with them.
“I try to start conversations with them. I sit there and talk to them if they need somebody to talk to, because the majority of the time they just want somebody in there so they can talk about their life, and I actually don’t mind that at all. Everybody needs somebody to listen to them sometimes.”
Dee has been praised for going above and beyond in her work — an attitude she defines as “giving the patients their needs before mine. I try to give my best every single day, even though it’s harder on some days. Giving my best every single day is all I have, so I try to do that.”
Humankindness works here. Learn more about careers at CHI Saint Joseph Health.
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Spirit of Health magazine's print edition is distributed quarterly and focuses on topics related to our CHI Saint Joseph Health purpose and values.
