Giving nurses a voice

Tamara Herrera’s interest in healthcare started with volunteer work in her youth. “When I was 13 years old, during the summer, I would volunteer at what was then the Children’s Hospital of Austin. I would take a city bus downtown, work my shift and then come back ,” she said. “I felt like it was something I could do as a young person-- reading to and playing with the kids, holding and rocking babies who didn’t have anyone to be with them. Showing compassion and giving of myself felt natural and there was a sense of happiness in giving.”

In college, Tamara was pre-med when she realized she wanted to be a nurse. “As a volunteer at the old Brackenridge Hospital ER, I saw what an impact nurses have as part of the healthcare team. I realized that bedside care was where I was called to be,” she said. “Being in a medical environment, nurses have the ability to assess, report and use our critical thinking to care for patients. We are the eyes and ears, 24/7.”

Tamara, RN, is now a Labor and Delivery Nurse Supervisor and also the Shared Governance Co-Chair at Ascension Seton Williamson. “Professionally, I have been in leadership roles and I’m now doing charge nurse and supervisor roles. When you extend yourself, it helps you feel more invested. I tell nurses – jump in feet first and get involved in as much as you can. Being more invested makes the work more joyful.”

As a Shared Governance Co-Chair, Tamara is involved in a council for nurses that is run by nurses, and involves mentorship by hospital leaders. “We focus on nursing practices and patient/staff satisfaction using quality and evidence-based methods. It’s a great way to be involved with the hospital and administration, and to show others that ‘your nursing voice matters'” she said. “It's an honor to be a part of and it makes me grateful to be on the team at Ascension Seton Williamson.”

About working for Ascension, Tamara said, “I sincerely believe our ministry is looking out for the patient and serving underserved and vulnerable populations. We are a big hospital system but when patients are in need, we take care of them no matter what insurance they have or don’t have,” she said. “We treat them as Christ would. Our basic compassion and love comes through.

“When we receive emails from leadership or have town hall meetings, the mission is incorporated into that too,” she said. “There’s an accountability of that core mission and compassion for people.”

Labor and delivery nurses in particular experience both inspiring and humbling moments on the job. “We have beautiful deliveries with the miracle of life brought into the world. Then there are times when we dig deep and give extra compassion, on sad occasions when a baby has died or is stillborn,” she said. “There was one time I had a Spanish-speaking patient and she came into the hospital because she wasn’t feeling her baby move. Sadly, her baby did not have a heartbeat on ultrasound and when you have a mom that doesn’t get to take her baby home, you have to show extra compassion and care. I said ‘I’m here for you and I’m sorry for your loss.’ I felt like I connected with her by being there with her. It really humbles you and it’s why we go into nursing,” she said. “You experience all the aspects of life, both the happiest and saddest of moments.”

Tamara said that L&D nurses had their fair share of Covid moms as patients. “From the beginning, we had to learn what to do from the CDC and our command center, and that changed multiple times,” she said. “The resilience of my coworkers was so impressive. Nurses who have that drive to take care of people will push through in any situation. It made me proud to be a nurse – we were on the front lines going into unknown territory.”

Covid also showed the importance of self-care. “We need to replenish ourselves to be able to give to others,” she said. “At Ascension, I’ve seen a lot of support through wellness, spiritual, emotional and counseling initiatives. Sometimes we need to remember the secondary effects of traumatic events, so the health and wellness support you get can make you feel like part of a bigger team and purpose. Covid also showed everyone how important nurses are. They are as important as anyone else on the healthcare team. It never ceases to amaze me how strong nurses are and how we are natural caregivers.”