SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Every year, nurses around the world are honored and celebrated during National Nurses Week, an observance that begins May 6 and ends on May 12, the birthday of the “mother of modern nursing,” Florence Nightingale.
At the 52nd Medical Group, nurses and medical technicians work tirelessly to ensure the continued well-being of Saber Nation and are being recognized by the annual event.
“This week pays tribute to all the men and women, past and present, in this field of work,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Suemai, 52nd MDG immunizations technician. “We celebrate our history and use the stories and lessons of the past to enhance the future of our nurses and techs, and the care we provide our patients.”
Suemai explained the care provided to one patient at the 52nd MDG isn't done by one individual, but by a team.
“Our job is to aid the physician by double checking and executing the treatment plan,” he said. “We also prep equipment and supplies to ensure to the best of our capability that the patient's appointment time is utilized efficiently and effectively.”
Suemai said his decision to become a medical technician stems from his upbringing, where he and his family were very involved in helping others in need.
“This in my opinion is very much the same,” he said. “I also felt being a med tech would help me get a good idea if nursing was for me, and so far I think it is.”
Another member of the team, Capt. Heather Bezerra, 52nd MDG pediatric nurse, remembers exactly when she decided to pursue nursing as a career.
“When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people who had been positively impacted by healthcare, and I knew at that moment that I wanted to be part of something that would help make lives better,” Bezerra said. “Nursing was it from that point on for me and still is to this day.”
But for her, like many others in her line of work, being a nurse isn’t just a job.
“It’s a large part of my identity. I don’t turn off my nurse role when I go home for the day,” the captain said. “It means always being ready to help someone when they are in need. And that never goes away. Being a nurse helps me be a more attentive mother, a more caring wife, a more present friend, and an all-around better person.”
Nursing can be a stressful occupation, and exposes those in the field to conditions and experiences far removed from the average person’s day. But those harrowing times don’t stop nurses and medical technicians from caring for their patients.
“We go in when everyone else goes out. We touch the stuff no one else will touch,” Bezerra said. “And we do it with a smile on our face, a touch on the arm, or even a hug. We are expected to care at all times, and we do.”
Suemai shares Bezerra’s take on the role they play.
“You have to be a rock when helping a patient in a critical situation, selfless in putting the patient’s need before your own, and compassionate knowing the patient is in a vulnerable situation putting themselves out there asking for help,” he said.
For him, however, that selflessness is more than worth it in the end.
“I think the special aspect of being nurse or tech comes from knowing that you play a big part in ensuring we have a healthy military community,” Suemai said. The medical technician emphasized that his job is to ensure the well-being of the people stationed here, because without a healthy force crucial missions would go unaccomplished.
As for National Nurse’s Week, it stands out as a bit of much-deserved recognition for tremendous effort and sacrifice – recognition that isn’t necessarily always abundant.
“We work in the type of job where we are expected to excel and we rarely get recognized when we do," Bezerra said. “So for there to be a week set aside to recognize us for the truly exceptional things we do is really quite significant to all of us and gives us a little pep in our step.
“Thank you to everyone who believes in us and puts their health care needs in our hands,” she added. “We are all honored to serve our Saber nation and the Air Force as a whole.”