Perspectives
May 12, 2020
Celebrating International Nurse’s Day
Conversations with Colleagues: Our Registered Nurses
It’s International Nurses Day!
We are celebrating nurses around the world with particular poignance this year, as many are at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We spoke with some of our Registered Nurses, who are integral members of our healthcare teams, bridging the space between practitioners and designers and helping us create beautiful, but also impactful designs for cutting-edge care facilities. Read on for some words of wisdom, support and solidarity from our RN’s on this special day.
Q: What positive message would you like to share with the nursing community around the world today?
Marvina Williams, Senior Medical Planner: “This time of COVID-19 really speaks to who we are as a profession. We are the foundation of healthcare and always here for our community, country, and the world. Now more than ever, we’re united behind the front lines.”
Anthony Mistretta, Healthcare Operations and Strategy Planner: “We are 28 million strong and we can make an impact on anything we unify behind! Happy Nurses Week to all of my fellow Nurses around the world!”
Brenda Smith, Health Practice Leader: “To my fellow nurses – right now we are on the world stage, tending to body, mind, and soul. I admire your intelligence, your heart, and your strength. You embody the best of us!”
Q: How do you make a difference at Perkins&Will?
Marvina Williams: “I’ve always admired Florence Nightingale. Not only did she provide care and compassion to patients, but she changed the environment that they were treated. By joining an architectural firm I went from the frontlines in patient care to impacting the environment where patients are treated. I feel I can make a difference for both patients and staff.”
Anthony Mistretta: “I am a nurse first and always a nurse. Even though I am not doing patient care at Perkins&Will, I touch patients every day. Being able to impact the design with a nurse’s eye has been so meaningful for me at Perkins&Will. I really believe we put the patient first in our design and build the spaces for providers to be able to do their best work. Design follows function and I get the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of patients all over the world through the work we do.”
Whitney Hendrickson, Interior Designer: “Nursing is so gratifying when you can make an instant impact in someone’s life. Working as an interior designer, it sometimes take years to see results, but I’m learning patience: Instead of taking care of two patients during my shift, I get to “treat” entire units and hospitals full of patients, employees, and visitors for years.”
Q: What inspired you to become a Registered Nurse? What’s keeping you here?
Marvina Williams: “A major influence in my life was my mother. She always wanted to be a nurse and passed on a passion for helping others to me and my four sisters. We’re all in healthcare! And that’s a big part of my mother’s legacy on our lives.”
