Max, Charge Nurse, Surgery
Max originally planned to be an EMT, but with encouragement from his father, he pursued his degree in nursing. Inspired by the surgical setting while in nursing school, Max knew that’s where he wanted to be.
There’s a really great consortium program here at Swedish and I applied for it. And it was probably the best decision I've made. Swedish has had a lot of opportunities for me to go where I want to go.
As a new nurse, was it easy to find your footing at Swedish?
Swedish does a great job of orientating new nurses. When I was a new nurse on the floor, I found a tight community within my First Hill nurses very quickly. There’s a really strong comradery. And I found someone else, too. The first day of orientation, I held the door open for this lovely lady who I’m now madly in love with. I know a lot of people can’t say the same thing, but Swedish has created a family for me.
What’s the culture like at Swedish?
United. We stick up for one another. We’re a hardworking group and after a year of change we’re still united.
How do you help other nurses and CNAs succeed at work?
I think it’s important that when people are working, they feel comfortable and confident that they’re going to succeed. Especially in the hospital because it’s such a crazy environment. It’s important to have charge nurses there that make you feel like you can attack each day and succeed because they’re there alongside you.