Celebrating Mosaic’s Super Nurses
“I don’t know why anyone would not want to be a Mosaic nurse. I really don’t understand that.”
That was the response from Kathryn McKinney, who has been a Mosaic nurse in Kansas for about four years, when asked, “Why be a nurse at Mosaic?”
It is National Nurses Week, an annual event that begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is considered the founder of modern nursing. This year, Mosaic is celebrating National Nurses Week with the theme, “Super Nurse!”
All nurses have important roles to play in the healthcare system, but Mosaic nurses are in a unique role. They create long-term relationships with those they serve–often people who cannot express themselves with words. Super Nurse is an apt description.
In interviews with four Mosaic nurses, there were common themes: They love their jobs, they love the people they support, and they love being part of the Mosaic team. (I feel as though love should be written as LOVE– that’s how strong their sentiments were.)
“I absolutely love what we do. I love watching people learn and grow and meet all of their goals. I can’t imagine doing any other type of nursing,” said Crystal Myers, a Mosaic nurse in Iowa for seven years. “I love working for a place where I feel like I’m valued, and I’m heard, and we live our mission every single day.
“I feel like nursing at Mosaic is the best role in Mosaic. I get to help people with their health needs and have a huge impact on how successful they are in their life, because healthy people meet their goals and get out in the community more and build relationships.”
Strong, long-term relationships with the people they support were listed by the nurses as one of the best things about their role. But, it can also be the most difficult.
“The hardest part of the job is, I would say, when people pass away,” said Sarah Henrich, a seven-year Mosaic nurse in Colorado. “Because it is long-term care and working with people who are often aging, it’s kind of an expected thing that people will pass away. But it’s still hard to lose people that you’ve known for so long and supported for so long.”
It is the length of those relationships that make the nurses better advocates for people, Henrich said, because they are able to give other providers a complete picture of the person if they’re hospitalized or require other types of medical care. McKinney agreed, noting how frustrating it can be to work with doctors who do not understand the effects of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on people.
“Our clients still need the same level of physical care and mental health services as the general population,” she said. “It’s very, very frustrating when they don’t understand that, and you really have to push to get your clients the care that they deserve.”
While many nurses at Mosaic searched specifically for a job serving the IDD population, Karolina Mank, also with Mosaic for seven years, just “lucked” into the role.
“One day, randomly, I was looking at a nursing position online and came across Mosaic,” Mank said. “I knew nothing about it at that time. I went to research Mosaic, and it sounded like the type of nursing I wanted to do. I applied and I got an interview … I left the interview knowing that I found I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life … I plan to be with Mosaic for a long, long time.”
All four of these Mosaic Super Nurses said they would encourage other nurses to work at Mosaic.
“I would say it’s the best job ever,” McKinney said. “You get a little bit of everything. You get a little hands-on nursing, you get a little bit of care planning and administrative nursing. You get just a little bit of fun because you get to work with our people who are just a blast.”
Mank added, “You should become a Mosaic nurse if you want to use a vast array of nursing skills and knowledge on a daily basis. If you want to develop critical thinking skills and build relationships with the individuals you serve. And if you want to work for a company that is constantly growing to better serve the community, and the individuals they serve, then Mosaic is the right place for you.”
Check out this video featuring these four Super Nurses, and learn more about them and their roles.