Trish Wilson

Pulse checks in with our winners

Like so many in her field, registered nurse Trish Wilson says she felt the call to serve others. In the first two years of her career as a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite, she has seen how patients and families depend on nurses in life-and-death situations.

Here’s more about Trish Wilson.

Age: 29

Title: registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta – Scottish Rite.

Previous work: Started as a patient care technician in the NICU Unit at Children’s while she was in nursing school. She was hired on as a new grad nurse after graduation.

Years as a nurse: 2

Education: Associates Degree in Nursing earned from Georgia Highlands College in 2015. She is in an RN-BSN program with Western Governors University.

Family: She and husband Brian celebrated their third anniversary in September. They have an amazing dog named Captain Insane-O, a five-year-old pit/lab mix.

I got into nursing because: “I wanted a job where I could help improve the lives of others. When I was in nursing school, I wanted to go into oncology. But once I did my pediatric rotation, I knew I had to do something involving children. I got a chance to tour the NICU and jumped at a chance to be a patient care tech there. It is the perfect fit for me!”

The best part of my job is … “getting to help parents adapt to their new role as a NICU parent and getting them involved in the care of their baby. I also love getting to see our NICU graduates at our annual reunions!”

The most challenging part of my job is “helping parents cope with having to alter their perception that they were expecting to take home a ‘normal’ newborn.”

How do you handle stress? “I take each moment or event as it comes. I try not to let myself get overwhelmed with the big picture, and I think it’s also important not to try and take on the entire workload of a critical situation on your own. Relying on peers is a valuable thing! Mimosa breakfasts with coworkers also are vital to NICU night shift nursing life!”

What do you do for outside fun? “I enjoy doing yard work with my husband and decorating our new home. We love going camping in the fall with our pup and friends, too.”

What’s a piece of advice you’d give to a new nurse? “Never be afraid to ask for help. The worst thing you can do is get stressed from overworking yourself. You’ll never appreciate what you do if you’re always stressed.”

Describe one of your most meaningful days as a nurse. “My most meaningful day as a nurse happened when I met the family and patient who nominated me for the AJC Nursing Excellence Award. I was coming on shift, and my patient (Everly) had just come back from surgery. Her parents, Scott and Amber Paterson, had just received some confusing and difficult news about her possible prognosis, so they were mentally and emotionally drained from the day. They decided to go home and get some rest, not knowing the fight Everly was about to face as she became septic that night. My coworkers and I worked nonstop throughout the night to stabilize Everly. I decided to become her primary nurse from that night on (I would be assigned to her throughout her stay), and she stayed with us in the NICU for seven months. I developed a close bond with the Patersons from Day 1, and I will never forget that first night with Everly.