“She is the patient I’ll never forget…”

This feature is brought to you in partnership with Interim HealthCare. 
Have you ever thought about leaving the bedside…for the boardroom? In partnership with Interim HealthCare, we’re talking to nurses across the country who have done just that! Here, Robert Seawright shares about the rewards of business ownership and the moments from his career that he’ll never forget…including one special patient and her family.

Name: Robert Seawright 

Franchise location: Redding, Calif.

What type of nurse are you? Registered, emergency nursing and invasive cardiology

Where did you work before starting your franchise, and for how long? I managed the cardiology department at one of the local hospitals. I had been there five years.

When and why did you choose to leave bedside nursing and start a franchise? Like many middle managers, as their positions change and with downsizing, they choose to strike out on their own. But what lead me to choose home care was that I saw a need for compassionate home care where the patient came first.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job? Besides being able to help the elderly and frail, knowing that I am giving people an opportunity to support themselves and their families.

What’s the best part of being a business owner? Doing it my way! Knowing that I am making a difference in people’s lives, both our clients and employees.

Can you share an “only in nursing!” story from your own career with us? I have been in nursing so long that it is hard to have a story that is “only nursing.” There are many images that come to mind.

• I remember the young women in labor all alone; she and her family were all from out of state and her Navy husband was out to sea.
• The worried look and concern of the parents of a young college student with the flu who was so sick she couldn’t stand up.
• The wife of an 85-year-old male who had been the strong husband taking care of everything during their 60-plus years of marriage, who now had to step up and be the strong one. She was so lost.

These are the stories that reenforce that I made the right decision to become a nurse.

If you could have dinner with any nurse–real or fictional, living or not–who would it be and why? Margaret “Hot Lips” O’Houlihan (M*A*S*H): She was by the book and a standoffish “head nurse,” but she was also compassionate and kind to young soldiers that came under her care. She would go to the “wall” and fight for what was right. But she allowed us to see her human side too. It takes both qualities to be a good nurse.

What’s one moment from your nursing career that you’ll never forget–either inspiring or humorous? During the summer between her eighth and ninth grades, a young girl was struck by a car damaging her cervical spine. The result was that she lost all movement below her shoulders. The staff got to know her well over the next six months, as she always had a great sense of humor and never complained. She was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital that was 400 miles away. Her mother would fly to Los Angeles and hitchhike to the rehab hospital in order to save money. There were five other children at home.

The staff of the hospital came to together and held a fundraiser in order to raise money to help her mother make the weekly trips to LA and be able to afford the taxi ride to visit her daughter. I will never forget her or her family.

Interim HealthCare® provides the flexible assignments you need to fit your life and your priorities. As America’s leading provider of home care, hospice and healthcare staffing, chances are, we have the right assignment to fit your life’s needs as well as the resources and opportunities to help you with your career. To apply online, visit www.careersbyweb.com. To find out more about becoming a franchisee, visit www.interimfranchising.com. To like us on Facebook, click here.