Nathalie has been at the German Heart Center Berlin for 12 years. She works on the surgical ward H2.

What made you decide to become a nurse?

Originally I wanted to study medicine and to use the nursing training to bridge the waiting time for a place. But the longer I was here, the less I wanted to do anything else. Of course there are sometimes bad days but on the whole I like the job a lot.

What is a typical day like?

It varies a great deal depending on the shift you’re working. The early shift is the most active. The patients are washed and prepared for the doctors’ rounds and then there are transfers and new admissions. There’s always something going on! The late shirt is a bit quieter, because the patients are already there. We prepare the patients who are to be operated on the next day; we care for them and their needs in the evening and night. It should be said that the night shift is not like that on a normal peripheral ward, where most of the patients are asleep. Many of our patients who have been on the intensive care unit before they come to us find the switch rather difficult: here everything is quieter and darker. That creates fears for some patients and then we need to be there for them.

How well do you get to know the patients?

Medically speaking, very well. When we come on duty and when patients are transferred to us from the intensive care unit we get a very thorough briefing. We know when the patient was operated on, what was done, what has happened since then and whether he or she has any special needs. Depending on the type of operation, the patient needs quite different treatment and procedures afterwards.

And humanly speaking?

That depends on the shift. In the night shift the main aim is for the patients to have a good night, so we calm them down and help them to sleep. But in the early shift we get to know them much better. While we wash them we talk to them, ask whether they have any pain, whether their back or knees are hurting and so on. We explain what we’re doing and we are friendly – then the patients are more relaxed and more cooperative, that’s for sure. But that all happens parallel to the nursing tasks. There is hardly ever time to sit at a patient’s bed and talk to them.

Do you feel sorry for the patients?

Yes, of course, Say someone of my age – in their late twenties – has had a protracted cold and ends up needing a new heart valve. That is quite hard. But you have to create a professional distance. At the beginning that’s not always easy. I always say: after the 3 year training you’re a nurse on paper but only later, in practice, do you learn what it’s really all about. That also concerns the high expectations that one has of oneself. Of course we have a great deal of responsibility and there are mistakes that simply mustn’t happen. But you need to be able to let go and relax after the shift, even if not everything was perfect.

Are you proud to work here?

Let’s say: I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. The demands on one here are high and you need to know a great deal. But I don’t get swollen headed about it. I’m simply a nurse And either you are a nurse with your whole heart or not at all – regardless of where you work.