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"I love what I do. I think I've just been meant to care for people."
A nurse for 17 years, Aleisha joined the night shift 14 years ago after giving birth to her second son.
She enjoys the unique qualities of working those hours.
“Night shift, we are a different breed," Aleisha says. "We kind of jump in. All of us take care of each other, no matter what floor we're on. Because I've been around for so long and I know a lot of my colleagues, we have a lot of teamwork. There's a lot of camaraderie."
As a clinical support nurse, Aleisha can work in any given unit of the hospital on any given night. Some nights, that might mean the Labor and Delivery unit. On other nights, it could be High-Level Care.
"I do like floating, going to the different units and not really knowing what I'm going into or what my night's going to be," she says. "It's something a little different every night."
Aleisha's time in local health care dates back almost 25 years. She began working at the hospital in medical records before taking on an administrative secretary position.
The hospital's chief nursing executive told Aleisha she would make a good nurse, so she decided to pursue it as a career. She kept her job as a secretary as she attended nursing school.
Although moving from an administrative position to a clinical one meant a very different kind of work, Aleisha adjusted.
"I didn't have any hands-on experience with patients until I actually became a nurse and went through nursing school," she says. "So, that was all new. But I knew that's where I wanted to be, where my calling was."
As a nurse, Aleisha says she's always on the go and likes to help wherever she's needed. And if a patient is awake and willing to talk, she likes to talk to them and learn more about them.
"When we say to you that we could write a book, we really could write a book," she jokes.
"You find out a lot. Some of their stories do touch you. And other ones can kind of really tug at your heartstrings a little bit."
Aleisha says bedside nursing is her passion. She likes working at the patient's bedside, educating them, and trying to make their stay better.
“Bedside nursing, it's not as easy as it used to be," she says. "I feel like patients are a lot more complex. But I love what I do. I go in every night, and I think I'm meant to care for people."
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