The sound of patients talking after they get off ventilators is music to Wendy Hawkins’ ears.
“I always wonder what their voices sound like,” she said.
A certified nursing assistant in The Medical Center’s intensive care unit, Hawkins cares a lot about the patients she helps.
“I love giving them a hug and letting them know that they’re going to be OK. Everybody needs a little love,” she said. “When you’re having a bad day and they look at you and smile, it makes it all worthwhile.”
Hawkins’ tasks include getting beds ready for patients, setting up rooms for nurses and bathing, feeding and changing linens for patients. Sometimes her duties go beyond taking care of patients’ physical needs.
“I’m a big listener, too,” she said, smiling. “You can learn so much by listening.”
Her skills recently earned her an award. She was named Technician of the Year at The Medical Center, where she has worked for three years.
“I was ecstatic,” she said of how she felt when she found out about the award this summer. “That was an honor, to have my nurses and staff trust me enough to give me that honor.”
Being a CNA and having an interest in medical matters is almost a tradition in Hawkins’ family.
“My grandmother was a CNA,” she said. “I have two daughters who are CNAs and one daughter who’s going to be a veterinarian.”
Hawkins has been a licensed CNA for eight years.
“I used to work in a nursing home,” she said. “A lot of them had loved ones who had passed away. You have to have a heart to be a CNA.”
Hawkins’ busy schedule includes spending time with her family, which includes five daughters, working 48 hours a week and going to school two days a week. She has finished her prerequisites for nursing school and has applied to programs at Bowling Green Technical College and Lindsey Wilson College. Hawkins and her youngest daughter are both waiting to find out if they have been accepted into nursing school.
“It’s great!” Hawkins said. “She’s a good study partner. What I don’t know, she does know.”
Even though she has a full schedule, she says it is all worth her time and has support from her family, patients and nursing staff.
“We’re like a family,” she said. “I never feel like I’m struggling because they’re there with me.”
