“A nurse does a lot of juggling, doing at least 5 to 10 things at a time.” That’s how Donna Marks, LVN, describes her essential work as part of the nursing staff here at MPTF. On May 6, we started celebrating National Nurses Week, an 
annual appreciation for America’s 5 million-plus nurses who make a difference every day with their care and compassion. We caught up with Donna, who has been a nurse for 24 years, during her busy schedule to get an idea of what being a nurse is really like.
“I was in a bad car crash – spending two months in the hospital and rehab services,” Donna explains. “Those nurses made a huge difference in my life, and I wanted to be one of the good nurses– the kind residents would be happy to see when I came on duty. After 24 years, I still say a prayer on my way 
to work that I will do my best today.”
As she puts it, an average day can be very full: “Some days I’m putting one fire out after another, I’m passing medications, doing treatments, charting my meds on the computer, charting my nursing notes, checking on residents, answering the phone, talking to the doctor and Nurse Practitioner when they come by and have questions they want answered. Nurses at MPTF want to do their very best; we have passion for the job and compassion for our residents. We take care of our residents day in and day out, and the nurses communicate with each other so we can do our best for each resident at MPTF.” The nurses also work closely with our other departments like Activities, Housekeeping, Maintenance, Social Services, Dietary, the Pharmacy, and many more. In short, she says, “I love working at MPTF, I love the staff, I even love my supervisors – all of them!” Thank you to her and all the nurses who go so far above and beyond.
