Susan Swokla
June 2022
Susan
Swokla
,
RN
Oncology
Regional Cancer Care Associates
West Hartford
,
CT
United States
The really neat thing is that you get to know each one as they get to know you. Not superficial knowledge, but a caring personal level knowing.
I would like to thank all the nurses at RCCA in West Hartford. I would be remiss in nominating only one of the staff because you are not assigned a specific nurse for your period of treatment. I am happy to have all four of them (Lisa O'Brien, Kaylee Paolella, Sabrina Cruz, and Susan Swokla) on my team as I battle cancer. These four outstanding nurses work as a TEAM.
I strongly feel that working with cancer patients is a job that requires a special caring personality. Cancer patients come and go for treatments. There are success stories and there are treatments that don't always end on a happy note. Working with new patients dealing with cancer for the first time and are scared is their specialty. They give a patient hope that while the treatments are not pleasant, these treatments will eventually cure cancer or at least prolong the patient's life.
I have been a patient at RCCA for over 12 years and know that on any treatment day you may have any one of these excellent nurses. The really neat thing is that you get to know each one as they get to know you. Not superficial knowledge, but a caring personal level knowing. We share stories about our families, hobbies, books, likes and dislikes — like old friends, They have even called me at home to check on me and readily picked up the phone to answer one of my many questions when I call the center. I know they all have their plates full but go out of their way to contribute to RCCA's positive culture and environment. They all have the uttermost confidence in each other and will gladly step in if your assigned nurse is busy with another patient. They can always be counted on to go the extra mile.
Baseball players are not the only ones who go through "slumps". Cancer patients have slumps also. That is when we need encouragement to push on, take a deep breath and hold on, or blink our eyes and take a fresh new look at the illness. This team of nurses is gifted in getting a patient to refocus and look at the disease from another point of view. They know just the right verbal stimulant to give a patient who may be feeling low or in a state of depression. This is a skill that is not taught, but one that is developed over the years working with cancer patients.
I strongly feel that working with cancer patients is a job that requires a special caring personality. Cancer patients come and go for treatments. There are success stories and there are treatments that don't always end on a happy note. Working with new patients dealing with cancer for the first time and are scared is their specialty. They give a patient hope that while the treatments are not pleasant, these treatments will eventually cure cancer or at least prolong the patient's life.
I have been a patient at RCCA for over 12 years and know that on any treatment day you may have any one of these excellent nurses. The really neat thing is that you get to know each one as they get to know you. Not superficial knowledge, but a caring personal level knowing. We share stories about our families, hobbies, books, likes and dislikes — like old friends, They have even called me at home to check on me and readily picked up the phone to answer one of my many questions when I call the center. I know they all have their plates full but go out of their way to contribute to RCCA's positive culture and environment. They all have the uttermost confidence in each other and will gladly step in if your assigned nurse is busy with another patient. They can always be counted on to go the extra mile.
Baseball players are not the only ones who go through "slumps". Cancer patients have slumps also. That is when we need encouragement to push on, take a deep breath and hold on, or blink our eyes and take a fresh new look at the illness. This team of nurses is gifted in getting a patient to refocus and look at the disease from another point of view. They know just the right verbal stimulant to give a patient who may be feeling low or in a state of depression. This is a skill that is not taught, but one that is developed over the years working with cancer patients.