Natasha Poworski, Hemodialysis Nurse, Seven Oaks General Hospital, Winnipeg, MB

“I’ve been a nurse since 2004 in Canada but when I came in Canada in ’92 I was a nurse before that for a couple years. My mom is a nurse. Actually it’s a funny story – the city I lived in in Ukraine, they only had a nursing school so everyone was going into nursing. That’s how me and my sister got in. We ended up finishing nursing and working. When I came to Canada I tried to get into something different. I really liked doing taxes. So I tried to do that. Buy my sister said, ‘let’s go back into nursing’. So I went back.

I really like the people I’m working with and the patients. Because it’s chronic illness we get the same patients all the time, we get attached to them. You always have the same people. You are meeting their family. We had a couple people who had transplants done come to visit us especially around holidays. One lady making [snacks] for the whole unit. A lot of patients come back to say thank you.

I like my job. I think it’s one of the best jobs in nursing. I’m a team player and we do have a very good group of people here, good management and good work environment.”