Mount Auburn Healthcare Connection

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As the demand for nurses continues, new graduate nurses have more and more options when choosing a job. Since Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, has been named one of the Best Places to work in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal for the second year in a row, it’s no wonder nurses are choosing to work and stay there.

Ben Hymes, R.N., Operating Room Nurse at Mount Auburn Hospital, is part of the perioperative nursing internship program at Mount Auburn Hospital. He is a newcomer to the hospital who is already proud to say he is one of the many nurses dedicated to making Mount Auburn Hospital one of the best community teaching hospitals in the Boston area.

Respect for each other, respect for patients
Like many first jobs, getting started in nursing can be nerve-racking. The environment at Mount Auburn Hospital helped alleviate some of Mr. Hymes concerns. “I was able to walk in to Mount Auburn and be myself,” he says. “The doctors and nurses welcomed me from day one, shared their experiences with me and made me feel part of the team.”

It’s that nurturing environment that also makes patients comfortable at Mount Auburn Hospital. “As a nurse, you need to be able to calm your patients’ fears and anxiety, answer all their questions and essentially be an advocate for them and their safety,” says Mr. Hymes. “Unlike other areas of nursing, operating room nurses only have a small window of time to make sure their patients are informed and comforted before they have surgery. It’s my responsibility to make intelligent, proactive and ethical decisions in an ever-changing environment. If patients don’t understand the procedure, then we have to step in and act with the best intention for the patient.”

Making a career out of nursing
As a teaching facility, Mount Auburn Hospital strongly supports the continuing education and advancement of its staff. Mr. Hymes says it’s one of the reasons he was attracted to the hospital in the first place. “The hospital is based on education, which offers me even more opportunities,” he says. “Nursing doesn’t just have to be a job; I intend for it to be a career. With Mount Auburn’s perioperative nursing course, I will have the solid foundation from which to build a career and gather ideas to navigate my way through nursing.”

Through the perioperative program, Mr. Hymes is not only getting valuable knowledge to better care for his patients, but he is also narrowing in on areas of specialty to advance his career even further. Mr. Hymes is considering continuing his education to possibly become a nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner or advanced practicing nurse. “I am choosing my career path right here at Mount Auburn Hospital,” he says. “I’m learning to build my future in nursing and how to be the best advocate for my patients.”

Mr. Hymes is just one of the nurses at Mount Auburn Hospital that represents the character of the staff. The compassionate, goal-oriented drive of the nurses assures patients and families they are receiving the highest quality care.

For a free Mount Auburn Hospital pill box, please call us at 617-499-5094.