A local nurse shares her love of helping others through her position at King’s Daughters Medical Center.

Lisa Shann, the clinical coordinator and head of COVID-19 testing at KDMC, has worked in the medical field for the past 21 years. She said if given the chance, she would become a nurse all over again.

“I always enjoyed the medical field and I enjoyed taking care of people,” Shann said. “I’ve just got a caring heart for people.”

Shann comes from a family of medical professionals, with her father being a physician and having multiple aunts and uncles working as nurse practitioners and physicians as well.

She considers her father to be a major factor as to why she chose the medical field to work in.

“I saw his love and devotion to his patient’s care,” Shann said. “That was inspiring to me.”

She has served in a variety of roles during her time as a nurse. She’s worked in the pediatric unit, the NICU and management.

“I’ve been in so many different roles,” Shann said.

She considers one of her greatest joys as a nurse to be the impact she makes on others.

“It’s making a difference in someone’s life,” Shann said.

Another joy Shann described is how nurses can serve as emotional support for their patients.

“Just being able to be there for people,” Shann said.

A struggle Shann talked about is one that many nurses often face.

“The hardest part of being a nurse is feeling helpless,” Shann said. “Knowing that you’ve done everything you can.”

Shann described the struggle of feeling helpless and talked about her time at Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital. Once everything has been done medically for a patient, sometimes there isn’t anything else to be done.

“It was gut wrenching to know that there was nothing we could do,” she said.

One of the most difficult things she’s ever had to do as a nurse was sit at the bedside of a child she couldn’t help.

“I’ve been in a lot of a joyful situations and a lot of sad situations,” Shann said. “It can be challenging at times.”

“It is a challenging profession because there is always something to learn,” she said. “Yet it is also tremendously rewarding to be able to help people.”

Despite the challenges, Shann said what really matters is being a nurse helps her help others.

“It’s a true love of a profession,” Shann said. “I wouldn’t do anything different.”

Story by Gracie Byrne