Meet Brittany Gonzales, RN. She is a labor and delivery nurse in the special care nursery at Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital. Hear her firsthand thoughts on her love for being a nurse and why she is so thankful to have found her calling in labor and delivery care.
I was initially drawn to nursing because my grandparents were sickly while I was growing up. We were in and out of the hospital with them quite often, and the nurses were the backbone of their care. They were the ones who comforted my grandparents, my family and me, giving lots of love and care to complete strangers.
This was my first interest in nursing. I wanted to be that for another person and their family.
Eventually, I chose to work in the labor and delivery unit. During my nursing clinical rotation, this department felt like home to me right away. I actually did this clinical rotation at Mercy Health and knew it was where I needed to be. It had my heart from the start.
Every aspect of my job is for me. On any given day my responsibilities can include laboring and delivering women, attending deliveries to take care of the baby, taking care of sick neonates, circulating in the operating room, scrubbing operating room cases, being a triage nurse, being a charge nurse as well as providing postpartum mother and baby care.
I love being in health care because I make a difference in the lives of moms, dads and families
every day. I get to be there for the very best days of their lives when they finally get to hold their precious baby. It is so magical.
I also get to reassure and comfort moms and dads when their babies are sick and need extra care at birth. Sadly, in some cases, I’m the person there for moms and dads on the worst day of their lives. This aspect of my job is very hard. However, I also know I have made a difference in their lives and the memories that they will carry forever.
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my three boys and husband. I also enjoy camping, kayaking, reading and crocheting.
One of my favorite parts about working at Mercy Health is I get to see our faith-based ministry lived out regularly. Our hospital and individual units do a lot of community service and collect for various charities. I also love that after babies are born, the chaplains come around and offer a prayer with the family and the babies get a cross.
On a personal level, the chaplains regularly ask how I am doing and coping, and if I need anything or just someone to talk to. One day I had a particularly hard case with a baby born with a condition that he would not survive. Father Garth came to the bedside to see the family. After, he came to me at the moment I needed that. It gave me a moment to express my feelings, collect myself and then go back to the family to give them my very best. I am forever grateful for it.
We’re so grateful for Brittany and our other nurses who are dedicated to caring for patients at Mercy Health, where nurses mean the world!
Read more stories about our incredible nurses.
Also, learn about our maternity care services at Mercy Health.
