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LIZ MAZEPA

Registered Practical Nurse - Scrub Nurse Operating Room

What is your background in healthcare, and what is your current role/profession?

My professional background is as a registered practical nurse specializing in the perioperative department as a scrub nurse in the operating room. I have been working as a nurse for over 12 years, with over nine spent in the theatres of the operating room of a trauma hospital, and most of those years have been working the midnight shift. Previously, I worked in a small community hospital for three years on multiple floors, providing post-op surgical care, medicine, rehab continuing care, and a monitored ICU step-down unit. Since moving into the operating room department, I have blended my artistic abilities, knowledge, and understanding of anatomy and the mechanics of the human body into my career as a scrub nurse. By applying my creative skills and science, I am fortunate to create medical illustrations for my physician colleagues, enhancing their publications and presentations for teaching.

What brought you to your current work (why did you choose this profession)?

Growing up, I genuinely struggled to pursue a career in visual arts. Although I have always had artistic ability, which I inherited from my parents, my parents always pushed me to find a sustainable career with growth, opportunity for change, and the ability to provide the necessities for daily living while keeping my art as a hobby. I grew up in a household with one sick parent who was unable to work and one parent who worked to sustain us dependents. Seeing this at a young age and knowing the struggles of hardship, I knew I should find a profession I enjoy while still doing what I love with art.

The old saying is, if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day. This saying is very true of the profession of nursing. I took the time to weigh out my options for a career in nursing, took the plunge, and have zero regrets. It is a profession that strives for accountability, self-improvement, efficacy, advocacy (self and client), and discipline. I naturally crave these traits in my personal life, so having them fall in line professionally was very natural and rewarding.

How does your current work serve to empower women and girls?

Life-sustaining procedures are done in the operating room through complex care, teamwork, thorough communication, and advocacy. Nursing is naturally a very female-dominated profession, especially when reviewing the many nursing theorists and their care models in support of human well-being. Through this female-dominated profession, we can help pave the way for future generations to learn the beauty of this diverse profession, opportunities, empowerment, gender equality, and addressing social needs while promoting well-being. Women within the profession should take great pride in the nurturing care that we provide to our clients in their most challenging times.

Interviewed by Christina Parke Registered Practical Nurse Indigenous Social Work Student, Laurentian University