By Andrew Livingstone
For Postmedia Saskatchewan Specialty
Once the sole domain of women, the nursing profession has long been open to qualified individuals of either sex. With the stigma against male nurses a thing of the past, the demanding, but rewarding field can now be explored by anyone with sufficient training and motivation, as Brooks Brhelle, a nurse in geriatric nursing, can attest.
A resident care coordinator at Extendicare Parkside in Regina, Brhelle serves as the supervisor of the main wing nursing staff working at the facility. "What I do for my facility is that we're the first available bed, I take geriatric people from the community and admit them into the long-term care facility,” he said "I oversee all the care that's being given to my residents; I handle all of the paperwork, and I essentially make sure that they're safe and that everyone is practising appropriately.”
Although long-term care is not the first option for seniors, it can become a necessity for those who find themselves chronically ill or injury-prone and in need of frequent attention from health-care professionals. "My number one concern is always resident safety - lots of seniors do fall, and they can seriously injure themselves," said Brhelle. "They've gone to the hospital then, and they're requiring placement into a long-term care facility."
Brhelle is a registered psychiatric nurse (RPN), but his specialized psychiatric training is an asset rather than a requirement for his position. "I get all levels of care,” he said. "I feel, with my background in psychiatry, that I do have a great understanding of, not only the medical illnesses that seniors come in with, but also the psychiatric ones. Dementia and Alzheimer's are definitely common with seniors, but, as far as someone having a psychiatric diagnosis or not, that doesn't really affect the person coming to my wing."
A similar degree of education is, however, required for those performing roles like Brhelle's. "You have to be a registered nurse (RN) - either an RN or an RPN - to do the position that I'm in," said Brhelle.
It was a desire to improve the quality of life for people in care that prompted Brhelle to train for his chosen profession. "I got into nursing because I love interacting with people," he said. "I believed, when I was making that choice, that being a caring and compassionate individual, I could make a difference in people's lives. That's definitely something that I've seen over the course of my career as a nurse: You really do feel like you've made a difference."
For those considering the broader nursing profession, Brhelle believes that a similar disposition is ideal. "I think that you definitely have to be very caring and compassionate to people," he said. "Every day, you learn something new; you really do have to be driven to experience new things every day. And it's not easy, by any means, being a nurse. You have to have a lot of interpersonal skills and knowledge to be able to communicate properly with families and with your residents.”
By the time Brhelle had completed his education, however, he knew that he wanted to explore the field of geriatric care in particular. "I've always seen a great demand for nurses in long-term care facilities, I knew this would be an area that I would excel in, and I choose it at the end of my path in school."
In his year-and-a-half of work in the nursing field, opportunities for work and promotion have arisen that have kept Brhelle busy. "I went to the Psychiatric Nursing Program through SIAST, and then, when
I graduated, I accepted a job at Parkside Extendicare," he said. "Shortly after that about eight months down the road - I was offered a position to actually run the unit.”
Even with his training and motivation, the job has proven challenging. "Every day is different," said Brhelle. "There's not one day that's ever the same. It's an exciting place to work - there're always exciting things going on. It's fast-paced. In saying that, the challenges are in keeping up every day. Trying to give people the highest quality of care is very time-consuming.”
Caring for the elderly, like caring for anyone in need of long-term attention and treatment, requires effort and dedication. "There’re always obstacles as far as the workload goes," Brhelle said. "There are a lot of people coming from the hospital and from the community who are in need of our service. It takes a lot of time to ensure that everyone is receiving the best care humanly possible."
One obstacle that Brhelle has not encountered is any resistance to a male serving in a traditionally female profession, though his gender has been a consideration in his early relationships with residents. "For myself, as a student, when I was being placed on a unit, I was always set up with male patients," he said. "People respond differently to both genders. Some people deal better with men, and some people deal better with females, and I feel that, with me being there, I'm able to help the system deliver the best care possible.
Even that difference has since disappeared. "Now that I'm finished school and am dealing with female and male residents, there's never been any issue of any kind," said Brhelle. "There's really no stigma anymore. I've never run into it. I guess I've been fortunate, but I've always been accepted by everyone."
“I love being a nurse - I wouldn't trade it for anything."
