There are 286 nurses on staff at Austin Medical Center, which includes both the hospital and the clinic. They deal with everything from pharmacy to housekeeping issues, conduct head to toe patient assessments, up date electronic medical records and provide a sense of compassion for families that need it.

May 6 through May 12 is National Nurses Week, a week first celebrated in 1954 that recognizes and celebrates those in the nursing profession.

In Austin, there are a lot of them.

“I would say they are one of the most critical aspects of health care,” says Kelly Kiker, RN, and nursing staff development coordinator at AMC. “The role of nursing is huge. They are kind of the eyes and ears of the patient … They can meet spiritual needs of the patient, and they can be someone the patient can talk with. Nurses get really close to patients in many ways.”

Kiker says nurses have a wide range of duties, a combination of technical work and relationship care.

They assist patients in activities in daily living, conduct wound care and find resources for patients once they go home.

“Nurses need to be able to think independently, and they need to be able to work with a team so the patient can get the best care possible,” Kiker says.

Some of the medical professionals nurses work with include dietitians and personnel in physical therapy, occupational therapy and the pharmacy.

When describing the nursing staff at AMC, Kiker says it’s a nice combination of nurses with decades of experience and those right out of school who have the most up-to-date knowledge.

“We appreciate every single one of them,” she says.

Cheryl Westrum, RN, and clinic nurse manager, has been in nursing for the past 36 years, including 27 at AMC.

She is an Austin High School graduate and began working at the AMC coffee shop to get her foot in the door.

“It gives back to my home and contributes to the health and wellness of it,” she says.

As for Kiker, who has been in nursing for eight years, she has never regretted going into the profession.

“Not once,” she says.