Nurse Appreciation Week – Christine Paul BSN, RN

The word nurse is defined by Webster as ‘a person trained for the sick or infirm, especially in a hospital’. While that may define, what nurses do, it does not explain who they are. Nurses are your friend, there to hold your hand. Nurses are your parent, there to assure you that all will be okay. Nurses are a companion, there to listen and fulfill even the smallest requests. Nurses fill the role of any person you need, at the very instant when you are at the greatest and worst moments of life. So, during Nurse Appreciation Week, we would like to take a moment to honor those who are there for us, our nurses here in the Upper Valley.

Meet Christine Paul BSN, RN
Lebanon, NH

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital
RN with the Primary Care at the Multi-Specialty Clinic

Why did you become a nurse?
I always wanted to be a nurse even as a young girl. I enjoy helping people and caring for them especially when they are going through a difficult time in their life.

What is the best part of your job?
It is being a part of the community that I grew up in. I was born at the Homestead Building in the 50s and grew up in Meriden. After being out of the area for 40 years I returned and joined the Primary Care Practice at APD. I now provide care to long time family friends, people that babysat me and some that I babysat for, elementary and high school classmates and even my favorite former teacher. It is such a privilege to be trusted with their care and visits are “mini-reunions”.

What is the most heartwarming/uplifting story you have from being a nurse?
Prior to returning to Lebanon I lived in SC. During that time, I provided home care for about 5 years to a girl with severe disabilities. She and her sister were the ages of my grandkids, her parents the age of my daughters. They quickly nicknamed me “Chrisma” as they thought of me as a surrogate grandma. We continue to correspond and I visit them when I can. It warms my heart to know that not only did I provide physical care to “my patient” but I also provided nurturing and support to the family and had a positive impact on their lives.