“You aren’t here for you. You’re here for those patients. It is all about making their day better.”
Krystal, RN, always felt a connection to people. When she went into nursing, she knew she wanted to work in geriatrics or another specialty where she could care for older patients.
Before taking on her current role as a professional staff nurse at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at UPMC East, Krystal worked in the operating room.
She believes she found the right fit because it allows her to work closely with patients. Krystal tries to approach her patients with a smile and a warm personality.
“You aren’t here for you. You’re here for those patients. It is all about making their day better,” she says.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she says she tried to learn how to smile more with her eyes because patients couldn’t see her mouth through her mask.
Krystal’s mission is to help patients in whatever way she can. She can’t imagine herself doing anything else.
“I know what keeps me coming back is the fact that when I see a smiling cancer patient, it means I have done something in their day to change the way that they see things or the way that they are coping with things,” she says.
At UPMC, Life Changing Medicine means putting a smile on our patients’ faces to brighten their day.
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