Meet Roberta Hower

Roberta is the ENS Marketing Chair. She is responsible for the booth set up and display at our national AACE and international ES conference. She is responsible for the advertising of our annual conference and the soliciting of new members as well. Roberta works closely with our Administrative Assistant Ginny Wiatrowski to get the booth up and running.

Would you tell us about your background?

I was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Allentown is a rural but growing area that is approx 2 hours away from New York City and the Washington, D.C. area. It is one hour north of Philadelphia and is located in southeastern PA.

I am one of two daughters. My older sister Rose Marie is also an RN. My parents are Mary Ann and Bob Wickel, 85 and 80 years old, respectively. Sorry Mom your secret is out! My Mom is Hungarian and my Dad is German, French and Irish. We lived in the suburbs. Swimming, basketball, crafts, playing the guitar, singing and bike riding were activities that I enjoyed growing up. My dogs Missy and Snooper were great company to me growing up. My Aunt Rose was widowed and had no children. She was my Mom’s sister and was like a second mother to me. We would visit her house in the Pocono Mountains in New Jersey on the Delaware River on weekends growing up, or she would come down and stay
with us.

In high school my best friends were in the band and music section of the school. Yes I hung out with the bandos! I was a rifle spinner in the bandfront. The drummers were always the good looking guys. I don’t think that they let people spin wooden rifles anymore? When I graduated from high school I choreographed the half time routines and was hired to teach the girls how to spin the rifle. I was also in the chorus and landed the role of the Wicked Witch of the West in the musical version of the Wizard of Oz. Can you see the green face paint now?

What jobs did you have prior to your nursing career?

My first job was in the beauty salon where my Mom worked as a hairdresser. I was a shampoo girl and had the job of removing rollers, restocking and sweeping up. I worked “under the table” as I was 15 years old. When I went to college I worked in the financial aid office and was reminded that if the papers were not filed right I and the chief financial aid officer were going to jail together. HA HA! In the summers between my college years I choreographed for my high school marching band’s rifle squad. I also worked at the Liberty Nursing Home as a nursing assistant and then at the Osteopathic Hospital. Give me liberty or give me death – and I freely choose death – I would think as I bathed many patients and spoon fed them their pureed meals. This was my first taste of nursing and I had to be assigned on the dementia unit.

At Osteopathic Hospital I was able to take care of those who were post-op or recovering from a medical illness. This was back in the day when patients had an indefinite length of stay prior to DRG’s and the AIDS crisis. It was my first taste of hospital nursing. I also had another opportunity to manage an office practice called Slatington Medical Center. I did basic billing and scheduling, taking vital signs and assigning patients to the exam rooms. It was my first encounters with the medical insurance world. Oh My!

Did you have other majors in college or other career dreams?

I always wanted to be a writer, but my Dad thought that nursing was a good career choice as he noted the flexibility, good salary and plenty of schools in our area. My sister attended Sacred Heart School of Nursing. Till I was eligible, the school had closed its doors and the age of the BSN was approaching. I attended DeSales University and graduated with a BSN in 1985. Yes, I have been the product of total Catholic education. I obtained my MSN from DeSales University in 1992, three months before I was to give birth to my second daughter Samantha. My area of interest was Clinical Nurse Specialist in Cardiothoracic Surgery. My goal was to be a Heart Transplant Coordinator. I am now the RN Coordinator for Endocrine Testing at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, PA. The path to get me here has not been direct, but I have enjoyed every bit of it!

How old were you when you decided to become a nurse?

I think that I was 17 when it was decided for me that I would be a nurse. It was the career path that my sister and cousin had taken. My grandmother would have been in the first graduating class of nurses at Sacred Heart Hospital if she had not met the handsome William P. Wickel, whom she later married. My earliest recollections of nursing cues were when I was about 6 or 7. I remember performing brain surgery on my neighbor Donna as I scraped the pretend ‘pus’ out of her head with a wooden spoon. I also loved to take care of baby dolls – feed, clothe and change them.
As I was older I remembered not being able to stand by when someone was in need. I could not just watch – I had to be in the middle of it all. This is why I chose to work on a cardiothoracic and vascular surgery unit after graduation. I had to conquer what I was most afraid of – the code blue situation and that gray area before the code known as “going down the tubes”. If I knew what to do I would be less afraid and more prepared to help people in need.

Do you know who influenced your choice of nursing?

My father, grandmother and sister influenced my decision to enter the profession. My sister had a cape and a nurse’s cap. She had a lab full of neat organs in jars and a skeleton. I have to admit that I was ghoulishly curious about all of this as I was 8 years younger than she. The media also influenced how nurses were perceived as the hit series MASH portrayed the confident Margaret Hoolihan. I wanted to be there in the war. Later in life I interviewed one of the nurses who served in the Vietnam War and also maintains the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in Washington D.C and found out that there were no “safe places” for women over there. The nurses were courageous and we owe much to their dedication and service to our men and country. More recently Mother Teresa has influenced my thinking about what is important in life. I used to think that I wanted to accomplish great things in nursing, but I realized that all we are here to do is to accomplish the little daily things (tasks) with great kindness and compassion.

Tell me about some memories of patient interactions.

Most of my early recollections of patients were those who died in front of me. Many of those memories I think are difficult for most humans to deal with. Why is it that we young women and men in our profession are able to do so? Many of my other memories stem from patients I took care of for a long time – those with sternal wound infections and those who were ventilator dependent. Yes, you can shower someone on a ventilator! And sometimes the communication between a pair of eyes over a surgical mask is powerful enough to convey the innermost thoughts and feelings. Those who can not communicate verbally because of aphasia, vocal cord paralysis or
a ventilated tracheostomy become very adept at reading ones facial expressions, eyes and mood

What led you to the field of endocrinology?

Long story short – my friend Debbie’s third child, Janelle, made me an endocrine nurse. I started my nursing career for about seven years as a staff RN on a step down cardiothoracic surgery unit and the Open heart Unit. After receiving my MSN I decided to take a position as a Patient Care Specialist (PCS) on a step down ICU called Special Care Unit. This name truly described the care given by each and every one of these fine nurses. It was here that I put my transplant knowledge to use as we recovered the kidney transplant patients and cared for many medically challenged patients.

After about five years of covering now the Medical, Surgical and Special Care Intensive care units, I decided to go part-time as I was expecting my third child. I took a job as the PCS on the Ambulatory Surgical Unit and covered up to six areas on a part-time basis. These areas ranged from PAT, to PACU to the Staging area to the med surg floor where problematic patients stayed overnight. I enjoyed the fast pace and turnover of beds (really recliners) as we sometimes did 50 cases per day. However I kept running into my pregnant friend Debbie who ran an area called Endocrine Testing in an obscure room off of the main lobby on the ground floor. I kept asking her “Does Endocrine testing have anything to do with diabetes”? “ No”, she would answer. I could not understand what more there was when one talked about endocrine testing….Now, I know! Debbie was looking for someone to cover for her while she was on maternity leave. I did just that and then was offered her position as she needed to take some time off to take care of ailing grandparents.

What has been your favorite job in life so far?

All of my positions have been good to me so far. I have truly enjoyed all of the people I have met over the last 22 years at Lehigh Valley Hospital. We have over 8000 staff located at 3 sites throughout the region. We have approx 700-800 beds and are a regional trauma and burn center. I am very proud of our organization, its people and the care that we give. But I have to say my favorite job so far in life – is that of being a mother. No greater joy can surpass this. Ask me how I feel tomorrow when they are awake…

What are your thoughts on the future of nursing?

The future of nursing is bright. We have advanced technology, skills and knowledge in the art and science of nursing. We have accomplished leaders in our professional organizations with diversity and broadmindedness. It can only get better with time.

Why do like your current job?

My current job offers flexibility, the ability to teach and do hands on care – such as testing. I work by myself mostly and have several perdiem staff to cover my absence as needed. I am very proud that our Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism gives the best patient care and education and is expanding. We have the most endocrinologists in the state of PA. We are a MAGNET hospital and have been in the top 100 hospitals for Endocrinology in the US World and NEWS report. My Dad was right – nursing has offered me flexibility and change when I have needed it. My professional opinion is always valued and I am proud to be associated with the Helwig Diabetes Center as an inpatient diabetic educator as well.

My current job’s day involves testing patients, scheduling them, educating them, charting and ordering supplies, conferring with physicians and orienting residents to endocrine testing.

What hobbies and outside interests do you have?

I enjoy making handmade jewelry. It is a side business that I have fallen into that involves my daughter’s Samantha and Megan as we make and sell our wares at our home and some craft fairs. I also like to crochet, swim and take deep water classes at the Rodale Aquatic Center with my neighborhood lady friends. We are the ones wearing the bathing caps with the big flower on the side in the brochure for the center! I love my dog Ginger an English springer spaniel and avid swimmer. Finally, my other interests are cooking, participating in Community Theater,
And writing poetry.

Would you be willing to share a poem?

"Can I Heal You?"

Can I heal you?
Place a hand
upon your wrinkled brow?
Wipe a tear?
Stop and listen to you now?

Can I hold
your broken heart
in my hands?
Hear you
and try
to understand
the demands
placed on you?

Can I lift you up today?
With a kind word,
smile
and say:
"Let me heal you"

Can I help you
envision hope?
Calm your fears?
Knot the end
of the rope?
So that
you
can
hold on...

Can I be present
for your spouse?
Make your room
feel like
your house?
till you
return home...

Won't you
let me 
comfort you?

Place your cares
upon this leaf
and let them
flow
gently
downstream...
Gaining momentum,
moving with ease
till they disappear
and retreat...

Close your eyes.
Be present with me.
Rest, and let me heal you.

Roberta Hower Marc - 2004

Do you have a retirement dream?

Not yet, I am just trying to survive those teenage years! I must now retire to bed as it is 0100 and I have just run over my dog’s foot with the office chair…

My college friend Karen introduced me to my husband of almost 20 years – Wayne. Wayne is an accomplished electrician who owns his own business for the past 10 years, although he has been in the trade since he was 15. I am proud of our three beautiful daughters, Jessica age 18 who attends Penn State (GO PENN STATE!), Samantha age 15 who attends Parkland High School and Megan age 11 who attends Orefield Middle School.

Thank you Roberta!