SPOKANE, Wash. — Sally Johnson has been a nurse for 48 years. During National Nurses’ Week, she recalled some of her experiences working with patients.
“Every day I worked, I always came home with more than I ever gave, so I think that’s what keeps people in (the field),” Johnson said.
She moved from Spokane to San Diego to start her career as a dialysis nurse in the 1970s.
“I fell in love with dialysis. I just loved it,” she said.
She worked in the city for 19 years before thinking she wanted to retire. She moved back to Spokane but wasn’t able to fully retire her scrubs.
“Once you’re a nurse, you’re always a nurse. You’re always trying to help people; you’re always trying to give back to society,” Johnson said.
She started consulting with the Spokane Regional Health District, working with patients recovering from opioid addiction.
“We assess their lungs and heart and try to do anything we can to get them on antibiotics if they need it,” Johnson said.
The start of the coronavirus meant she had to work more closely with her patients to help them get testing as quickly as possible.
“I just think right now it’s a calling to help them get off their opioid addition and help them move along in life,” Johnson said.
She said the current situation has brought new challenges and risks.
“You always get more than you give. And that’s why people stay so long in nursing. And you can, as long as you can physically do it,” she said.