Spotlight on Amanda Hughes, St. Joseph’s Hospital registered nurse

Amanda Hughes
Registered nurse, St. Joseph’s Hospital imaging

Nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital for 25 years (med-surg and now imaging for the last eight years)

Education: North Georgia College & University

SJ/C: Why did you decide to become a nurse?

Amanda: I’ve always had the caregiving attitude. I knew when I got out of high school that was what I was going to go for. We had an occupational health class in high school, which I took, and I learned a lot about being a nurse’s aide, and I feel in love with it. That’s all it took.

SJ/C: What made you choose St. Joseph’s/Candler?

Amanda: I am originally from Blueridge, Ga. I started out there. I got married and moved down here. I came to work here, and it’s where I’ve always been. St. Joseph’s is my home.

SJ/C: What are some of your responsibilities as a nurse in the imaging department?

Amanda: We care for patients who are having procedures in the imaging department and those that need IV contrast with an MRI and CT scan. We assess the patients, start IVs for contrast, check for contrast allergies. We also assist with procedures. During the procedures, we administer the conscious sedation, monitor the patients and assess them afterwards, like any post-procedure patient, for a couple of hours. If they are doing well, we get to send them home. I don’t think most patients realize we have nurses to care for them when they come here for an image or procedure.

SJ/C: So why would you say it’s important to have nurses in imaging?

Amanda: Especially with the contrast, if there’s an allergy, they can have a reaction, and we need to be there to help take care of that. We’ve even had patients that come down from the units and have coded, and we want to be there for that. Plus, starting the IVs, that’s our expertise. We also are there to ask patients about their allergies and medical history to get the information we need to perform the test.

SJ/C: What do you love about your job?

Amanda: I love being able to interact with the patients. Smiling, just giving them a piece of kindness because you never know what the patient is interrupting or needs that day. You never know what kind of impact you are going to have on them.

SJ/C: You’ve been a nurse since 1995. What advice would you share with those considering a career in nursing or new to nurse.

Amanda: One, start out in med-surg because you need those skills to work in various other departments. You learn how to do the critical thinking. You learn how to do those IV skills. Also, make sure you have a caring attitude. You got to be sympathetic. You have to learn how to deal with all people because you have patients coming in that are frustrated, angry, some are nice some are not, but you have to treat them with them all with kindness. It can be a scary place, a scary situation.

Family: Father (a Baptist minister), one sister, husband (married for 26 years)
Hobbies/Interests: Active at First Baptist Church in Richmond Hill, crafting, enjoying the country life