Nurses Week - Q&A with a Marshall Nurse

Rachel Peigh MBA, BSN, RN was interviewed for Nurses Week. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Why did you become a nurse?

A: I was the 5-year-old on hikes who had the first aid kit and instinctively jumped into action with every injury so I wanted to be able to do that for a job when I grew up. As I got older, I grew more in love with the idea that you could marry scientific knowledge with the art of human caring to help people heal.

Q: What inspires you at work?

A: It sounds so cliché but knowing that my work makes a meaningful difference inspires me. It sparks my imagination and motivates me to know that my effort directly impacts the well-being of our community and the resources we have to provide care.

Q: Why Marshall?

A: It's inspiring to work for Marshall - being an independent healthcare organization allows us to truly focus on our mission to serve the needs of our community and I see our mission in action, guiding all of our decisions. I have to say, I've worked at Marshall for over 10 years and I've always loved it here but seeing the way our senior leaders have responded to this pandemic has made me even more grateful to be a part of this organization.

Q: What do you do to wind down? Wrestle with my 2-year-old and get wildly goofy to make my 5-month-old laugh! My husband has a habit of coming up with silly nicknames me and our boy and he likes to make me laugh with a new one - the latest are "pork chop" "chicharones" and "chunky chicken pot pie" for our chunky baby (which all make the baby laugh too!).

Q: Favorite quote?

Silly: "I love you" "I know" - Princess Leia and Han Solo

Serious: "Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world that they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration, it's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." - Muhammed Ali

Q: What has the last 2 months been like for you at work?

A: Let's just say I went from not drinking coffee to the strength of my coffee making my husband wonder if I was trying to give him a heart condition. It's been an intense time but absolutely incredible to see selfless leadership and commitment to our community at work in such tangible ways.

Q: What innovations have you been involved with around the Coronavirus crisis? Why were they important? Were they a success? How?

A: I was a part of setting up Marshall's COVID Nurse Triage Line call center which has been a core strategy for helping keep our community safely at home and getting COVID-related care without having to be seen in multiple locations at Marshall. We were up and running with protocols and physician partnerships in place within two days of the request to open a call line so there were many nurses, providers, and leaders who worked together quickly to make it successful. We had no idea it would turn into a large staff of incredible nurses in a traditional call center style office with seven day/week coverage! Nurses who are consistently willing to creatively help troubleshoot each caller's unique needs are the reason the call center has supported our community so well.

Q: What health tips would you like to share with the community?

A: Healthy choices don't have to be all or nothing - make just one small choice today to improve your health. Get outside and go for a short walk, decide to forgive yourself instead of beating yourself up over a mistake, choose water instead of one soda, add one vegetable to one meal, or even smoke one less cigarette. Every little bit helps!