WRJ Appreciates Nurses!

It's National Nurses Week, and today, we honor our “WRJ nurse,” friend, and North American Board Member Joanne Fried. Joanne spoke to WRJ's VP of Social Justice, Shoshana Dweck, for this blog post. 

Joanne knew nursing was her calling at age 17 and sees her work as an expression of her Jewish values. As a college student at Southern Mississippi, she sought out the rabbi on campus. The local Reform Congregation really took care of the Jewish students and offered them home hospitality with host families. She attended services and babysat for the rabbi and his wife once a month, so they could both go to services. Living in the Bible Belt, Joanne knew she wouldn’t be happy without the support of her Jewish community.   

The Jewish values of healing the sick and supporting their families resonate strongly with her. She loves how nursing gives her a chance to help people in her everyday life and to give back to her Jewish community. She also loves the education aspect of nursing and passing on her knowledge and experience to patients, co-workers, and nurses who are just starting out.

Joanne worked as a nurse in the operating room and stayed in that role for almost 25 years before moving over to cardiology. She loved the variety in the operating room and the individuality of each patient. She said that even if patients were there for similar procedures, each one brought their own medical history and personality, which made each case different. Today, she is still doing cardiac testing and support on a part-time basis.

Joanne reminds us, with a knowing laugh, that in nursing and in our lives, it helps to "think about what you would want for yourselves and your loved ones and give that type of compassion and caring to the patients, no matter how trying they might be.”

About WRJ, Joanne says, “I can see what WRJ can achieve and how high it can rise." We, at WRJ, celebrate Joanne and all of our WRJ nurses — we see all the good you achieve in the world and how high you rise!