Know the Nurses: Patrick Collins
If you have a home care nurse in your home, you already know what an important part of your life they become. Today in Know the Nurses, we’re introducing you to home care nurse Patrick Collins, RN, who has been with PHS since September 2014. Want to learn more about the home care nursing department and how we train new hires? Check out this post.
We already know these nurses provide comprehensive, round-the-clock care for patients in their homes every day, but here are a few fun facts about Patrick you might not know.
My dad built a RV-7A plane over the course of 14 years (I helped rivet a lot of the metal). We recently went to Cleveland just to watch an Indians game and then came back the next day.
- My sports teams in order of importance are Cleveland Indians, New England Patriots, MN Timberwolves, and the Wild. I copied my Dad because he was an Indians fan. I follow the Patriots since my extended family is from Massachusetts.
I was born in Massachusetts and we moved here when I was 5. I went to Century over the course of 2007-2014, and was an EMT from 2007-2010, medic from 2010-2015, and nurse from 2014-current.
- I stopped working as a medic this March but I worked for 4 years in the Chisago and Polk County area.
I convinced some of my LREMS co-workers to do the Polar Plunge in White Bear Lake and it turned out to be colder than I expected!
- I did a 5k as a spur of the moment decision that my now fiancé convinced me to do. Turns out Jonner (a friend who was previously employed with PHS) was running in the race. We talked about how it had been hard to find a job and he told me about PHS – I ended up checking out the website and all the inspirational videos which made me apply!
I never knew I would like working with children, but this company makes you feel so good and when your patients achieve milestones and gets you excited.
- I did no shave November one year to prove that I can grow a mean looking stache 🙂
My favorite vacation was to Cabo Mexico in 2013. This was my first time at an all-inclusive and we loved every day.
- I have a cat named Dobby and he sleeps between my side and left arm almost every night… until 4 AM when he gets hungry and wakes me up (I usually kick him out and shut the door). Still worth it because he is so cute.
- As you may have guessed from the name Dobby I am a huge Harry Potter fan and if we get another cat his name might have to be Malfoy.
Nursing was always my end goal when I got in for healthcare but I didn’t want to rush into it. I enjoy being well rounded in the field and my time as an EMT and medic allowed me to see a side of the healthcare profession that not many people get to experience.
- I started to think I was going to get into healthcare all because my bedtime in elementary school was at 9:00. At the time, my family stayed up on Tuesdays to watch the show ER and I was allowed to join every once in a while and because of that show and being able to stay up late, it made me think about going into to that type of career. I then went on to enjoy biology and most sciences, I still love math and my senior year of high school I was allowed to spend half of the day at Century College taking EMT classes which ended up getting me into the field.
I used to ride a motorcycle but sold it due to not using it enough and sometimes I would get a bit crazy on it. I have owned 2 Suzuki GSX-R 600’s and 1 Honda CBR 600.
- I played in multiple kickball leagues for 5 years and still play in a few softball leagues…. I love the baseball diamond and feel happy playing any type of game on it, which is why I enjoy volunteering for Miracle League through PHS 🙂
We love learning more about home care nurses and hearing their stories. Do you know a PHS nurse who you’d like to see highlighted? Leave his or her name here or on our Facebook page and we’ll take it from there! If you’re interested in starting your career with PHS, click here.
Originally published: August 11, 2015