CLINICAL DOCUMENTATION SPECIALIST, ADVENTIST HEALTH HANFORD, CA
Don’t be surprised if Linda (Record) Marvin pops by an old patient’s house to say hello. After nearly five decades on the job, she’s seen it all — and made lifelong friends along the way.
What do you call a nurse who’s seen just about everything in her 47 years on the job?
That’s easy: You call her Linda Marvin (maiden name Record).
“I have been blessed in many ways,” says Linda.
And you can put emphasis on the many. Working at hospitals in small communities, especially the San Joaquin Valley in California, has given Linda opportunities to try lots of different aspects of nursing — from obstetrics to case management to her current position as a clinical documentation specialist (the incredibly important nurses who review your records and make sure they are complete and accurate).
And she seems to have a story for each year she’s been on the job.
There’s the patient whose range of motion was limited while being intubated — until Linda realized that he had hearing loss and needed to be able to use his hands to speak. The family who was at a funeral for their father — when their mother collapsed and had to be taken to the ER. The woman in the obstetrics department for whom Linda found two heartbeats, not one.
There are other stories: All the times Linda worked on holidays so others could be with their families. All the patients who came in after a heart attack, or a stroke, or an accident, who bonded with Linda as she helped them get back on their feet. All the younger nurses who were just a little intimidated by a new job at first — but who quickly grew to become her friend as she took them under her wing.
But what’s really special about Linda is that for every story she has, someone else seems to have a story about her. Inevitably, it’s a good one. As Linda’s boss says: “She’s the best!”
Adds Sharon H., who nominated Linda to become a Hospital Hero: “She is the most compassionate RN there is!”
Linda says she’s been lucky. She might not remember all her patients’ names, but they seem to remember hers. Through the years, she’s kept in touch with lots of her old patients and colleagues: the chaplains she’s prayed with, the younger nurses she’s mentored, the maintenance workers in Oregon who made sure nurses didn’t slip on black ice on their way out of the hospital at night, and many of the folks she’s helped bring back to health.
In fact, now that social media makes it possible to stay in touch over long distances, Linda says she’ll pop in to visit old friends when she’s traveling.
That’s the blessing of having blessed so many others.
“The best part of my job working with families and patients is just giving them hope,” Linda says. “I’m truly grateful to them for being a part of my life.”