Hello Martina, we appreciate you spending some time with us today and telling us about your daily routine and work at Sternenbrücke.
How about briefly introducing yourself; what is your job at Sternenbrücke?
My name is Martina Koopmann and I am now in my 11th year at Sternenbrücke. I would say that, currently, 25% of my work consists of nursing duties and 75% consists of providing specialist hygiene services.
That sounds interesting. How does one become a hygiene specialist?
A prerequisite is that you have already worked as a nurse. You must pass the state examination and have five years of work experience in nursing. I started out as a “hygiene officer” at Sternenbrücke, i.e. an appointed officer without extensive prior knowledge. I was eventually asked if I would like to train to become a hygiene specialist. I then completed a program at the Institute for Hygiene and Environment in Hamburg. This took two years and included classes and practical training in all hospital areas. And now I’m a specialist here.
Why did you decide to pursue a social profession like nursing?
When I was just 13 years old, I knew I wanted to become a nurse. It was already clear to me back then! In the meantime, 30 years have elapsed since I took my exams and I have never been able to imagine doing anything else. Nursing is my calling! The job is fun for me and that hasn’t changed over the years either!
Why did you decide to work at Sternenbrücke?
I initially worked with adults in intensive care. After that, I switched to working with disabled persons in a group home setting, which I did for 13 years. When I then moved to Hamburg, I became a nurse manager with a special focus on severely ill patients in a vegetative state. I did that for a while until I eventually saw a job posting indicating that Sternenbrücke was looking for nurses. That was something that I could easily imagine doing. I applied for the job and immediately it felt like I was coming home.
I’ve taken different paths in my career and everything has come together here at Sternenbrücke. It was an amazing feeling. Even when I was doing my initial training here, everything just felt right. The job combined many areas in which I had previously worked. And I also know that I’m never going to leave.
What does your daily routine look like?
I arrive in the morning, normally at around 6:15 a.m., get myself something to drink and then go into the nurses’ room, which is where the handover from the night shift to the early shift takes place. We then discuss who will be taking care of which child during the day. Some of our guests already request in advance which nurse they would like to be cared for by. Of course, we take that into account.
We then go to where the medications are kept, since quite a few children or guests receive their medication early in the morning. I plan my day based on which guest I’m responsible for and how mobile he/she is. Some make a request, e.g. to go for a walk or take a little trip. Others may have already made plans with their parents.
At around 8:30 a.m. our physical therapy team arrives. We then work out which appointments will take place when. There is also swim therapy twice a week. This has to be coordinated so that the guests are on site and not away from the hospice. The guests also have some appointments that we absolutely have to observe. This is how we structure our mornings with the children.
At 1:00 p.m. the handover to the late shift takes place and, at 2:45 p.m. the early shift can go home, provided that everything goes according to plan.
Which of your personal strengths do you rely on when it comes to your nursing responsibilities?
I think I’m a well-balanced, but also vivacious person. This is really important for the children. You need to be able to tap into and let out your inner child. And you can’t hide it. You have to be able to act silly sometimes, for example, pretend to be clumsy. The children love that.
I’m also someone who can quickly adapt to new situations. For example, if one guest is not feeling well while another is doing fine – and I have to take care of them at the same time – I’m good at switching between the situations. That’s very important here.
How do you deal with sorrow and sad moments?
That’s a great question. I think it’s very important – especially at a place like Sternenbrücke – to find the right balance between closeness and distance. I’m quite good at adapting to families and guests, but I don’t take anything home with me. What I mean is that I leave the grounds and the door is then “shut”. Of course, the work here affects you a lot. But you can handle it if you are surrounded by a great team. And the team is not just the nursing team, it’s the entire hospice. We all support each other here. Especially when a guest has lost the strength to live and dies. You can feel this in the atmosphere at the hospice. It gets very quiet and pensive. At such times, we are even more considerate towards each other and ask more often: “How are you doing? How do you feel?”. I think that’s what makes this place so incredibly special.
Thank you so much, Martina, for the interesting and personal insights!