Middletown Radio

Kenny Anderson follows in his mother’s footsteps every time he steps foot in the halls of Christiana Hospital. Literally. Two decades ago Sue Anderson walked those same halls as a nurse on the same floor, even while she was pregnant with her now 27-year-old son. 

In the Anderson family, nursing is hereditary. Even her husband Ken, head of the M.O.T. Youth Football and Cheerleading League, has worked as a nurse in the mental health field throughout his career. 

Kenny works on the transitional medical unit, where he helps patients who are either going into or coming out of the intensive care unit. 

“Nursing is just a rewarding career,” he said. “Not only are you helping people every day, but you can do so much with nursing.”

In a few years, he could go into administration, research or teaching, just like his parents. 

 

A family affair

Sue’s been in nursing for almost 30 years and started in critical care at Christiana Hospital. She worked weekends for 21 years while she raised her six children and then became a teacher for an adult license practical nursing program. Her mother, brother and sister were also nurses, and four of her other children are also either in the field or are about to start. 

“I think our family is giving and caring, and I’ve tried to steer my children into that way so they have a job every day where they’re caring for others and helping others,” she said. “You’re taking care of people when they need someone the most. It’s such a great profession to be able to take care of other people every day and feel like you make a difference when you go to work.”

When Ken taught at the Delaware Skills Center, one of his students was his third child Shane. Shane now works as a nurse at Meadowwood Hospital. Ryan, the fourth Anderson child, is in the nursing program at Delaware Technical & Community College (DTCC), where he will be joined by the fifth Anderson child, Kayla, this fall daughter. The youngest, Brandon, is still in high school and just recently expressed interest in becoming an emergency room nurse. Daniel, the second oldest, chose a separate path and runs a lawn care business. 

 

A field evolved

Kenny said nursing has evolved into a respected scientific profession, which appeals to men and women alike. 

“It’s evolving into more of a scientific position to where everything is done with a purpose and it’s a really respected position,” he said. “There’s definitely a big effort to make sure nurses are not only respected in the medical community, but they’re also happy with their jobs.”

Sue has witnessed the shift of more responsibility put on nurses as well as an increase in males who enter the field. She said when her husband studied nursing at DTCC in the late ‘80s, there were only a couple men among the dozens of students. Last year, her class of 31 students included at least seven men. 

“It’s an accepted thing and it’s an encouraged thing now,” she said. “There’s no stereotype anymore. It’s a valuable profession for men and women alike.”

Kenny agrees. And even though the field has more men than ever before, they’re still the minority. He said being one of only a few men among many women does have its benefits for both genders. 

“Every once in a while I’ll walk up on a conversation and they ask, ‘Kenny, what do you think about this?’ and I’ll give them the male view,” he said. “I get to help people, but the people I work with are great. I definitely have a lot of good friends.” 

 

Increased education, responsibility

Sue said nurses are now required to undergo more education than when she started in the field, which brings more respect to the profession among others in the medical field.  

“They’re called upon to make more decisions on their own nowadays,” she said. “And as patients are in the hospital and are sicker and sicker, nurses are the first ones that are at the bedside to make critical decisions.” 

Kenny said not only is his work rewarding and respected among others in the medical field, but employers truly value their trade. 

“The hospital definitely does try to create an environment that you want to go to work in,” he said. 

Sue said she teaches her students that the profession is rewarding through its caring aspect, but also because of its challenging scientific aspect.  

“I teach them there’s an art to nursing, that’s the caring part, but there’s a science part,” she said. “They have to know how to make critical decisions in a quick timeframe.”

 

A family at work

The relationships with coworkers forged through long shifts are an added bonus, both Sue and Kenny agreed. 

They said nurses in the field typically work 12-hour shifts, three days a week. Their long shifts allow for four days off a week. And while it can be grueling, they make the best of it. Even though they’re required to work many holidays, the work environment becomes a family among coworkers and patients alike who celebrate special occasions together.

“When I worked as a nurse at the bedside, you pretty much work every other holiday,” Sue said. “We’d always bring in food for the holidays, and make it more of a celebration for us.”

She said she got to catch up with old work friends last year, many of whom now work with her son. 

“He’s working with people that I worked with when I just had him or was pregnant with him,” she said.  

Kenny said he encourages anyone to go into the field, and Sue does, too. 

“There’s so much flexibility with what you can do,” she said. “It’s not easy, but it is rewarding in the end.”

 Sue Anderson of Middletown, pictured on the front page, at Christiana Hospital, raised six children while working on weekends. Five of her six kids are now either nurses or about to enter the field.

Photos courtesy of Sue Anderson