National Nurses Week: Joan Foust — Health care career began in church

Joan Foust's "road to Damascus" moment led her into nursing.

"I was in church, and they were showing things to do with people being on a mission and doing nursing work. That's when it hit me that that was something I wanted to do," she said.

And so she found herself in a licensed practical nursing program in her 40s and a registered nursing program, seeking an associate's degree, in her 50s.

"It took me two to three years to get my RN," she explained. "I didn't have any kind of college education, and so I had to get a lot of prerequisites."

She spent time working in a nursing home facility and with pediatric care, but after she landed at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau -- a long-term acute care facility -- about eight years ago, Foust quickly found her calling as a wound and ostomy nurse.

Such nurses "provide treatment for patients with disorders of the digestive, urinary and skin systems.

Part of the role is to assist in the care of ostomies, wounds, stomas and incontinence", according to www.nursingschoolhub.com.

Foust earned wound care and ostomy certification and enjoys that particular type of nursing, though she knows it's not everyone's cup of tea.

"I always loved treating wounds when I've been in nursing. There is just something about (wounds)," she said. "It's just like how some nurses like the ER department; they like the rush of it. Some nurses like to be working in maternity departments. It's just what you like."

The Jackson resident said such care goes beyond wrapping bandages.

"It's more than just treating a wound. You have to treat the patient holistically. You have to look at the whole aspect of it," she noted.

Studying a patient's nutrition, physical therapy, blood tests and other factors all come into play when treating the various types of wounds patients might have, Foust said. It's rewarding work.

"Seeing the wound-healing aspect of it, seeing the patient heal and getting better -- that's my primary goal, for the patient to heal," she said.

National Nurses Week was May 6 through 12 this year.

Her advice to people considering nursing as a career is simple.

"Don't go into it for the money. It has to come from the heart, and your patient is your No. 1 priority. If your patient is not going to be your No. 1 priority, don't go into it."