While medical care is an essential service to society, the burdens placed on healthcare professionals are extraneous. The mental health crises in the healthcare industry have led to high turnover among hospital staff and worse health outcomes for patients.
Frontline workers such as doctors and nurses are overburdened with work and emotionally drained from dealing with death every day. After two years as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse, Ami Bulsara continues to face acute medical issues in newborns with a smile.
“Our unit gets very sick babies, many can’t breathe on their own and have breathing tube IV lines to get fluids,” said Bulsara.
When Ami Bulsara joined the healthcare industry, she tried many different roles. Bulsara started as a medical assistant for obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN). She then worked the front desk, managing appointment bookings & billing and insurance handling. Afterward, Bulsara got to work with doctors, helping in medical care.
“l was a scribe in the doctor’s room, taking notes with them and assisting in-office procedures,” explained Bulsara. This experience gave Ami Bulsara a taste of clinical work, helping doctors with biopsies, IUD insertions and similar tasks.
“The job made me realize I wanted to go into nursing,” said Bulsara. Ami Bulsara’s experience in the doctor’s room drew her to work with women and children. Excited to provide medical care for patients, Bulsara enrolled in nursing school. In school, she worked with several different groups, including cardiac patients, adults and pediatrics.
After her stint with the NICU, Bulsara knew where she belonged. After graduating, she got to work as a Level Three NICU nurse—During her time in the NICU, Bulsara watched families suffer under the stress of dealing with a sick child. Through all those experiences, Bulsara’s faith in children never wavered.
“Pediatric patients are the most resilient of them all,” said Bulsara. “They can get the sickest quickly, but also recover so well.” The love and care Ami Bulsara shows to her young patients is key to longevity in the field.
A study by BMI Nursing shows a strong correlation between job satisfaction in nursing and empathy for others. In the study, the authors found that nurses who actively practiced compassion for their patients faced fewer mental health challenges and better work satisfaction. Ami Bulsara practices kindness as much as medicine. Throughout her career, she has found that compassion drives excellent care.
“I’m just trying to connect with my patients. I am trying to apply the clinical skills that I do have at that point to help them.” If Bulsara was in it just for the money, she might not have lasted this long. The personal joy of a happy and healthy family strengthens her resolve.
“Just watching these tiny babies grow and overcome so many obstacles and be able to go home with their parents was just miraculous,” she explained. Ami Bulsara was awarded the Spirit of Nursing Award for her excellent service in the NICU. Thanks to her studies, Bulsara understands how important the social determinants of health are to the health of communities.
Ami Bulsara is committed to making an impact on parents by making sure their issues are addressed. “The stress parents in the NICU feel hurt not only them, but their children” Bulsara explained.
By keeping parents knowledgeable and in the loop, Bulsara provides holistic care for her patients regarding the baby’s physical health and their mental and emotional well-being.
