Jaines Andrades started working at Baystate Medical in Springfield, Massachusetts, as a janitor. But she worked her way through nursing school, and now ten years later she has returned as a nurse practitioner.
“It’s tough to be the person that cleans. If I had to go back and do it again, I would. It’s so worth it,” Andrades told CNN affiliate WBZ-TV.
In a Facebook post, Andrades wrote about her journey from hospital custodian to nurse practitioner and posted a picture of all three of her IDs.
She said her journey at the Springfield hospital started when she got a call for an interview. At the time she had been working at a fast food restaurant, according to WBZ-TV.
She said she always wanted to help people. “Even if it was cleaning, as long as I was near patient care I’d be able to observe things. I thought it was a good idea,” she said.
Her favorite part of nursing is bringing relief and comfort to her patients. “I just really love the intimacy with people,” Andrades told the CNN affiliate.
And now she has realized her dream. She became a Baystate nurse, and then a nurse practitioner in the very same place she used to clean.
“Nurses and providers, we get the credit more often but people in environmental and phlebotomy and dietary all of them have such a huge role. I couldn’t do my job without them,” Andrades said.
And she says she feels happy her story is inspiring others.
“I’m so appreciative and like in awe that my story can inspire people,” Andrades told WBZ-TV. “I’m so glad. If I can inspire anyone, that in itself made the journey worth it.”
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