In honour of Nursing Week 2023, RN Riley Smyes, a post-anaesthesia care unit nurse at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), spoke with BradfordToday.ca (May 12) about her experiences in nursing since graduating from Laurentian University in 2019. Although early in her career, she has enjoyed the challenges so far – even during a global pandemic – and says she wouldn’t change a thing. After spending time working in the surgical inpatient unit, she decided to join the cancer palliative inpatient unit. “I ended up going back to Surgery 2 where multiple times throughout COVID we would be reassigned to a new specialty due to outbreaks throughout the hospital.” Working in the hospital setting is difficult, she says, but her team is always able to come together and support each other. “This is what makes me proud to be a nurse and proud to be in a profession where we bind together and with every challenge, we only get stronger.” For more stories of members in local and national news during Nursing Week and beyond, visit RNAO in the news.